Jennifer Brown

Today, to start my "Lunching with the Leads" blog series, I'm feasting with Sarah MacLean's main character, Lady Alexandra Stafford, from MacLean's debut YA novel, THE SEASON.

About THE SEASON:

Seventeen-year-old Lady Alexandra Stafford doesn't fit into the world of Regency London — she's strong-willed, sharp-tongued, and she absolutely loathes dress fittings. Unfortunately, her mother has been waiting for years for Alex to be old enough to take part in the social whirlwind of a London Season so she can be married off to someone safe, respectable, wealthy, and almost certainly boring. But Alex is much more interested in adventure than romance.

Between sumptuous balls, lavish dinner parties and country weekends, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get entangled in her biggest scrape yet. When the Earl of Blackmoor is killed in a puzzling accident, Alex decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. It's a mystery brimming with espionage, murder, and suspicion. As she and Gavin grow closer, will Alex's heart be stolen in the process?

Romance and danger fill the air, as this year's Season begins!

This is so exciting! What's it like to lunch with a Lady? Well... let's ask!

Where will we be meeting?

You could come to Worthington House, but my mother tends to overdo meals that include guests. I imagine it comes with the territory of being a duchess. 

Instead, let's have a picnic in Hyde Park.  We'll take the carriage there and and find a sunny patch of green where we can chat.

Oh, yes! Picnics are great! Maybe then I won't feel so funny in my *ahem* jeans and T-shirt. The Duchess would have made me nervous.

What will we be eating?

I'll have cook pack us a luncheon.  How does roasted squab and greens sound?  Oh, and she makes raspberry tarts that are divine.  I'll have her pack extras of those.  Yum.

Mmmm... sounds lovely. I've never had squab before.

Would you like to invite another guest to join us, Lady Alexandra?

Do you mind very much if I invite two guests?  It's hard for me to choose between Lady Vivian Markwell and Lady Eleanor Redburn.  Vivi, Ella and I have been best friends since birth...I can't invite one without the other.  Oh, and I should probably mention that one of the risks of a picnic in Hyde Park is that we can't keep my brothers away. They're insufferable, but females tend to like them...though I can't see why.

I bet I'll be able to figure out why! Prrr...

Let's chat! What would be the one thing you hope I don't want to talk about?

Marriage.  I hear enough about making a good match from my mother, brothers, and others.  It will be a treat to spend a few hours not discussing how I should go about landing a wealthy, titled lord. 

Okay, marriage is a no-no. So what should we talk about, then?

I've never heard of this candy...but it's quite extraordinary.  Mmmm.  Better than Cook's raspberry tarts.  Do you think you could have your cook give her the recipe?

I'll see what I can do.

Want to know more about Lady Alexandra? Buy your copy of THE SEASON by clicking here or here.

Catch the next stop of Sarah MacLean's blog tour tomorrow, when she visits with author Jenny Moss!

About Sarah MacLean:

Sarah MacLean is the author of THE SEASON, a YA novel coming in March 2009 from Scholastic.  She grew up in Rhode Island, where she spent much of her free time bemoaning the fact that she was more than a century too late for own Season. Her unabashed addiction to historical fiction helped to earn her a degree in European History from Smith College before she moved to New York City to pursue a career in publishing. After receiving a Masters in Education from Harvard University, Sarah returned to New York, where she lives with her husband, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels.  She is currently working on a series of regency-set romances to be released in 2010 from Avon/HarperCollins.

Don't forget to visit Sarah at her website:www.macleanspace.com

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Next up on my "Lunching with Leads" blog tour is Stacey Jay, author of YOU ARE SO UNDEAD TO ME. With a title like that, I'm already working up an appetite! Catch Stacey's main character on Friday, February 27th, right here.