A Modern Twist on Persuasion

Some of you may already know this because of conversations with me on Facebook (I couldn’t contain my excitement last week 😀 ), but my Persuasion-inspired addition to the Mirabelle Harbor series, which is also the final chapter in this contemporary Austenesque story collection, is now complete!!!!!!!!

I’ve got the story details, and pre-order links!! AND, just for you all, a scene excerpt that’s never been shared before. I really hope you’ll enjoy it! xox

Here’s the back-cover summary for COMING HOME:

There’s double the trouble in this romantic story pairing when ex-lovers, Abby Solinski and Chandler Michaelsen, both return to their hometown of Mirabelle Harbor, only to find that the happily ever after they thought they’d given up may, in fact, still be a possibility…just not with the person they’d expected!

ROCKET MAN
Abby had a crush on “Rocket Rick” Zimmerman way back in high school, but he was her brother’s best friend and graduated a couple of years ahead of her, leaving town for an international life of top-secret, science-nerd intrigue. She didn’t understand a fraction of what he did professionally, and he wasn’t allowed to tell her anyway. Abby, meanwhile, meandered around the country with her then-boyfriend, Chandler, eventually winding up alone and working at a couple of part-time jobs in Florida. She’d resigned herself to being single forever and living on the sunny Gulf Coast, a thousand miles away from her Midwestern origins.
 *
But when her parents need her help back in Mirabelle Harbor, she flies home for a week and runs into Rick again, who’s back in the Chicago area for a big physics convention. Immediately, she’s caught up in a surprising game of “Booster Ignition and Liftoff,” where the object seems to be an answer to this scientific question: Just how fast can things heat up between them without somebody getting burned?

SOMEONE LIKE YOU
As for Chandler, he had no intention whatsoever of coming back to Mirabelle Harbor. When he and Abby broke up, he headed north on his motorcycle from Sarasota to Atlanta, and a life on the road was how he wanted to roll. But then his twin brother, Chance, goes and gets himself engaged, and the groom insists that Chandler needs to be the best man. Fine. He’ll drive back for a few days, for the sake of his twin, but no one had better expect him to stay in town.  Of course, that’s before he knows his dream woman—beautiful bookstore owner, Jaleina Longoria—is going to be at the wedding.

*
Jaleina is not only eight and a half years his senior, she’s also the ex-fiancée of his eldest brother, who’d broken up with her to marry someone else years earlier. That never stopped Chandler from considering Jaleina to be his Ultimate Fantasy. Getting her to stop thinking of him as the restless teen boy he’d once been, however, is going to prove quite a challenge. Especially since the restlessness is still there, even though he’s now a very passionate—and very determined—full-grown man.

Sometimes what you think you’re returning to isn’t what you’d really left behind. COMING HOME, a pair of Mirabelle Harbor stories.
 *

EXCLUSIVE SCENE EXCERPT (*this is from Chandler & Jaleina’s story – Someone Like You – in Jaleina’s point of view*)

Chandler spent half the morning with me at the bookstore, keeping me company when I wasn’t helping other customers, asking me questions to prolong our conversation, and getting me to laugh aloud in spite of myself. Best—or worst—of all, he made it clear that he wanted to see me while he was in town and not just in passing at the wedding.

Loneliness could make a woman weak, and it’d been far too long since I’d had a significant other in my life. Just showed what could happen when a woman was thirty-eight and hadn’t gotten laid in over a year. Having a guy paying attention to me was seductive, even if he was too young for me and couldn’t possibly be sincere in his interest.

In my defense, though, no one who hadn’t known Chandler for nearly a decade and a half, the way I had, would have thought he was anything like the scrawny teen of years’ past. His twin hadn’t left town and had grown into a sexy and confident man, too, but Chance was wholesome, for want of a better word. Absolutely perfect for Nia and an all-around sweetheart to the residents of Mirabelle Harbor, if somewhat serious.

Chandler was many things, but wholesome and sweet weren’t two of them. A person could read the difference in the expression in his eyes. The firm brackets around his lips. The posture he used when he strode into a room. He had a way of claiming every step he took, like a predator.

And heaven help me, while in his company, it was strangely difficult to think of myself as a lecherous older woman out to corrupt him. Not when he was staring at me like a wolf.

As Chandler and I continued to chat, one customer came up to the front register, arms full of books. She wanted to buy a six-volume set of Jane Austen novels, along with a pair of bookmarks with literary quotes.

“I hope you’ll enjoy these,” I told her as I bagged her purchases.

“Oh, I already love Austen,” the older woman gushed. “These novels are for my granddaughter. I want to get her hooked while she’s still easy to influence.”

“How old is she?” I asked, expecting her to say a teenager or, maybe, a young woman in her twenties.

“Just turned four,” the woman replied. “Can’t start too early introducing her to Jane.” Then she winked and all but waltzed out the door.

Chandler and I laughed.

“A super fan,” he noted.

I agreed. “Then again, it’s really romantic that Chance and Nia are getting married on Jane Austen’s birthday, December sixteenth. From what Nia told me, that was her first choice for the wedding date.”

“I’m not surprised. Nia, Shar, Vicky, and Olivia are all period drama freaks.”

I crossed my arms and mock-glared at him.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” he added quickly, raising his palms in a sign of surrender. “But Blake and Declan were complaining about all the Regency costumes and literary shit their girlfriends are into. Chance and Derek know better than to say anything. But there’s some Pride and Prejudice marathon on PBS this week, and the ladies have been going crazy over it. Blake starts to gag every time the subject comes up.”

This made me grin just thinking about it. I knew what an extensive reader Blake Michaelsen was, despite his tough-guy image. He’d been an outstanding customer of mine for years. So I also knew he had to be putting on an act for his family. The guy had read nearly all of the classics, including several novels by Austen, and not a single soul had made him do it.

Persuasion is my favorite of the stories, but I’ve been watching the Pride and Prejudice marathon on TV, too,” I informed Chandler. “It’s excellent.”

“Well, you’d fit right in with the rest of my family then,” he said, stopped abruptly, and then grimaced at the awkwardness that followed. “Sorry, Jaleina. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay,” I tried to reassure him. “That’s water under the bridge. Really.”

He muttered something I couldn’t catch. Something about “Derek” and “fool.” I might have been flattered if I’d heard the whole thing, but it didn’t matter in any case. I wasn’t a Michaelsen woman, and I never would be. Chandler’s big brother, Derek, had made sure of that…

***

If you’re interested in reading more, I’ve got two other short excerpts — one for each of the stories. Just check out the COMING HOME page on my website, which also has the “Soundtrack” for the book!!  😎

Pre-orders are live for the ebook of COMING HOME at Amazon, B&N, iBooks, and Kobo, and the paperback will be available soon, too!

Amazon   BN    iBooks    Kobo

 

To learn more about the individual novels & novellas in the series (FYI: all of them are standalone stories and most have been influenced by Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, or Persuasion), visit the Mirabelle Harbor series page on my website. It has links to excerpts and other special content for all of the books!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the excerpt or, if you’ve read any of the other Mirabelle Harbor stories, something you liked about one of them! Wishing you all a wonderful start to this new season with lots of enjoyable reading ahead!!

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  1. This sounds like a wonderful series! I love Jane Austen’s writing, especially Persuasion! I also love your writing, so, you, rewriting Jane Austen? Its got to be great!!! Thanks for this chance to win one of your books! I’m going to check out this series on Amazon right now!

    1. Thanks so much for your kind comments, Taswmom!! It makes my day to know you love my writing 🙂 . And thank you for checking out the series!! xo

  2. How wonderful!! Congratulations, Marilyn!! Looks like a great summer read.

    1. Many thanks for the cheers, Monica!!! I truly appreciate it 🙂 .
      xoxo

    • BeckyC on June 22, 2017 at 9:06 am
    • Reply

    Congratulations, Marilyn! ~~~dointhehappydance~~~
    Wonderful series! I have read part of them. Summer is the perfect time to bump them up the list! Thank you for the giveaway

    1. Becky,
      Ohhh, thank you!! I really hope you’ll enjoy the ones you haven’t yet read, and many thanks for the kind congrats! 🙂

    • Carole in Canada on June 22, 2017 at 9:07 am
    • Reply

    WhooHoo! Throwing confetti! Congratulations! I am so far behind on this series! I know they are all standalones but I want to read them in order. It will happen!!!! This one sounds very intriguing! My dad was 6 years younger than my mother! Thank you for the excerpt! Loved it!

    1. Carole,
      YAY!!!!!!! Thrilled to hear that you loved the excerpt — thank you!!! I truly hope you’ll enjoy the series. And I love knowing that your dad was younger than your mom. One of my good friends is very happily married to a man 9 years her junior, but he had to work really hard to convince her to give their relationship a shot 😀 .

    • DarcyBennett on June 22, 2017 at 9:32 am
    • Reply

    Loved the excerpt and the premise of this book. Thanks for the giveaway!

    1. You’re so welcome, Darcy!!
      Thank you for taking the time to read the excerpt and comment on my post! 🙂

    • StephanieL on June 22, 2017 at 9:36 am
    • Reply

    Yay!! SO excited. You well know how much I love this series so this makes my little heart verrrry happy. And it being a twofer is the cherry on top. 😉 Congrats Marilyn!

      • StephanieL on June 22, 2017 at 9:37 am
      • Reply

      and please leave me out of the drawing as I have them all in all forms.

      1. Ohhh, Ms. Stephanie!! I’ve said it before and it’s worth repeating — I couldn’t have written this series without you, sweet friend!! Thank you 😉 . xoxo

    • Linda A. on June 22, 2017 at 10:01 am
    • Reply

    I enjoyed the excerpt and must add these to my TBR pile. Thanks for the chance to win a copy! Congratulations on the new stories.

    1. Thank you so, so much, Linda!! I’m delighted to know you enjoyed the excerpt 😉 .

    • Lori on June 22, 2017 at 10:12 am
    • Reply

    So exciting! I’m heading over to check out the series now!!

    1. Many thanks for taking the time to check out the series, Lori!!
      Hope you’ll enjoy it 😉 .

    • Deborah on June 22, 2017 at 11:13 am
    • Reply

    Wow! Where have I been? Congratulations on the completion of the series!

    1. Deborah, thank you!!! Glad to have a chance to finally get to Chandler’s story after all of this time… 😀 I so appreciate your kind congrats! xo

  3. Love the cover!

    1. Thanks, Melanie!! I love what the cover artist did with it 😉 . xox

    • Brandy on June 22, 2017 at 1:57 pm
    • Reply

    I love it Marilyn ❤
    I can’t wait!!! 🙂

    1. *Hug!!* Thank you so much, Brandy!!
      Can’t wait to share this one with you! 😀 xo

  4. Hi Marilyn!

    I really enjoyed the excerpt here and the two on your website. I’m not usually that interested in contemporary stories, but your series may be an exception (as was Melanie’s Sway).

    I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the give-away–thank you for this opportunity to win one of your books!!

    Thanks for the excerpts, too!! 😀

    Warmly,
    Susanne 🙂

    1. Susanne, thanks for taking the time to read all the excerpts!! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed them — makes my day! 😀 And you’re most welcome for the giveaway opportunity, too! xox

    • Mikaela Broadfoot on June 22, 2017 at 6:58 pm
    • Reply

    Congratulations on finishing the series. It’s definitely gone onto my wish list so I remember to get them.

    1. That’s so kind of you, Mikaela!!
      Thank you 🙂 . I really hope you’ll love the series!

    • Sheila L. Majczan on June 22, 2017 at 10:51 pm
    • Reply

    As you know I have read and posted reviews on several in this series and I will at some time read the “rest of the stories”. It is only a matter of time. I have enjoyed each one and look forward to more of the same type of pleasure. Thank you for sharing here and for a chance to win.

    1. Sheila, *every single one* of your reviews for my stories (whether for this series or for one of my other books) has been a day brightener to read!! xoxoxo THANK YOU for being so kind and for always taking the time to write such thoughtful reviews and comments. 😉 I appreciate you so much!!

    • Vee on June 23, 2017 at 6:35 am
    • Reply

    Wonderful! So exciting! Congrats Marilyn this excerpt is fab. I’m going to preorder right away! Cannot wait to read the next novel in this entertaining series.

    1. Oh, Vee!!!!! *HUGS* to you, sweet friend! 🙂
      Thank you so much. I’ve been truly fortunate to have you in my corner! XOXO

    • tgruy on June 23, 2017 at 11:47 pm
    • Reply

    This is pretty awesome! I loved the excerpt and I hope to get lucky and win one of the e-books!

    1. Yay!!!
      Thanks for taking the time to comment, tgruy 😀 . And I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you… So pleased you loved the excerpt — thank you!

  5. I am so glad to hear that your new book will be releasing soon, Marilyn. Persuasion is one of my favourite novels so I am happy that Coming Home is based on that. Btw, love the excerpt and the cover. And pink is my favourite colour!

    1. Lúthien, thank you — as always! — for your sweet comments! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the excerpt and that you liked the cover 😀 . As for pink, it’s my fave color, too!! xox

  6. Random drawing just completed!!
    Congrats to Mikaela Broadfoot & Becky C on winning their choice of either TAKE A CHANCE ON ME or ONE NIGHT LOVE AFFAIR in mobi, epub or pdf!
    Please let me know here or via email (marilynbrant AT gmail DOT com) which ebook you’d like and your preferred format — as well as the best email address to send it to you 😉 .
    And thank you to EVERYONE who took the time to comment. I appreciate you all so much!! xoxo

      • Sheila L. Majczan on July 3, 2017 at 4:18 pm
      • Reply

      Congratulations to the winners. Enjoy.

      1. 🙂 🙂

    • Sheila L. Majczan on July 4, 2017 at 12:27 am
    • Reply

    Congratulations to the winners. I just finished book #5 in the series and will be posting my review tomorrow (actually later today) and will definitely read these two short stories…I think I already have them on my kindle. Always love your hot romances, Marilyn. The last one (Shar & Declan) had me thinking someone might just be influenced by 50 Shades…just a wee bit?

    1. Sheila,
      I *loved* your review!!!
      Thank you so much for reading One Night Love Affair, and LOL about your 50 Shades comment! I’d be willing to bet that Shar and Declan would be especially pleased to hear that 😀 . It was great fun to write a steamier romance for them, and I felt it fit their personalities.
      I remember your having said that you were waiting for that true happily ever after for certain Mirabelle Harbor characters… I hope that in the final two stories releasing in September (the COMING HOME duet) that you’ll get that “ahhh” moment. XOXO

        • Sheila L. Majczan on August 5, 2017 at 7:30 pm
        • Reply

        Marilyn, I did read this before but now in trying to clean out my mail box just thought I would say I am looking forward to that. I have heart surgery on Tuesday so plan to listen to a few audible books. Good luck with your writing. Sheila

        1. Just saw your reply, Sheila! Thinking of you…xoxo Hope the surgery this week went smoothly and that you’re well on the road to recovery! <3

  1. […] A few years ago, I wrote a duet of second-chance loves stories that are stand-alones in my Mirabelle Harbor series. That book (Coming Home) contains 2 novellas — Rocket Man & Someone Like You — and it was my gift to commenters here when my most recent novel, The Secret Life of Maggie Blake,  was released in May.  The second story in particular, Someone Like You, is my modern love letter to JA’s Persuasion, and it does, in fact, include a love letter late in the story — a play on Wentworth’s own! If you’d like to read an excerpt from that novella, it can be found in this post HERE. […]

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