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!

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!

           

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!!