Today I am delighted to welcome Sara Marks to Diary of an Eccentric for the first time to celebrate the release of her new novel, Modern Persuasion, a novel inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion. I asked Sara if she would be kind enough to share her story of coming to love Jane Austen. Please give her a warm welcome:
High School Overachievement in Reading
I knew very little in High School, but one thing I did know was that I was going to have to read Pride and Prejudice in my senior year. I have always been a voracious reader and I wanted, at the time, to be ready for the book when it was time to read it. That how I ended up reading P&P on my own as a Junior. I still have the copy they gave us when we read it my senior year. There were so many things I missed as a teenager, but the more often I read Austen books, the more comfortable I got with them. Over the years I would read more books, stopping and starting as my irritation at characters ebbed and flowed. I stopped reading for a few years when I tried Sense & Sensibility. I felt annoyed with characters in this book, especially Marianne. I enjoyed Northanger Abbey years later, but Mansfield Park felt like it just never ended. Persuasion was the last of her books that I read and has been firmly locked in my heart ever since.
Movies, Mini-Series, and More
I spent most of my adult reading life as a fan of fantasy and science fiction more than classics. I re-read a few favorite Austen book (P&P, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion), but, like for many others, it was the movies and adaptations that I found most enjoyable. I remember the first time I saw Clueless, just as I was starting to read Emma for the first time and realizing they were one and the same. I remember watching the BBC P&P miniseries and realizing Mr. Darcy SHOULD have lovely curls…he should ALWAYS HAVE CURLS! I love Colin Firth, but I had to cast my own Mr. Darcy and, alas, he will never play the role… The modern movies and mini-series have more of a place in my heart than the classic ones. I prefer McFayden’s Emo-Darcy or Matthew Ryhs’ coy and playful interpretation.
I Gave Myself Permission to Write
The shift in my obsession stems from Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. I know it’s not for everyone, but it brought me back to Austen in a way nothing else had. For me, it was the introduction to the idea that I could write fan fiction of Austen and tell an original story. It got me interested in reading the Jane Austen Fan Fiction (some I loved and some made me cringe…most I loved). Seeing other authors try to modernize, re-interpret, extend, or look back in time on Jane’s stories was thrilling as a reader and writer. Then came the Lizzy Bennet Diaries and it was like I had permission to write the fantasies inside my head. I had always played around with trying to understand who a character would be if he or she was alive today.
What Comes Next?
I have taken a break from most JAFF at the moment because I am writing it. I read it with a range of emotions from “I would have done this instead” or “well, all my writing is crap compared to this!” I have a list of Persuasion JAFF books that I am going to finally read once Modern Persuasion comes out! I am also re-reading Austen’s books on my blog. I have done Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. This fall will be Emma and winter 2018 I will do Pride and Prejudice. It helps me get back into the frame of the story as I write my modernizations. I love having my readers leave comments through the readings!
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About Modern Persuasion:
Which would you pick: the person you love or your own dreams? What would you do if given a second chance at that decision? Eight years ago Emma Shaw picked her career and family over the man she loved, Fredrick Wentworth. Since then she has built a career in publishing and spends her free time making sure her father and sisters are taken care of. Fredrick has spent the same years building his career as a screenwriter under increasing public scrutiny as a celebrity. When the editor of Fredrick s first book is injured, Emma is forced to travel with Fredrick on his book tour. Tension builds for the two former lovers over the course of the tour. Emma and Fredrick must face their emotional baggage and their misunderstanding about how their break-up impacted the other. Will they be able to find their way back together for a second chance at love?
Check out Modern Persuasion on Goodreads | Amazon
Read a sample chapter here.
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About the Author
Sara Marks is an author, knitter, Wikipedian, and librarian from Massachusetts. Born in Boston, her family moved to Miami, Florida, when she was 3. There she spent the next 14 years of her life. She attended Florida State University for 3 years, but graduated with an A.A from Miami-Dade College and a B.A. from Florida International University before moving back to Boston for graduate school. She hasn’t left Massachusetts since (except to visit people and places in the world). Now, over fifteen years later and over 10 years of participating in National Novel Writing Month, she is releasing her first novel, Modern Persuasion, with Illuminated Myth Publishing. Sara works with local writing group Mill Pages, which creates an annual anthology of short stories, poems, and art work. She is a member of the Society of Independent Publishers and Authors (SIPA), a group supporting writers in the Merrimack Valley.
When she isn’t writing, Sara is an academic librarian at University of Massachusetts Lowell. She has a masters degree in library science and another in Communications. She is an active Wikipedian who has been editing Wikipedia for over 10 years. She is a member of Toastmasters International where she has twice earned the status of Distinguished Toastmaster, the highest status members can achieve. She is one of the local organizers for National Novel Writing Month. She is an avid knitter who designs and publishes her own patterns. She love unicorns, Paris, and the color purple.
Connect with Sara via email | website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads
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Giveaways
#1: Sara is generously offering an ebook copy of Modern Persuasion to one lucky reader! To enter, please leave a comment with your email address and tell us what most excites you about the book. This giveaway will close on Sunday, June 4, 2017. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced in the comments section of this post.
#2: She is also offering a special giveaway to U.S. readers. Since part of the story happens on Frederick’s book tour, she is offering touristy knick-knacks from each of the cities they visit (the NYC item will be a surprise!). The winner will receive the entire collection of knick-knacks and an autographed paperback copy of the book. To enter, you need to sign up for her mailing list, and you can do so and enter the giveaway through the Rafflecopter link. Everyone who signs up for the mailing list is added to the raffle and also will receive a short story related to Modern Persuasion: “Mary and the Anti-Feminist.” This giveaway ends on June 5.
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5/24 JustJane 1813
5/24 The Ardent Reader
5/28 Musings from the Yellow Kitchen
5/29 vvb32 Reads
5/29 Austenesque Reviews
Thank you, Sara, for being my guest today!
I enjoy seeing how authors manage to translate the agony of the original story into modern situations.
Ginna Say What at gmail dot com
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My story is a reverse on Persuasion. My intended was persuaded to break with me. Yeah, that caught me by surprise. I never saw him again until 40 years later. You know what he had the nerve to ask me? ‘What happened to us?’ I replied as calmly as I could and said, ‘you dumped me.’ He never even flinched and said he’d always regretted me.
Yeah, the heck he did. It even sounded rehearsed. I think the term glib tongued applies here. I quickly realized that he was a jerk of the first order and that I had been spared being the first of many ex-Mrs. Jerk. He died a few years later and there was a long line of women weeping at his funeral. OMG!
But then, you hear those wonderful stories where, like Anne and Wentworth, they connect again after many years apart and it works. I love those stories. Blessings on the launch of your book. Sorry if I went dark on you. I love stories and variations on Persuasion. Have a blessed day. JWG
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[…] at Diary of an Eccentric, I shared my journey as a Jane Austen reader and […]
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Recently watched the 1995 and 1971 versions of Persuasion and, altho’ I preferred the 2007 Wentworth, the rest of the earlier versions were wonderful. I’m hopeful that your modern version is better than one I read the other night that changed Sir Walter from an arrogant social climber into a racist (insulting to both reader and to Jane Austen IMNSHO), and I look forward to reading yours esp inasmuch as we seem to agree on Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park. Wishing you every success with your book.
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Persuasion has second place in my favorites of Jane Austen’s books. I LOVE that letter and can’t wait to see how it might be written in modern form. I always enjoy reading of second chances. For many year Jane Eyre was my favorite book (yes, second chances in that)…until I was introduced to P&P in the 1995 movie form…Colin Firth for me all the way. I have all the movie versions of JA’s novels. Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds are my favorite Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot. I have this on my Wish List and am sure to read it sooner or later. Winning it would make that sooner. Thanks for the chance.
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I love Persuasion and I’m most excited to see how Sara translates the original story into a modern setting. jadseah4 ( at ) yahoo (dot) com
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Thank you for hosting these giveaways! I am interested in this modern retelling.
suko95(at)gmail(dot)com
The guest post was excellent.
Wishing all a great weekend! 🙂
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(P.S. I’ve added these giveaways to my blog’s sidebar.)
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Thanks for the lovely post ladies! So interesting to read your initial response to Austen’s books. I highly recommend rereading “Mansfield Park,” especially a great annotated edition. I think it’s well worth another look.
I also reread “Persuasion” this year and it allowed me to appreciate it more than I recently had.
Good luck with the book, Sara. It’s a lovely story.
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Sometimes I really wish I lived in the US… you all get the fab giveaway bundles! But I’m content here in Manchester, UK. It is a lovely city. Thanks for the giveaway and cant wait to read your new book, Sara! I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.
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What’s not to love about a second chance romance,where both parties are the same,yet very different,both yearning to be accepted for who they now are,people who have made mistakes,carry a huge amount of regret, yet,are perhaps better people for surely their past has branded them and made them into the erringly human beings they are today.
Looking forward to reading this modern version and seeing how this tale has been moulded to befit a modern readership.
Best of luck with your book,Sara!
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Thanks for another fascinating post, Sara. Mansfield Park is the only one of Austen’s six novels that I too have struggled with. In addition to Claudine’s recommendation, can I also suggest that you listen to an audio version, specifically the one narrated by Juliet Stevenson, which I’ve done in the not-so-distant past. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the book, though I don’t think it’ll ever be at the top of my Austen league table.
Persuasion, however, is right up there with P&P for me. It was the last of the six that I read in my teens – apart from P&P, which was my first, I read all of the others in order of publication (I’m a bit OCD in that respect!). I’ve said it before on this tour – there isn’t enough Persuasion FF around, so I’m particularly looking forward to yours. Good luck with the rest of the tour – I’ll be there!
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Oops, forgot something!
angmardee (at) hotmail (dot) com
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Wow, I loved Persuasion after you persuaded me to read it. There are not too many re-imaginings or modern stories based on that one, which I just think is a shame. I’d love to check this one out.
savvyverseandwit at gmail
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Thank you all for stopping by to check out Sara’s guest post. I really enjoyed reading about your personal connections to Persuasion!
The winner of the ebook giveaway is sagustocox! Congrats and happy reading!
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Congratulations. Enjoy.
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[…] out The Darcy Monologues on Goodreads | […]
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