Dear Janeites and romance lovers,
I’m thrilled to welcome Alana Highbury to My Jane Austen Book Club! Alana has once
again woven Austen-inspired magic with her latest contemporary romance, the
second book in her captivating series. This time, she brings us a modern take
on Persuasion, filled with
heartbreak, second chances, and the undeniable pull of unfinished love.
In this novel, Annie is forced to confront her past when Kylan—the man whose heart she broke four years ago—unexpectedly re-enters her life. As she struggles to rebuild herself after personal setbacks, Annie must navigate not only her lingering feelings for Kylan but also the professional challenge of working with him. Will she be able to hold her ground, or will fate offer them a long-awaited second chance?
Join me as I chat with Alana about her inspiration, the emotional depths of her characters, and what’s next in her Austen-inspired world! MG💕
What
inspired you to write this modern take on Persuasion?
I’ve
been a Jane Austen fan for a long time, though Persuasion has only fairly recently (within the last 5 years)
become my favorite Austen novel. I love Anne Elliot, and of all the Austen
heroines, I feel most attuned to her. I love Anne’s quiet strength, deep
feeling, and kind nature—and I’m always drawn to a good second-chance romance
full of yearning and the most satisfying of endings.
Annie's
journey is deeply emotional—what was the most challenging part of writing her
character arc?
I
think this might be the most emotional book I’ve written so far. As I said,
Anne Elliot is the Austen heroine I relate to the most, but Annie York is different
in a lot of ways. Anne is quiet and reserved, whereas Annie is outgoing and
fairly confident—traits I admire but don’t personally share! In some ways, that
was the most challenging part of writing Annie’s character, especially with
this being a highly character-driven story. She was very different from me in
many ways, and I really had to step outside my comfort zone to write a
character like that, especially in the midst of the numerous personal and
professional crises Annie faces.
Kylan
is a compelling love interest. How did you develop his character, and what
makes him the perfect counterpart to Annie?
Kylan
is a closer match to Captain Wentworth (the hero in Austen’s Persuasion), and he was a more
straightforward modern adaptation in that sense than, for example, Annie’s
character was. They were very different in many ways, so there was that similar
sense of opposites attracting but also the painful realities of coming from
different worlds, particularly with meddling friends and family and the indecision
of youth. Annie needed someone different from her, someone a bit more serious
and grounded, but also warm and loving. He’s a natural contrast to the stifled,
loveless upbringing she’s trying to grow beyond.
This
book tackles themes of second chances, personal growth, and overcoming the
past. What message do you hope readers take away from Annie’s story?
Annie’s
story is about second chances at love in all
of its forms—romance, friendship, and self-love. And despite the
odds—despite the adversity she’s faced in both the past and present—we love
seeing a heroine such as Annie succeeding despite everything. The greater the
obstacles, the greater the eventual reward, I think. I want everyone who reads
the story (and even those who don’t!) to know that there is always hope. You
can change, you can survive, and you can thrive. And you can find love, whether it’s your romantic soulmate, your
friends that become your family, or the greatest love of all, for yourself.
Jane
Austen’s Persuasion is known for its
themes of regret and resilience. Were there any particular scenes or moments
from the original novel that you wanted to echo in your book?
Let’s
face it, Annie was a little rough around the edges—much more so than any other
main characters I’ve written. From the start, she was unapologetically herself in a way that most of my other
characters have never been. Still, she had a long journey of healing and
finding her way, and in that sense, she showed a lot of the same resilience and
grit that our original Anne Elliot displayed throughout Persuasion. Of course, the theme of regret runs deeply through my
novel as Annie pushes away painful memories and lingering feelings for Kylan.
She doesn’t even recognize her emotions as regret at first—in fact, she actively
resists it—but it’s there, quietly shaping her choices as she grapples with the
love she never truly let go.
The
publishing industry setting adds a unique twist—what drew you to place Annie
and Kylan in this world?
When
I decided to write this book, I’d already finished Austen Inspired (book 1 of
the series), so I already knew Annie was set in this world. When I started that
book over a decade ago, I was myself working as a contract editor, just like
Viviana and Annie did. I thought it would be fun to keep the entire series set
in the bookish world, so I set out to find the perfect career path for
Annie—and I thought with her people skills and extroverted nature (and love of
books, stemming from the only happy part of her childhood home), the job of
literary agent would be appealing to her on many levels. I also needed Kylan to
be in a similar world as he reentered her life, just as Captain Wentworth found
his way back into Anne Elliot’s social circle in Austen’s novel. The additional
twist in which he was not only wealthier than her now but also her boss was a spontaneous idea—and one that ended up
being a lot of fun to write!
This
is the second book in a series—can you tell us a bit about how it connects to
the first book and what readers can expect next?
The
main character in this book, Annie, is a side character in the first book, Austen Inspired. She is the main
character’s friend and coworker, and their falling out in that book is
revisited in Austen Persuaded—this
time from Annie’s perspective. In the first book, Annie’s character was written
as somewhat superficial, obsessed with fashion and her latest boy toy, Brandon.
I was excited to take on the challenge of really exploring Annie’s character on
a deeper level, revealing she was not at all a superficial person but full of
many interesting layers, a troubled past, and an inner strength and resilience
that was probably much stronger than Viviana’s. Annie is a departure from all
the other characters I’ve written, but I hope you love her as much as I do.
If you
could dream-cast Annie and Kylan in a movie adaptation, who would you choose?
Mary Kate Wiles, Lydia Bennet in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
For Annie, I actually pictured Mary Kate Wiles while writing—especially her portrayal of Lydia Bennet in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series. In addition to the bright red hair, there’s this outward sparkle and sass paired with emotional depth and vulnerability that really captured the Annie I had in mind. She’s bright and bold on the surface, but there’s so much going on underneath—and Mary Kate played that kind of complexity so beautifully.
As
for Kylan, I didn’t have one specific actor in mind, but I always imagined
someone with a quiet intensity—a bit serious and grounded, but still warm and
deeply feeling. The kind of guy who doesn’t need to take up all the space in
the room, but when he speaks, it matters. I’d love to hear who readers imagine,
though—those mental castings are so much fun!
On the surface, Annie has it all—beauty, brains, youth, a flexible job, and a party girl image—even as a troubled childhood and a missed chance at love continue to haunt her. Then it all comes crashing down: betrayed by both her boyfriend and a close friend, she’s forced to quit her job and spirals into a deep depression fueled by alcohol and her toxic, narcissistic mother. Beneath it all is a growing fear she’ll run into her ex, Kylan, who's suddenly back in town. How can she face the man whose heart she broke four years ago—the one who left her life but never her heart?
Just as Annie is finally getting back on her feet and pursuing a new passion as a literary agent assistant, another bomb drops: Kylan’s New York agency is acquiring the one that just hired her. Now, she's stuck working in the same office while watching her new friend and coworker flirt with him.
Can she survive working for him while he’s in town, or will it cost her the dream job?
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