The result is Summertime Guests, a mix of summery romance and mystery. I hope the novel will keep you turning the pages as well as give you a welcome escape from these exhausting, challenging times. As I write this, a COVID-19 vaccine is making its way across the country, and my fingers are tightly crossed that soon we’ll be able to return to our favorite places, maybe a hotel not so unlike the Seafarer, where we can relax poolside and enjoy a refreshing drink with friends—without giving a single thought to a crisis, care or worry.
My warmest thanks for reading, and all best wishes for a wonderful, healthy summer.
Fondly,
Wendy Francis
Acknowledgments
This book has come to fruition thanks to the hard work of many people, not least of all my wonderful agents, Annelise Robey and Meg Ruley, who believed in the story from the very beginning. To my marvelously talented editor, Michele Bidelspach, thank you for your multiple readings of the manuscript (which improved it each time), and all while you were managing a newborn baby at home during a pandemic. Fingers crossed you can now get some rest. Thanks to Vanessa Wells for bringing a gimlet eye to the finer points of grammar and catching any inconsistencies that snuck into the manuscript. And thank you to the entire team at Graydon House, including Susan Swinwood, Melanie Fried, Monica Espinoza Chavez, Pamela Osti, Heather Connor and Lia Ferrone, for taking such good care of my books. To Jonathan Knudsen, my heartfelt thanks for answering my flurry of emails about hotel management and my questions about how things actually work at a top-notch establishment. Your insights and knowledge were invaluable. Any mistakes about the world of hotels and/or hotel management (particularly during times of crisis) are my own. And thanks to Ryan Bergin for stepping in to help out during those final weeks of writing. Nicholas enjoyed all of his “big brother” time!
There were a host of articles and books that helped me gain a better understanding of early-onset Alzheimer’s, both fiction and nonfiction. Lisa Genova’s Still Alice (Gallery Books, 2009) stopped me in my tracks when I first read it several years ago for its utterly convincing and heartbreaking portrayal of a woman who slowly succumbs to early-onset Alzheimer’s. Then there’s Wendy Mitchell’s Somebody I Used to Know (Ballantine Books, 2018), an illuminating, wonderfully candid memoir about the author’s own experiences. This book gave me valuable insights into how a person lives in the aftermath of such a diagnosis. And more recently, Tom Keane’s heartrending articles in the Boston Globe about his late wife’s battle with younger-onset Alzheimer’s has struck a chord with countless New England readers, including myself. His honest portrayal of how devastating the disease can be for victims and caregivers alike offers another important window into the illness.
Finally, to my family, who listened to all my complaining while they were stuck at home with me during a pandemic, thank you, thank you for tolerating me. There’s no one else I’d rather be cooped up with during lockdown. Mike, Nicholas, Katherine and Michael, Jr., thanks for making me proud every day. Here’s to hoping we’re on the other side of COVID by the time this book is out in the world.
SUMMERTIME
GUESTS
WENDY FRANCIS
Reader’s Guide
Questions for Discussion
The Seafarer Hotel is a fictional hotel built in Boston in 1886, full of wealth, sophistication and decadence. In Summertime Guests, the lives of four very different characters collide there with very dramatic consequences. The hotel almost feels like a character in the book. Why do you think the author chose to set Summertime Guests at a hotel like the Seafarer? These characters are all at different places in their lives. Why did the author choose this moment to bring them all together?
Riley and Tom’s relationship seems to be ideal...until they start planning their wedding. Why do you think Marilyn becomes so involved in helping Riley plan the wedding? What do you think of the way that Riley handles Marilyn’s involvement and opinions? If you were in Riley’s situation, how would you manage this relationship? Do you think that her own mother’s untimely death has any effect on Riley’s relationship with Marilyn? Why or why not? And why do you think wedding planning so often causes tension?
The relationship of Jean-Paul and his wife, Marie, seems to have changed after their daughter’s birth. How would you characterize Jean-Paul and Marie’s relationship at the beginning of the novel? How has Isabella’s birth changed their dynamic as a couple? And how do you think their relationship changes as the story progresses? Why do you think the author chose to tell the story from Jean-Paul’s perspective but not Marie’s?
The first time we’re introduced to Claire O’Dell, she’s driving by the house of Marty, her boyfriend from thirty years ago, anxious to see him again. She acknowledges that Marty “has continued to take up space in her mind, like an old, comfortable recliner she can’t bring herself to throw out.” Why does Claire think of him that way? How does seeing him and catching up in person change the way she thinks of him now? How has time colored her memory of Marty? And how have those memories affected her relationship with her husband, Walt?
Claire has very different relationships with each of her two children. She’s in more frequent contact with Amber and they seem to be closer, yet she’s entrusted her big secret to only Ben. Why do you think that is? Claire muses at one point, “Boys were funny that way. Men, too, as if whatever protective, worry gene women possessed hadn’t been passed along to them.” Why then did she tell only Ben the truth about her secret? If you were in Claire’s situation, would you do the same? What role does gender have in the relationship between parents and their children?
Claire seems to believe that Marty is “the one that got away” for much of her marriage to Walt. How did that impact her marriage and the way she saw her husband? Do you think Jason and Gwen will think of one another that way? Why or why not? What is the allure of “the one that got away”? Has there been “one that got away” in your life?
Why do you think Jason has kept from Gwen the fact that he stormed out of his class and hasn’t gone back since? And why do you think he’s continued to lie to her about writing his dissertation? He worries that she “might be too good for him.” Do you think that’s true? Why or why not? And what do you think Gwen sees in Jason that makes her stay?
Throughout the book, the four main characters are forced to confront their pasts, time and again, in order to move forward to their future. For example, Jason is determined not to become just like his father, so much so that he has missed the warning signs that the one thing he fears most may be coming true. How do you think the past has shaped these four characters, for better and/or for worse? Do you think the cycle of the past can be broken? Which character exemplifies your beliefs the most? And the least?
The author brings these characters together at different moments in the story, whether the characters consciously realize it or not. For example, Jason and Claire are both at a pivotal moment in their lives when they meet at the hotel bar and they’re more honest with each other as strangers than they are with anyone else in their lives. Why do you think this is? Claire suggests that “we like to fool ourselves.... But we don’t know that a different path would have necessarily been better. It might have been worse. No, we all live the life we’re meant to live.” Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
In Claire’s last scene in the book, she thinks to herself, “It’s odd, but she’s not at all scared up here. Because what’s to fear when she’s already facing the end?” Why do you think Claire climbs out onto the railing of the balcony? What do you think she intends to do? And what do you think is the significance of Walt’s words to her? Do you think Claire’s realization about the truth of her relationship with Walt has any effect on what happens?
Letting go of the past, forgiving and embracing love—any kind of love—is at the heart of this story. How do Riley, Claire, Jean-Paul and Jason accomp
lish this? And how do they fall short? Which character did you feel the closest to and why? Which character was the most unlike you? Did anyone surprise you at the end?
A Conversation with Wendy Francis
The Seafarer is a fictional hotel with a long, colorful history and a sterling reputation, the place to see and be seen, and it feels like a major character in the novel. Is it inspired by a real hotel that you’ve either stayed at in the past or have read about? What about a hotel like the Seafarer interested you?
The Seafarer is an amalgam of hotels, real and imaginary, that I would love to vacation at. The hotel probably closest to it in terms of aesthetics is the jaw-dropping Wentworth by the Sea in New Hampshire. Built in the 1870s, this stately white expanse perches on the small island of New Castle. With its own rich history, including hosting several presidents, Wentworth by the Sea offers ocean views, golf courses, swimming pools and tennis courts, elegant dining, and a spa. What more could you ask for? As for my interest in older hotels, I’ve always been drawn to those places that harbor their own histories—and stories. It’s fun to imagine the people who came before you, who once sat in the exact same spot where you sit now, enjoying a summertime beverage.
Summertime Guests is full of twists and turns. When you began the story, did you know exactly how it would end? Were the characters’ journeys solidified in your mind before you started writing? Did anything—or anyone—surprise you as you were writing?
This was a different, and challenging, book to write because, for the first time, I actually knew the ending: a woman dies. What was less clear was how the characters’ stories would intersect around that event. I knew the novel would be set at a tony hotel in the Seaport District of Boston, and I knew I wanted to explore various stages of love through four main characters. It took several drafts before the plotline and relationships came into full view, though. Plenty of people surprised me in the narrative, probably Jason most of all.
Throughout the story, the reader gets an inside perspective into four very different relationships. Between Riley, Claire, Jean-Paul and Jason, which character’s perspective did you enjoy writing from the most? The least?
Claire’s and Jean-Paul’s characters were the most engaging to write—Claire’s because hers was such an intricate, difficult journey to plot, and Jean-Paul’s because I could empathize with this poor man who’s doing his level best to keep everything running smoothly at work and at home. Riley’s experiences were a little more distant in my memory (all that young love!), and Jason’s darker side forced me to write outside my wheelhouse.
Many of your books are set during the summer. What about the summer intrigues you? Why does it lend itself so perfectly to the backdrop of a book?
Summer has always been my favorite season. For me, it represents that almost sacred time when kids are out of school and work slows down a bit. My childhood summertime memories are wrapped up in family vacations, trips to the beach, lazy days reading on the back porch and eating too much ice cream. Throw in some sunshine and the scent of sunblock, and I’m at my most content. Something about summertime also immediately says relaxation, and these days that sense of slowing down, of allowing ourselves the time to appreciate those “pockets of joy” with the ones we love most, seems especially important.
Claire’s last scene in the book is incredibly poignant. Why did you choose to end Claire’s story the way you did? What significance did Claire’s revelation about her feelings for Walt have on her death and the timing of it? Why did you choose to have her granddaughter, Fiona, be the last face she saw?
Thank you. It was certainly one of the most difficult scenes to write. Without giving too much away, I wanted the book to end with Claire maintaining her dignity even in the face of incredibly difficult circumstances. As for Walt and Fiona, I think I’ll leave it up to the reader to decide how those two may have influenced Claire in her pivotal moment. I will say that I wanted the ending to be hopeful.
The characters in this book feel so vibrant and alive. How do you create your characters? Do friends and family ever find themselves—or parts of themselves—in the characters you create?
I love character-driven novels, and so my own writing tends to lean that way, too. I also spend a lot of time (probably too much time!) thinking about what’s going on inside other people’s heads. So, putting those thoughts down on the page seems like a natural extension of what I’m imagining every day. As I write, though, the characters inevitably take on lives of their own and become much more complicated and nuanced than anything I’d imagined. And yes, my family absolutely worries that they’ll end up in my fiction (especially because there’s so much material there!), but I try to keep them out of it. I won’t lie, though: a few conversations with my husband and kids have turned up in my books.
What are your favorite books about romantic love? Which authors capture the feeling of love for you?
Oddly enough, the first thing that comes to mind isn’t a book but a movie: When Harry Met Sally. This classic, starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, is a valentine to both New York City and their relationship. I love the witty rapport between the characters, the humor, the darned wagon-wheel table (if you haven’t yet watched, you must!). As for fiction, Sue Miller’s Monogamy, which I recently read and adored, offers a brilliant depiction of a modern marriage, warts and all. Dani Shapiro’s deeply honest portrayal of her marriage in Hourglass is another favorite, and for summer romance, there’s nothing quite like an Elin Hilderbrand novel. As my husband will tell you, I’m a hopeless romantic, but I’m not a complete fool—I understand that life sometimes gets in the way. But that brand of love—forged in hard times and embellished in good times—gives rise to some of the best love stories out there.
ISBN-13: 9781488078071
Summertime Guests
Copyright © 2021 by Wendy Francis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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