Wednesday, January 16, 2013

MARILYN BRANT: INTERNET DATING?




It's a pleasure to welcome women's fiction author, Marilyn Brant, visiting with us today. 
What I enjoy about Marilyn's stories is, while she may touch on themes of Pride and Prejudice, it's not actually fanfictionusing the actual characters of Jane Austen's tale and retelling the same story—it's fresh and new. Original. I love her imagination and ability to extrapolate from the original without reusing the characters. She creates new characters and situations with a nod to Austen. The stories are fun! 


Thanks to Sia for being so gracious and inviting me back to visit you all at Over Coffee!

I know sometimes, after a writer has published a few books, some may think that it’s old hat, and not as exciting as it was in those early days... But that’s really not true for me, especially in this case. Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match is my seventh novel (“Lucky 7?!”) and, in a way, I’m even more excited this time around because I’m getting to come full circle.

My debut book, According to Jane, which was released back in 2009, was a romantic women’s fiction story (with some steamy scenes, be forewarned!) about a woman who had the ghost of Jane Austen in her head giving her dating advice. This new novel is a contemporary romance, and it also gives an honorary nod to the great Austen. The hero and heroine inherited their names and some of their characteristics from the famed pair in Pride and Prejudice, Darcy and Elizabeth (a novel which turns 200 years old this month, btw). But the courtship of the couple in my newest book revolves around an Internet dating site and, also, a local coffee shop called the “Koffee Haus.” And, oh, how I wish I could meet you all there this morning... I know we are all fans of coffee here, right?!


When I was writing the book, I thought it would be funny for the hero and heroine to fall prey to a bunch of different stereotypes about each other, which is easy to do if you’re trying to judge somebody’s character from a list of qualities on an online dating site or based on their choice of a latté. I’m a devoted coffee drinker, so I have a little bit of experience with the latter...however, I had no experience at all with the former!

I met my husband over 20 years ago, and the internet didn't exist in any widespread mainstream way back then. So, I've always been really curious about the whole online dating process. And, as a novelist who wanted use this activity as part of my plot, I had to resort to sneaky tactics (like interrogating my single friends who had Match.com profiles!) in order to find out about the kinds of dating experiences that were out there--both good and seriously-not-so-good.  

One twenty-something guy friend of ours would entertain me almost every week with talkes of his latest Internet love matches. Some of them were VERY WILD! I'm pleased to say that he's happily married now, although he didn't meet his new bride online...A female colleague I used to teach with, however, had far more success (although, her romantic tales were not nearly as soap-opera worthy, LOL!), and she did, in fact, meet her husband via the Internet.

All in all, I think if Jane Austen had the ability to do any modern matchmaking, I more than suspect she’d be all over the idea of online dating. *grin*


  • Have you or anyone you know tried to meet potential love interests on Match.com or any of the other dating sites? If you haven’t tried it yourself, would you want to? I’d love to know your thoughts!

Wishing you all a wonderful 2013!!


                                                                                                                         


Giveaway: 
Because Sia included my last novel, Holiday Man, on her recent post “Hot Reads for Cold Winter Nights” (Over Coffee, January 2nd), I’ll give away one PDF copy of that ebook to one commenter on this post. Open internationally!





                                                                                                                                                             

BUY: AMAZON AND  B&N
A single mother and an ER doctor meet on an Internet dating site—each for reasons that have little to do with finding their perfect match—in this modern, Austen-inspired story. It’s a tribute to the power of both “pride” and “prejudice” in bringing two people romantically together, despite their mutual insistence that they should stay apart…

Would an Elizabeth Bennet by any other name be as appealing to a Darcy?

Beth Ann Bennet isn’t looking for love. She’s an aspiring social worker using an online alias to study sex-role stereotypes. Dr. William Darcy isn’t looking for love either. He’s just trying to fund his new clinic by winning a major bet. Both think Lady Catherine’s Love Match Website will help them get what they want—fast, easy and without endangering their hearts. Both are in for a big surprise.

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match…where true love is just a fib and a click away.
first chapter excerpt