Interview & Contest: Lindsay Eland (Author of Scones and Sensibility)

Today I'm happy to welcome debut author Lindsay Eland to The Hiding Spot to discuss love, her next novel, and her personal hiding spot from the world... which is may sound awfully familiar to some of you readers out there!

A Brief Bio

I was born in Cincinnati, grew up in various towns in Pennsylvania, went to college in Oklahoma, and found home in Breckenridge, Colorado. I love to write, read, hike, drink espresso, and attempt to keep my plants alive. I am a laugher and a dreamer. Mix all these together and you get me–a lucky writer of middle grade fiction.

To find out more about Lindsay and her writing, visit her website here!

The Interview

Give a short description or statement describing SCONES AND SENSIBILITY.

Scones and Sensibility is about an overly-romantic and overly-dramatic 12-year-old girl who takes it upon herself to match-make for the people in her small beach town…whether they want to be or not.

Polly is a bit of a hopeless romantic; do you identify with this trait?

Most definitely! I’ve tried to bury my romanticism over the years and have attempted to convince myself that there is no true love…but thankfully I have had zero success, and remain right now, hopelessly romantic and completely convinced about true love.

Which of the classic loves stories, such as Pride & Prejudice, would you name as your absolute favorite?

Oh, dear…my ABSOLUTE favorite? Umm…I actually might have to say Jane Eyre since I can’t seem to pick between Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice.

Can you tell us anything about your next novel?

Why sure! It is a contemporary middle grade novel currently titled, A Teaspoon of Rosemary. It is the story of a shy, introverted girl who, in the midst of becoming a wonderful young chef, learns to find and embrace her inner strength and confidence. It was so fun to write and as research I got to make lots and lots of yummy recipes!

My blog is dedicated to books, my personal hiding spot. Who, what, or where is your personal hiding spot?

 I think we must be kindred spirits, because books are my hiding spot as well! Tucking myself away in a book for a few hours or days or weeks is the most wonderful feeling in the world. It’s like Christmas morning and hot chocolate and warm blankets and rainy days and hugs all bound together in a book I can hold in my hands.

Thanks for stopping by, Lindsay!

The next stop on the Scones and Sensibility Blog Tour is Pirate Penguin Reads!

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Contest

Interested in winning your own copy of SCONES AND SENSIBILITY? I'm giving away my copy to one lucky winner. To enter, simply fill out the form below.

Ends: May 13th 2010

In My Mailbox (5)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi, a.k.a The Story Siren!

Last week I didn't have an IMM post because I got nothing. Partially by choice actually because I have a lot of reading to catch up on and I didn't want to go check out more library books because I'm moving on Monday (8/23)! I still have about 10 library books to get through before I leave and I know it isn't going to happen.... I'm too busy with goodbyes and last minutes stuff...

This week I got a few books in the mail! Which reminds me, I have to figure out my new address otherwise IMM will be a bit hard to do... :) Anyway, I'm really excited about these books!


Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland (12/22/09 Egmont)
"Polly Madassa is convinced she was born for a more romantic time. A time when Elizabeth Bennet and Anne of Green Gables walked along the moors and beaches of the beautiful, wild land. A time when a distinguished gentleman called upon a lady of quality, and true love was born in the locked eyes of two young lovers.
But alas, she was not.
This however does not stop our young heroine from finding romance wherever she can conjure it up. So while Polly is burdened with the summer job of delivering baked goods from her parents bakery (how delightfully quaint!) to the people in her small beach town, she finds a way to force...um...encourage romance to blossom. She is determined to bring lovers, young and old, together...whether they want to be or not."
Thank you Egmont for sending me a copy! :)


Darklight by Lesley Livingston(Harper Teen, 12/10)
"Faerie can't lie... or can they?
Much has changed since autumn, when Kelley Winslow learned she was Faerie royalty, fell in love with changeling guard Sonny Flannery, and saved New York City from a rampaging Faerie Faerie war band. When a terrifying encounter in Central Park sends Kelley tumbling into the Otherworld, her reunion with Sonny is joyful - but cut short. For they've been plunged into a game of Faerie deception and wavering alliances in which the next move could topple a kingdom... or part them forever."
I really liked Wondrous Strange and I can't wait to see what happens next with Kelley and Sonny! Thanks HarperTeen!


Soulless: An Alexia Tarabotti Novel by Gail Carriger (Orbit, 10/09)
"A comedy of manners set in Victorian London, full of werewolves, vampires, dirgibles, and tea-drinking.
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has not soul. Second, she's spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire - and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia is responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?"
I am so ridiculously excited about this book! I'm not sure if I can hold off on reading it immediately! Thanks Gail and Orbit!


The Life of Glass by Jillian Kantor(HarperTeen, 3/10)
"Before he died, Melissa's father told her about stars. He told her that the brightest stars weren't always the most beautiful - that if people took the time to look at the smaller stars, if they looked with a telescope at the true essence of the star, they would find real beautiful. But even though Melissa knows that beauty isn't skin deep, the people around her don't seem to feel the same way. There's her gorgeous sister, Ashley, who willl barely acknowledge Melissa at school; there's her best friend, Ryan, who may be falling in love with the sophisticated Courtney; and there's Melissa's mother, who's dating somone new, someone who Melissa knows will never be able to replace her father.
To make sure she doesn't lose her father completely, Melissa spends her time trying to piece together the last of his secrests and completing a journal he began - one about love and relationships and the remarkable ways people find one another. But when tragedy stikes, Melissa has to start living and loving the present as she realizes that being beautiful on the outside doesn't mean you can't be beautiful on the inside."
I absolutely adored The September Sisters and am super excited for Jillian Cantor's upcoming release! Thank you HarperTeen!


Little Black Lies by Tish Cohen (signed) (9/13/2009 Egmont)
"Sara and her father are moving to Boston from small-town Lundun, Massachusetts. She is going to attend the very elite Anton High School-- crowned "North America's Most Elite and Most Bizarre" by Time magazine, harder to get into than Harvard. As the new girl, Sara doesn't know anyone--better yet, no one knows her. And that means she can escape her family's checkered past and her father can be a surgeon instead of "Crazy Charlie" the school janitor.
What's the harm of a few little black lies? Especially if it transforms Sara into Anton's newest popular girl. But then one of the It girls at school starts looking into Sara's past, and her father's obsessive compulsive disorder takes a turn for the worse. Soon, the whole charade just might come crashing down... "
Thanks Tish for sending (and signing) Little Black Lies for me! Can't wait to read it!