Interview with Lindsay Eland, author of Scones & Sensibility (contest included!)

Hi everyone! I've got a surprise for you: today I'm very happy to welcome author Lindsay Eland so she could discuss her debut novel, Scones & Sensibility with me. Also, not only will you find out about her adorable novel but you'll also be getting a chance to get your very own copy of S&S! So read on and be charmed with Lindsay's fun answers ;)

A short bio about her: 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.

For those that aren’t familiar with your novel, could you tell them what it’s about? Scones and Sensibility is the humorous story of a young overly-dramatic and overly-romantic 12-year-old girl who sets to match-making in her small beach town with disastrous and hilarious results.

Scones & Sensibility is your debut novel; how do you feel having it out in stores now? :D It’s at the same time, both exhilarating and terrifying. When I see my book or even just think of it out in the world it makes me all sorts of smiley. But then I realize that…”Oh my gosh, it’s OUT THERE” and I’ve sent a piece of myself out into the world and not everyone will like it and it leaves me feeling very vulnerable. But above all else, I feel honored. Honored to write for middle grade readers and honored to share myself with them.

Throughout S&S, Polly mentioned a few literary classics like Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre and Anne of Green Gables. Which classics are your favorites? (And have you ever read Elizabeth Gaskell’s North & South?) All three of those are probably my favorites, though I also adore Persuasion, Charles Dickens’ Nicolas Nickleby, David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities. And no, I haven’t read North & South…though I’m putting it on my reading list this very moment!! (I hope you enjoy it once you read it!!)

It says in your bio that you love to bake. (Chocolate éclairs=yum!) Would that happen to be why Polly’s parents own a bakery in the story? :) Yes, that is one of the reasons! I think food is very romantic and very universal and I love it so very much that it just had to be a part of the book.

Are any of your characters based on people you know in real life?  They sure are! Mr. Nightquist is based on a man named Hank that my family used to know when I was little and living in Cincinnati, Ohio. He worked in an office in Marimont and when we came to visit we’d make faces at him through the window and then go inside and he’d show us magic tricks and his large jar of toenails he’d collected over the years. Polly’s parents are also very much like my own: totally smitten with each other and still very much in love. And though Brad isn’t necessarily based on a boy I knew, I picked his name after my first best friend in Kindergarten who lived down the street from me in Pittsburgh: Brad.

Throughout the story, Polly makes a mess of things while she’s trying to pair people together. Have you ever witnessed or had your own romantic disasters? Actually, most of the boys I dated were really nice guys (waves at nice old boyfriends who may be reading this), and I’m thankful that most of the romantic disasters I’ve witnessed were between two actors in a movie and not in real life!

Life must be pretty hectic since you're a writer and a mother of four children! How do you find the time to write? Ever since my kids were really little—like the baby kind of little--I’ve set aside the time from 1-4 for writing. It was a chance for me to go after my dream, relax and be creative, and gave them a chance to play with each other, bond as siblings, and rest.

What would be the ideal environment for you when it comes to writing? In a quiet room with only instrumental music playing (I love to sing along to songs, so anything else just wouldn’t work), and an iced mocha that would automatically refill itself whenever it was gone sitting close by. (that sounds like heaven ;3)

What was the most challenging/easiest aspect when it came to writing your book? The easy part of writing Scones and Sensibility was the voice and characters…those are definitely my strengths as a writer. Plot, however, is something that I have to work a little harder at and can be more challenging for me, though I do love trying to piece everything together.

Would you ever consider writing YA or adult novels? I would definitely consider writing Young Adult because it is such a wonderful, vibrant genre, though my heart is still fully engaged in writing for the middle grade audience right now. And I really have no desire whatsoever to write for adults, though I like adults okay. :)

Are you working on any projects currently? (Like the sequel for S&S for example? Will there be one?) I do have an idea for a sequel to Scones though my second book with Egmont is not a sequel. It is a contemporary middle grade novel, currently titled A Teaspoon of Rosemary, that is very different from Scones. It’s about a shy, introverted girl who learns to embrace and celebrate her inner strength and confidence in the midst of becoming a wonderful young chef.

If you could live in any fictional world, what would you choose and why? I would either like to live in Shannon Hales’ fictional world of Bayern because I love the idea of having a hint of magic in an otherwise normal world. Or to live in Anne Shirley’s Prince Edward Island because…well, its beautiful, there are horses, I’d love to fall off the ridgepole of Moody’s roof too (yes, that is romantic to me), and well, there’s Gilbert Blythe, who is all the reason I need.

Thank you so much for having me today!

You're very welcome! It was a delightful treat. :) I hope everyone enjoyed the interview and if you're still interested in finding out more about Lindsay, check out the next stop on the Scones &Sensibility blog tour tomorrow over at Booking Through 365! For the entire blog scheduele, click here.
 

Now, for the contest all you have to do is enter by: filling out this form! Very simple yes?
This contest is now closed.

Some important links about the contests I host: contest policy/privacy policy