A Visit to Mirabelle Harbor by Marilyn Brant

THE ONE THAT I WANT - The Mirabelle Harbor Series

THE ONE THAT I WANT – The Mirabelle Harbor Series

My new contemporary romance series — “Mirabelle Harbor” — is beginning in a month, and I can’t tell you all how excited I am about this project 🙂 . It’s been a long time coming!

Let me tell you a little story… Once upon a time, there was an aspiring writer who lived in the northern Chicago suburbs and who had a deep love of Jane Austen, a longstanding addiction to brownies, and a fascination with film actors… She wrote a manuscript that was populated with some modern Austenish characters (i.e., friends who have a close sisterly relationship, men who behave like Darcy or Wickham or some other intriguing JA-inspired chap, jealous Caroline Bingley types, mothers who want their daughters to marry advantageously, etc.), and she placed them in a setting that was the suburban equivalent of “three or four families in a country village,” which she believed was “the very thing to work on.” 😀

Despite her good intentions, however, this writer had not — at that time — learned all that much about the craft of fiction. She knew how to identify a great character and a perfect setting, but the construction of an original plotline, the escalation of narrative tension, and the emotion of a character and how it changes…well, these were things that would take some time to develop. So, she put this manuscript away and wrote a bunch of other books.

Chocolate Caramel Brownies with Nuts

Chocolate Caramel Brownies with Nuts

Fast forward 15 YEARS (!!!) and the time was finally right to bring Julia Crane — along with her best friend Sharlene, her old high school boyfriend Kristopher, her college flame Ben, and her longtime movie star idol Dane Tyler — back into the world again. Almost nothing but their names and a few scenic details could be kept from that first manuscript, but the writer KNEW these people, and now she also knew how to tell their story…

So, that was how THE ONE THAT I WANT was born, way back in the summer of 2000, although it went by many other titles before I found the right one. My love of Austen, brownies, and film actors has only grown in the years since then, and they all have a place in this new novel. But, more than that, my concept for where this story fits into the fictional worlds I’ve imagined has also grown and morphed into something rather different from the original. Several months ago, I realized that the Mirabelle Harbor community I’d envisioned — my version of “three or four families” — encompassed not one story but several novels I’d planned to write or, in fact, had already begun working on.

Ryan Gosling showing off his fit abs...

Ryan Gosling showing off his fit abs…

Perhaps some of you remember my Sense & Sensibility-inspired story GIFTS BY THE SHORE, yes? I posted several chapters from it back in the fall. and I now have about 2/3 of the novel completed. When looking in depth at the characters who live in my town of Mirabelle Harbor and the community they’ve created, I was stunned to realize that sisters Marianna and Ellen belonged there, too. That was the environment where they grew up. Julia’s family (the Meriwethers and the Cranes) and Sharlene’s family (the Michaelsens and the Boyds) were all ones that Marianna and Ellen would have known. So, I thought about all of these characters, who they were and how they’d interacted with each other in the past, and I began connecting the lines that linked them… As a result, GIFTS BY THE SHORE has been renamed STRANGER ON THE SHORE and it’ll be Book #4 in this new series! (I’m hoping that’ll be released this winter.) Before that one comes out, however, there are a few other stories to tell, *all* of which are stand-alone books. But readers can definitely expect characters from one novel to show up in the others!

The first two stories in the series, TAKE A CHANCE ON ME (Book #1) and THE ONE THAT I WANT (Book #2) will be released at the end of July!! (The pre-order for THE ONE THAT I WANT just went live — squeee!! And it’s on sale on Amazon until the release date!) I’m still putting the finishing touches on Nia Pappayiannis & Chance Michaelsen’s romance (TAKE A CHANCE ON ME – the Goodreads page HERE has the book description), so there won’t be a pre-order for that, but expect them both to come out within a week of each other. Chance, by the way, is Sharlene’s younger brother, and he’s a hot personal trainer at the local gym, Harbor Fitness. For those of you who’ve followed my “adventures at the health club” posts on Facebook, you won’t be surprised to hear that I drew my inspiration for Chance’s character from that Ryan Gosling lookalike that I see exercising sometimes. (*swoon*) If that’s not a reason to work out, I don’t know what is!!

I’ve told you some of the inspiration behind THE ONE THAT I WANT…but not all of it, LOL. Let’s just say that we all have our favorite actors from our teen years. Imagine somebody who fell in love with, say, Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen when she first saw him on the silver screen, and then 20 years went by and she finally got to meet him in person. What would that be like? And let’s say that high school or college boyfriend who still haunted your memories suddenly came into your life again, too, and perhaps wanted to pick up where you both left off, hmm? It was a premise that I found fascinating, even over a period of 15 years! And, so, here’s the back-cover blurb and a little snippet from THE ONE THAT I WANT. I hope you’ll enjoy it 🙂 .

Young Colin Firth

Young Colin Firth

The summer after her beloved husband died in a car accident, Julia Meriwether Crane is still picking up the pieces of her life in Mirabelle Harbor and trying to help her ten-year-old daughter adjust to this difficult new reality.

After her best friend Sharlene—one of the well-connected Michaelsen siblings—talks her into finally going out on the town again, Julia finds herself stunned to be the object of interest of several different men: The boy who’d broken her heart back in high school. The college ex she’d left behind. And most surprising of all, the movie actor she’d always fantasized about but had never met in person…until now. Can one woman have more than one “great love” in the same lifetime? And, if so, how can she be sure which man that’ll be?

Sometimes the person you think will be best for you isn’t the one you really want. THE ONE THAT I WANT, a Mirabelle Harbor story.

From the Novel:

Matthew Macfadyen onscreen

Matthew Macfadyen onscreen

With the exception of my best friend Sharlene, the others had gone back to their conversations so, thankfully, I didn’t have too many people witnessing my fumbles with setting up a (sort-of) date for the first time in twelve years. It was awkward, but I agreed to coffee with my old high-school boyfriend and gave Kristopher my phone number, which he dutifully punched into his cell so we could arrange a time and day to meet.

Shar nudged me when he wasn’t looking and whispered, “See? Not so hard, is it?”

I made a face at her and shrugged.

Finally, the party was beginning to break up. I was mentally congratulating myself on making it through the evening when the very sweet, well-dressed woman—Elsie was her name—wolf whistled. “Wait, people!”

Everyone halted.

“I’ve been wanting to tell you this good news all night.” She paused for effect. “You know my friend Rosemary, the one who works at the Knightsbridge Theater in the city, right?”

Most of the group nodded, seeming to have met Elsie’s friend or, at least, heard about her.

“There’s a dress rehearsal for their upcoming summer production, ‘The Bachelor Pad,’ this Thursday at six-thirty in the evening, in advance of next Friday’s Opening Night,” Elsie said. “And Rosemary reserved a block of seats for us.”

Despite the noise in the wine bar, an audible spike in sound came on the heels of those words, and a couple of the women actually squealed.

I squinted at them. I mean, tickets to a play were always nice, but wasn’t this taking theatrical enthusiasm a bit far?

“But that’s not all,” Elsie continued enthusiastically. “Rosemary also got us passes to meet the cast, just as she did for that steampunk musical last year—”

“Steampunk musical?” I hissed in Shar’s ear.

She nodded. “It was bizarre. Tell you more about it later.”

I grinned and brought my glass of wine to my lips, draining it of its final swallow.

“—including a special Q&A session with the director, Zachary Leeward,” Elsie added, “and with the star of the show, Dane Tyler.”

I choked on the last drops of merlot, coughing so hard that Bill reached across the table to hand me a fresh glass of ice water, Shar patted me on the back, and everyone else stared at me worriedly. Except for Kristopher. He shot me a knowing look.

Yeah, of course he’d remember that.

“Are you okay?” Elsie asked me.

I gulped down half the water. Oh, God. Of all the actors on the planet—Dane Tyler. Here? REALLY?

My teen world had just materialized out of thin air, like that freaky phantom ship that came from absolutely nowhere in Pirates of the Caribbean. My gut twisted weirdly, and I could barely breathe. “P-Please go on,” I managed to whisper.

She smiled. “So, if any of you want to go to the performance, and I know you do, let me know now, and I’ll email the list of names to Rosemary in the morning.”

Elsie was right. With the exception of one accountant guy, who had an out-of-town business trip next week, and a very disappointed single mom, whose kid was playing in a baseball tournament Thursday night, everyone else signed up to go.

Including me, at Shar’s insistence. And including Kristopher.

My old high-school boyfriend leaned over the table and said with a laugh, “Well, isn’t that something? Maybe, if you ask him real nice, he’ll recite your favorite lines from your favorite movie to you.”

“Ha,” I said weakly.

“Which lines? Which movie?” Shar asked.

Before I could reply, Elise jumped in and pointed to Shar and then me. “You two want to ride down with me?”

Shar answered for both of us. “Oh, yeah!”

Although I managed to stop tripping over my own tongue and was able to thank the kind woman, I didn’t succeed in making more than a few last bits of small talk. All I could do was blush furiously and think to myself, in the fevered squeaking of an adolescent schoolgirl, OMG, I’m finally going to see Dane Tyler in person! Maybe even talk to him!

In just one evening, three distinct memories of men from my past played out like a warped summertime version of A Christmas Carol in my mind. Haunting memories of relationships that I’d had or had lost or had wanted—sometimes simultaneously and always more powerfully than I’d expected—were reeling through my brain on a continuous loop, braiding my emotions with the mental film footage.

Before my best friend could ask me any more questions I didn’t want to answer, I hugged her goodnight and raced into the evening, forgetting until my feet hit the pavement and I collapsed into the driver’s seat of my car that I wasn’t, in fact, lost in time.

That I wasn’t living out some high-school fantasy.

That I wasn’t a vulnerable young woman, helpless in the face of fate.

I started the engine, replayed those last three thoughts again, and shook my head.

Like hell I wasn’t.

***

This is just gratuitous brownie posting, but just look at these!

This is just gratuitous brownie posting at this point, but LOOK at these!

FYI: There’s a special pre-order price on Amazon worldwide for THE ONE THAT I WANT — 25% off right now!! Here are the direct links: Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK
The book is also up for pre-order on Smashwords and Kobo, and it’ll coming soon to iBooks and B&N!

***

So, who’s the actor/actress you had the biggest crush on as a teen? Would you want to meet him/her now?? 😀
xox, Marilyn

24 comments

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    • LeslieGB on June 24, 2015 at 2:10 am
    • Reply

    Hi Marilyn,
    Congratulations on your new book series. I can’t wait to read. I love your stories. Thanks for the excerpt. –Leslie

    1. Thanks so much, Leslie!! I’m glad you liked the excerpt and I hope you’ll enjoy the novel 🙂 . xo

    • EvelynTost on June 24, 2015 at 4:27 am
    • Reply

    Very Interesting! I don’t usually read anything much in current times and little other than P&P stuff, but I think you’ve hooked me with this! Thanks for the preview!!

    1. Evelyn, thank you! I’m so thrilled the preview drew you in… 😀
      P&P will *always* be my favorite novel — it’s just so brilliant! But the lessons Jane taught us all from her writing and, most importantly to me, the keen insight she had on the way people behave, is something I think is so timeless and so applicable to our modern world…

  1. So exciting! Congratulations, Marilyn on your ‘new baby’-wishing you great success!

    1. Thank you so, so much, Jane!!
      I appreciate the good wishes — I’m truly very excited about this entire project 😉 .

    • Stephanie L on June 24, 2015 at 9:42 am
    • Reply

    Okay hang on, it’s going to take me awhile to focus with that Ryan Gosling picture in there three inches from turtle brownies. Geez Marilyn, way to throw a girl out of focus first thing in the morning. LOL The biggest crush I had was on Kirk Cameron. I mean I had wallpaper *facepalm*. He is a Christian movie producer now and I think we could have a lovely conversation but there would be no swooning. Hugh Jackman was my favorite from about mid-20s on (first saw him in The Man from Snowy River) and I would still swoon if I met him today.

    I always look forward to your books, and considering that I’m a HUGE fan of series or interlinked novels, I’m ridiculously excited about this. Glad that you’re getting those stories out to see the light of day! Off to pre-order!

    1. LOL, Stephanie!! 😀
      I know…Ryan Gosling & brownies… I had to reassure my husband and son that I was really “working” yesterday when I was looking up those images!
      And, ohhh, Kirk Cameron! I remember what a huge star he was!! I read an interview with Leonardo DiCaprio a few years back where he said how awed he was by Kirk when they acted together on “Growing Pains.” Leo hoped he would be as famous as Kirk someday… 😉
      And THANK YOU so much for your kind words about my books & for pre-ordering this one!! You made my day! xoxo

  2. Congratulations on your upcoming releases, Marilyn!! I’m so excited for you!! 🙂 And this series sounds absolutely wonderful! I had been wondering lately what had happened to your S&S-themed story, so now I know! 🙂

    My biggest crush was Pierce Brosnan as Remington Steele…and onward. 😉 In my late 20’s, it was Colin Firth of course (and still is). All my faves are British, Irish, or Scottish.

    Congrats, again!! 🙂

    Warmly,
    Susanne 🙂

    1. Susanne,
      Thank you so much!! Yes, I’ve been asked several times about what happened to that S&S-inspired story but didn’t want to say anything definite until I knew for sure that this series would be published. I’m so glad to finally get to share the info with all of you! 🙂
      As for Pierce Brosnan…ohhh, I was a big fan of his in “Remington Steele,” too. So. Very. Dashing. My favorite of all of his films & TV shows was as the lead in “The Thomas Crown Affair” remake — did you see it?! It’s R-rated for nudity/sexuality and language, so be aware of that, if you haven’t watched it already, but I thought he was brilliant in that film. And, seriously, what’s not to love about Colin Firth in ANYTHING?! *swoon*

    • Monica P on June 24, 2015 at 4:26 pm
    • Reply

    Congratulations! I just saw this on Goodreads yesterday. I’m happy that you’re still working on Gil & Mariana’s story and are incorporating it into the series. And gratuitous brownie pics are always alright by me!

    Is it crazy that I can’t think of an actor I was crazy about as a teen? I know in my pre-teen years it was all about rock stars, my walls were covered in posters. As a teen I was too busy gabbing on the phone and doing dumb things like frying myself in the sun to watch much tv. I think I’m more ga-ga over actors now than I was then and surely if I met any of them now, I’d turn red like a beet and say something completely asinine.

    Off to pre order! xo

    1. Monica,
      Thank you, my friend!! Sending you a few virtual brownies — warm, straight from the oven, and with ice cream on top 😉 .
      I did the same thing as you — I had rock-star posters all over my bedroom walls! Hall & Oates, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, this Australian group called Dragon, and more… I’ve never gotten to meet a musician or an actor that I had a crush on, though. I’m not sure I’d be able to say anything at all, LOL. I briefly met Dennis DeYoung of Styx a few years back (not a crush, although I did love his music!), and I was tongue tied even then… XO

  3. I loved the cover, Marilyn, as well as the tempting photo — brownies always look so delicious! Your execerpt certainly wet my appetite, too! Congratulations on the new series!

    1. Monica – thank you! I’m so pleased you like the cover…and, of course, the brownies 🙂 . I think I gain weight just by looking at pictures of them in all of their chocolate gooeyness, LOL, but they are one of my favorite desserts. Many thanks for the congrats, too! I appreciate it.

    • Constance on June 24, 2015 at 8:45 pm
    • Reply

    I don’t usually read a lot of books set in present time but your story really appealed to me. It seems like the beginning of a sweet (no pun intended!) love story. I don’t eat sugar but a picture of a brownie never hurt anyone! Young Colin Firth could make me swoon any day of the week! Looking forward to the series.

    1. Constance,
      I’m thrilled that my story appealed to you — thank you for telling me so! I really hope you’ll enjoy this new series. Writing about Mirabelle Harbor and its residents has been such a joy.
      And that young Colin Firth picture…I know, right?! Mmmm! 🙂 Handsome and also talented!!

    • Deborah on June 25, 2015 at 6:27 am
    • Reply

    I am so looking forward to the release of this series. This excerpt has whetted my appetite. The actor that I had a crush on….there are a few…Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger) [I really wanted to be pulled up onto his gorgeous horse, Silver, when rescued] and Richard Chamberlain (The Three Musketeers). Thank you so much for sharing, Marilyn.

    1. Deborah, thank you so much! You’ve been incredibly supportive of all of my stories, and you know how much I appreciate your feedback 😉 .
      As for the men you mentioned — very swoon worthy! I loved Richard Chamberlain, too, especially when he was in “The Thorn Birds”!
      xox

  4. Congratulations Marilyn, patience and 15 years of writing skills will make this a great read, oh and the guy that looks like Ryan Gosling too!

    1. LOL, Laurel Ann!! Thank you so much!
      It was great fun to finally have an excuse to base one of my heroes on our handsome Mr. Gosling 🙂 .

    • Kris on June 25, 2015 at 11:10 pm
    • Reply

    I was wondering what happened with Gifts By the Shore. I really enjoyed it. Especially since I’m from Sarasota. So I’ll be looking forward to Stranger on the Shore. Can’t wait!

    1. Kris,
      Thank you!! It was incredibly exciting when I figured out that connection between Mirabelle Harbor and everything that was happening in Sarasota with Marianna & Gil 😉 . Back when I was posting the scenes here, I hadn’t yet gotten to the part where she goes to St. Armand’s Circle and meets a small group of women. One of those ladies is someone who was originally from Mirabelle Harbor and they have mutual friends in common. So, it’ll be really fun to get to go back to writing Stranger on the Shore now, knowing even more about both communities/sets of characters, and to finally be able to share the whole story with all of you!

  5. Yeah, another book series by Marilyn. Congrats! Thanks for clarifying Gifts by the Shore will be the fourth book in the Mirabelle Harbor series. I was wondering what happened to it when I heard you will be publishing The One that I Want.

    As a teenager, I had a crush on Christien Anholt when I saw him in Relic Hunter. I don’t follow his career much so I wouldn’t want to meet him now.

    1. LĂșthien,
      Thank you so much!!
      Yes, the mystery of Gifts by the Shore was finally solved 😉 . It’s a funny thing with characters… Even if you leave them alone for a while or work on another project, once they’ve become “real” to the author, I don’t think they ever just go away. They just sit patiently, waiting for us to pick up the pen again and continue their story.
      As for Christien Anholt, I have not yet seen “Relic Hunter”!! Must see if I can get ahold of the series here. I read the description, and it sounds so interesting!

  1. […] some of you may remember from my last AV post — A Visit to Mirabelle Harbor — this contemporary romance series had its origins 15 years ago when I was still an aspiring […]

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