But who should be our headliner? Among my favorite romance writers of all time is Mary Balogh, whose many Regency-set historicals have given pleasure to millions of devoted readers. When I approached Mary, she was enthusiastic about the idea…but she had never before written a paranormal. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind, however, that this fine author could write anything she put her mind to. And so she agreed, to the great delight of the rest of us.

Mary Balogh chose to reimagine Austen’s novel Persuasion. In “Almost Persuaded,” Jane Everett finally learns, after several lifetimes of trying and failing, that when it comes to love, all the advice and persuasion in the world from trusted friends and relatives are no substitute for what the heart knows.

In Janet Mullany’s contemporary “Little to Hex Her,” based on Austen’s Emma, vampires populate the Hill, elves run the Pentagon and there’s a witch on retainer at the White House. “Witch without a cause” Emma Woodhouse runs her family’s dating agency and finds trouble and love among the paranormal population of Washington, D.C.

Colleen Gleason revisits Northanger Abbey in “Northanger Castle,” where it’s vampires instead of madmen who lock their wives away. Caroline is so highly influenced by popular Gothic novels that she sees danger and intrigue everywhere. But it’s not until she comes face-to-face with a vampire that she realizes how inaccurate her instincts really are!

Whether modern or historical, the tales in Bespelling Jane Austen will, we hope, intrigue traditional Austen readers as well as those who love the paranormal. If Miss Austen knew how far our love for her works would take us, how much we would want to make her world our own, I don’t think she would be displeased.