Amelia Elkins — A Modern Anne Elliot — Seeks Justice For Her Mother’s Death:
In 1817, if childbirth didn’t kill a woman, then there were good odds that a “miasma” would. Now, thanks to modern medicine, a woman’s demise at the prime of her life is uncommon enough to deserve an investigation. That is what two lawyers at the Harville Firm promise to do when Amelia Elkins Elkins, a member of a prominent family in Philadelphia, contacts them in the wake of her mother’s untimely death.
In this retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Amelia and her sisters turn to the American court system to seek justice for their mother’s death. It’s too bad that their conceited, silly father is doing everything he can — inadvertently, of course — to hinder their success.
This is the description of my new book, Amelia Elkins Elkins, an homage to Persuasion, my favorite Austen novel. In this retelling, Anne Elliot is now Amelia Elkins, a 29-year-old heir to a dwindling family fortune in the United States.
My *hope* is that Amelia Elkins Elkins is a fun read for those who love Persuasion as much as I do, as well as for those who’ve never read Austen’s classic.
It’s available now through Amazon (Click Here to find out more). If you decide to give Amelia a try, thank you. I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
The Misfortune Of Knowing 
Reblogged this on KENYONA R. COPELAND.
Reblogged this on The Misfortune Of Knowing and commented:
Hi Everyone! This is the final day to download a free ebook copy of Amelia Elkins Elkins. Thanks for considering it.
Reblogged this on BEGUILING HOLLYWOOD and commented:
With wit, depth, and keen modern detail this updated retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion captivates… #greatread #summerread #icouldntputitdown
Thank you!!!!
Congratulations! This is so exciting! Persuasion is one of my favorites as well, so I look forward to reading this!
Thank you! I hope it’s a fun read for Persuasion fans. I really enjoyed taking Jane Austen’s characters, updating them, and putting them in my hometown. Where they live is based on a real-life Gilded Age Mansion (which is in worse shape than the fictionalized version).
Congratulations! I think Persuasion is one of the last few Austen novels I haven’t read. I will have to do that and pick up your new book too!
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy both. Persuasion is my favorite Austen. Anne is such a mature and intelligent woman (I hope my Amelia is similar!). I wrote the novel hoping that even people who aren’t familiar with Persuasion could enjoy it–one of my readers wasn’t very familiar with Persuasion when she reviewed the manuscript–but my guess is that retellings are always more fun for people who have read the original work.
Wonderful — I started reading the preview and after the first paragraph, sold! Can’t wait to read the rest.
Your comment made my day! Thank you! I hope you enjoy the rest of the book. 🙂
The more I read, the more I love…
“That holiday season, Amelia dealt with Michael in a way that was, oddly enough, similar to how some people dealt with a phobia of mice: intentional exposure.”
Witty and wonderful. I was going to save the book for a trip to Boston next month, but I can’t put it down!
Thank you, xox, V
Thank you! You once again made my day. I wrote that part of the novel when I was researching how to deal with my own fear of mice. I decided that intentional exposure, which ultimately results in touching the creatures, wasn’t for me! We have two lovable cats who have thankfully reduced my interaction with rodents.
Congrats on your second title! Woo Hoo!!!
Thank you! I’m happy with the way it turned out. Now I’m onto my next WIP (this time it’s Middle Grade, which is turning out to be an interesting challenge).
Wonderful and congrats. I love the cover, did you do that design?
Thank you! I designed the cover on Photoshop. The backdrop is the obituary for the mother, Gladys Elkins, which I wrote just to use for the cover. The Elkins family tree–of which Walter (the patriarch) is very proud–was the inspiration for the design.
That is such a moving addition to the story. You did a wonderful job.
Thank you! That means a lot coming from you.
I was wondering why I’d never heard of this one! It definitely sounds intriguing.
Thank you! It was an interesting challenge to take something well-known and add new elements to it. In my take on Austen’s classic, the main character is embroiled in a court case related to her mother’s death. The story takes place in my hometown in a decaying Gilded Age mansion.
Sounds great, can’t wait to check it out. Have you read any of the new Austen Project adaptations?
Thanks! I hope you like it (if you decide to pick it up). I haven’t read the Austen Project adaptations, but they’ve been on my radar. Once I decided I was going to update Persuasion, I avoided other retellings because I didn’t want to be influenced by them. Last I checked, the author for the Persuasion update hadn’t been announced, but that must’ve been late 2013, when I started to write Amelia Elkins Elkins. I’ll definitely check it out now, though. The only Persuasion update I’ve read in the last few years was For Darkness Shows the Stars, which I enjoyed.
They’ve not announced Persuasion yet. They’ve released three (Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abby and Emma) and I think Pride and Prejudice is next. You were smart to chose one that’s not been done as frequently as so many of the others!
It’s interesting that they haven’t announced Persuasion yet! I chose to update this one because it’s my favorite Austen, but I’m glad it hasn’t been the basis for as many retellings as Pride and Prejudice. There’s always a risk in writing derivative works–they’ll never be as great as the original! Still, I hope people enjoy seeing new versions of their beloved characters. It should be a fun experience (if I’ve done my job right).
Congrats! I’ll have to check it out!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it if you decide to read it. I love Persuasion. It was a lot of fun to update those characters. In my novel, the main character is in the middle of a court case related to her mother’s death. It takes place in a decaying Gilded Age mansion in my hometown.
I haven’t read Persuasion. I’m still missing that and Mansfield Park. But I will definitely read your update!
Thank you! I hope you like it!
Very cool! I don’t remember PERSUASION all that well. It’s time for a reread. I think it’s probably Austen’s most under appreciated novel. It’d be neat to see what your book keeps from the original and what you’ve added.
Yeah, for some reason, Persuasion doesn’t seem to be as well loved as Pride and Prejudice or Emma. I’m a fan of all of Jane Austen’s work, but Persuasion is my favorite. Anne is a mature, intelligent protagonist. I identify with her more than I do Catherine Morland, for example (though the title for this blog does come from Northanger Abbey: https://misfortuneofknowing.wordpress.com/2014/05/30/dating-rules-for-ordinary-heroines-hat-tip-to-jane-austen/).
Congrats on the new release! No wonder you’ve been so busy lately. 🙂
Thank you! This one was so much fun to write. I took the characters from one of my favorite novels (thankfully in the public domain!), updated them, and placed them in my hometown.