This might be the single most exciting moment in a book’s evolution.
Oh, there are many exciting moments. The day you ink the deal with your publisher and realize that your book will be made and shared with readers. Launch day. The first stop on a whirlwind book tour.
But there’s something uniquely exciting about seeing the hard copy of the manuscript for the first time. They call them, in industry-speak, the designed pages or “First Pass” pages. You can see in this photo how they arrived. I love them, I think the publisher did a fantastic job.
With these pages, my editing moves out of the computer and into the physical realm. Here I sit, holding these words in my hands, marking the pages along the margins and thinking this is it — once I finish this round of edits and send these pages back to my editor, this book is out of my hands and out of my control. It goes to the publisher, who signs off and sends it along to that mysterious process of production. My draft, my manuscript, is on its way to becoming a book.
This is where I am right now. So many of you have asked and patiently waited and so now I am thrilled to share the news about Book Three. Book Three will be the next installment of Sisi’s life story. Let me just say this: if you think part one was dramatic, wait until you see what’s next!
In the coming weeks I will have ALL SORTS of exciting updates, such as the brand-spanking new cover (spoiler alert: it’s gorgeous), the precise publication date, the early reviews, etc.
Until then, here is my synopsis for you. I hope it is enough to get you excited for Spring of 2016. I know that I sure am.
SISI
A sweeping and powerful novel, Sisi tells the enthralling and little known story of a woman ahead of her time: Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary. Known as “the most beautiful woman alive,” and married to the most powerful emperor in the world, Elisabeth, “Sisi,” captured the heart of her people as a strong and dynamic heroine during the Golden Age of the Habsburg Court, when living legends like Strauss, Klimt, Wagner, and Freud were fighting for their place in history.
New York Times bestselling author Allison Pataki paints a gripping portrait of nineteenth century Vienna, as history’s beloved “fairy queen” weathers passionate love affairs and tragic losses, struggling against the conflicting desires to fight to keep her family together or flee amidst the collapse of her seemingly idyllic marriage and the gathering tumult of the First World War.
At times both epic and poignantly intimate, Sisi unveils an incredible page-turner about a woman who captured the imagination of the world and changed the course of history. Featuring larger than life historical figures such as Bavaria’s Mad King Ludwig and the Crown Prince Rudolph, and set against many of Europe’s grandest sites—from Germany’s storied Neuschwanstein Castle to England’s lush shires and the white beaches of Greece—this tale brings to life the intrigue, love, and passions that drove one of history’s most complex heroines, and the romantic, volatile era over which she presided.
In an age of crumbling monarchies, Sisi saved an empire and asserted her right to the throne beside her husband, Emperor Franz Joseph. But could she save herself? Hers is a story that proves once and for all that history is more dramatic than fiction.
Allison Pataki is the New York Times bestselling author of The Traitor’s Wife and The Accidental Empress. The daughter of former New York State Governor George E. Pataki, Allison was inspired to write about Sisi thanks to her family’s deep roots in the former Habsburg empire of Austria-Hungary. She graduated cum laude from Yale University with a major in English. Allison is the co-founder of the nonprofit organization ReConnect Hungary, regularly contributes to The Huffington Post, and is a member of the Historical Novel Society.
For readers of the rich and salacious historical fiction of Philippa Gregory, Paula McLain, and Jennifer Chiaverini comes a sweeping and powerful novel of a woman ahead of her time: Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary. New York Times bestselling author Allison Pataki paints a dazzlingly vivid portrait of nineteenth century Vienna, and follows the captivating royal through her years in the glittering Habsburg Court, from the collapse of her seemingly idyllic fairytale marriage to her dramatic end amid the gathering tumult of the First World War.
