Twitter Tuesday - Saundra Mitchell

Yesterday, Saundra Mitchell tweeted the final cover of her soon-to-be-released novel, The Vespertine. For those who have a netgalley account, be sure to request it and you will soon hear the rustle of long gowns, feel the anticipation of a filled dance card and wait anxiously to see if that boy who is oh, so wrong for you, shows up.

Here's the blurb from Aprilynne Pike, author of Wings and Spells:

"Written in a passionate, inviting voice, The Vespertine is a rich, historical novel of otherworldly power, forbidden romance, and questionable motives. From the very first line, readers will be swept up in Amelia's plight to discover her own powers and find the courage to face her fears, her blossoming love, and even accusations of murder."

Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth and Dead Tossed Waves adds:

"I savored every word of The Vespertine; I knew it was an amazing book from the first page and I was entranced until the very last. Saundra Mitchell's descriptions are almost truer than truth—you feel them rather than know them."

And here's the synopsis:

The summer of 1889 is the one between childhood and womanhood for Amelia van den Broek-and thankfully, she's not spending it at home in rural Maine. She's been sent to Baltimore to stay with her stylish cousin, Zora, who will show her all the pleasures of city life and help her find a suitable man to marry.

Archery in the park, dazzling balls and hints of forbidden romance-Victorian Baltimore is more exciting than Amelia imagined. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset-visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. Newly dubbed "Maine's Own Mystic", Amelia is suddenly quite in demand.

However, her attraction to Nathaniel, an artist who is decidedly outside of Zora's circle, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own- still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him. And while she has no trouble seeing the futures of others, she cannot predict whether Nathaniel will remain in hers.

When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia's world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she's not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

It sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Well, I can tell you that it is and I may just be re-reading it for a second time. You see, I love a well written book that uses magic in a believable way and presents a romance which threads around unexpected corners of a plot line. I may just be sighing thinking about it right now.

The Vespertine will be released on March 7, 2011 and I encourage you to pre-order it at your favorite bookstore. For more information about the world, characters and the music of the story, be sure to check out Saundra's website.