The Story is About   +  Sarah MacLean

Sarah MacLean is the author for this Thursday's Friday's Author Tales. Sarah debut novel The Season was released last month. You can check out my review, here. For more information on Sarah and The Season you can visit her website. This interview is a little different, I have a few questions that where asked by some fellow book lovers. Yan of Books By Their Cover and Saundra Mitchell author of Shadowed Summer.

Uhm...yes, Yan. Far more often than I probably should, considering the fact that the intelligent, logical part of me knows that there was a) no running water b) no sewage system and c) a lot less attention to personal hygiene than there is now. And that all leaves out the reality that if you weren't born to the very upper classes, you probably didn't have a very comfortable life.

But then I think..."but the men! they wore cravats! and riding boots!" and I sigh and all intelligent thought is lost to me. :)

How hard is it to work on adult regencies and YA regencies at the same time?(Saundra Mitchell)

It's definitely a challenge. There are stylistic choices that I make in YA that are difficult to translate into adult romance...(for example, my narrators tend to live inside my characters heads in YA, in a way that they really can't in adult romance). The genres (despite similar plots and settings) are really different...adult romance has pretty specific rules and guidelines, while what makes YA so great is that the books allow boundaries and rules to be pushed and tested...so...I have my work cut out for me. Luckily, however, I have wonderful editors with infinite patience.

Describe your writing in three words.

Better with smooching.

What is it about the romance genre that appeals to you?

Happy endings. For my whole life, i've been a hopeless romantic. I mean, I'm the girl who sits in a coffee shop and makes up stories about the people around me...you know that girl, right?...anyway, the stories--even when they include tragedy and sadness--always end with falling in love with that one, perfect person. Who doesn't want to read about that?

If you could travel back in time for one year, what time and place would you choose?

Ooooh. That's hard. I mean, my instant reaction is Regency England, of course...but I think I'd rather visit England later...the 1850s, maybe. Railroads and running water existed...but the aristocracy was still grand and lush. Definitely England, though. Don't tell my Italian father.

And you could take 3 things with you, what would they be?

1) feminine hygiene products.
2) toothpaste & toothbrush.
3) a few courses of antibiotics.

What are you working on now?

I've got a series of adult romances coming from HarperCollins next year...so they're pretty much all consuming, but I'm hoping to return to YA very soon.

Will we see anymore or Alex or her friends?

Well, let's just say that Vivi and Ella are both rattling around inside my head...grumbling about their love stories not having been told. At some point, I'm going to have to give them what they want.