The Ultimate Romance-Erotica
Book Club Guide
By
MJ Nightingale, MaryAnn Jordan, A.D. Ellis,
Sandra Love, E.J. Shortall, ML Steinbrunn,
Andie M. Long, and Andrea Michelle
Foreword by MJ Nightingale
The Ultimate Romance-Erotica Book Club Guide©
2014 MJ Nightingale
Published by MJ Nightingale
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a about works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Published: MJ Nightingale July 2014: [email protected]
Editing: MaryAnn Jordan
Cover Design © Kari Ayasha
Formatting by: A.D. Ellis
The books referenced in this guide are intended for a mature audience of eighteen and older.
The Ultimate Romance-Erotica
Book Club Guide
Foreword
Chapter 1
Fire in His Eyes
Chapter 2
Afraid to Love
Chapter 3
Afraid to Hope
Chapter 4
Secrets & Seduction Series
Chapter 5
Emma’s Home (Fairfield Series, Book 1)
Chapter 6
Laurie’s Home (Fairfield Series, Book 2)
Chapter 7
Carol’s Image (Fairfield Series, Book 3)
Chapter 8
For Nicky, A Torey Hope Novel Book 1
Chapter 9
To Love Again (Repaired Hearts)
Chapter 10
Silver Linings
Chapter 11
Forgive Us Our Trespasses
Chapter 12
The Alphabet Game – Part One: A to E
Chapter 13
The Alphabet Game – Part Two: F to K
Chapter 14
The Alphabet Game – Part Three: L to R
Chapter 15
The Alphabet Game – Part Four: S to X, Y, Z
Chapter 16
Escape the Doubt - Book 1 in the Shifting Series
Chapter 17
Embrace the Moment - Book 2 in the Shifting Series
Chapter 18
Author Biographies, Contact Information, and Buy Links
Foreword
A group of new Indie authors who started their writing careers in 2014 came together and became very good friends and supporters. These authors, struggling to get recognized in a very tough industry, have supported me, encouraged me, and become a lifeline of advice and encouragement as we all struggled to learn this new trade together.
My first true author friend that I made is a woman by the name of MaryAnn Jordan. She has published this year a series of suspenseful romance novels, the Fairfield Series. I don’t know if I could have continued without her. She introduced me to Andrea Michelle, who invited me to join her support group, the Indies Round Table. There I met several more new authors all going through the same things I was experiencing. What a lifeline that group has been. We are learning together, and supporting one another along the way. In that group, I became acquainted with many other dear authors who I would love to meet some day in person; A.D. Ellis, M.L. Steinbrunn, E.J. Shortall, Andrea Long, Sandee Love, and Victoria Brock. Thank-you for coming into my life, and thank you for always being there to support me and answer my questions. Your generosity, kindness, and support have not gone unappreciated.
In our group we brainstorm together for marketing ideas, strategies to help one another, and we share our successes and struggles, and disappointments. It has not been an easy road for any of us. Many times one of us has felt like giving up, but we don’t because we have each other. We have had a difficult journey, but we plug along and PUSH each other to be better writers and marketers. One of our ideas was to create this book, introducing ourselves to some of you readers. The idea was to help enlarge our readership by providing Book Clubs with Discussion Questions about some of our books and OUR answers to them. We know readers sometimes wonder why did the author do that, why is this character this way, why did the character make this choice, etc. So we wanted to provide you with an insider’s look into why we made the writing choices we did. This book also will hopefully encourage readers to pick up some of our books, or hopefully help new authors know they are not alone in their struggles. Some of the features included in this book are the Discussion Questions for Book Clubs, Author's Answers, and In-Depth Author Biographies. At the end of the book will be our contact information, and details on how to purchase our books. We sincerely hope you enjoy reading this book, and we really hope it will encourage you to find a new author to love. The featured Authors; in this book include A.D. Ellis, MaryAnn Jordan, Andrea Long, E.J. Shortall, M.L. Steinbrunn, Sandra Love, Andrea Michelle and me, MJ Nightingale.
We all hope you enjoy getting a peek inside our heads as we answer questions about our books. We would love to hear from you and answer any other questions you may have about our books, our struggles, and our future projects. We are all on Facebook, and you can always come by our page, The Indie Erogenous Zone - https://www.facebook.com/indieerozone
And if you are an author just starting out, we want you to know to not give up. There are some wonderful people in the Indie community. You just have to reach out.
Chapter 1
Fire in His Eyes
by MJ Nightingale
Synopsis: At thirty years old Monica is about to discover real passion for the first time in her life. A chance encounter in a Tampa bar brings Victor into her life. Sexy as hell, secretive, and incredible in bed, Monica is overwhelmed in every way by this ex-military man who introduces her to all kinds of new and exciting experiences. Monica is a school teacher who longs to experience the joy and thrill of passion. She has battled a past filled with trauma, and depression. Finally free of her fears and guilt, she begins to explore. That is when she meets Victor, a man who has his own demons to battle and secrets to keep. When he meets innocent Monica, he wants to experience all he can with her. She is innocent, yet willing; barely touched, but incredibly passionate. Victor's past has scarred him, and despite his feelings he keeps Monica at a distance. Why? Because he fears those secrets will destroy them. But, Monica and Victor are soul mates. They have the same hot passions. Will they find their happiness with each other? You must read to find that out. But, they most assuredly do find pleasure.
Questions:
1.) Monica Michaud was raped when she was seventeen. How did it affect her life? How did it influence the choices she made?
2.) Why does Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) play a part of
Monica's life? Why do you think she developed this disorder after her rape?
3.) Monica's home reflects her personality. How does her home symbolize her personality?
4.) What is it about Victor that appeals to Monica so much? Despite all of the warning signs, why does she continue in this relationship?
5.) Victor Ciccone has secrets. Why does he pursue women? Especially Monica? Why can't he let her go?
6.) Why won't Victor allow his first wife a divorce even though she has wanted one for years? Why won't he give her the divorce when it is so clear he loves Monica and they should be together?
7.) One of Victor's major flaws is his pride. How can pride, usually something seen as a positive, be a character trait in Victor?
8.) Ana Perrot and Kat are two supporting characters in this book. How does each help/support the heroine and the hero in regards to their choices, and decisions? Why are both so careful about intervening? Why so cautious?
9.) As a first book by an indie author, what did you think of it? What were some of the issues and or concerns you may have had with the book? Did these problems take away from the message the author was trying to tell? Why or why not?
Questions with Answers:
1.) Monica Michaud was raped when she was seventeen. How did it affect her life? How did it influence the choices she made?
Monica was raped when she was 17 and it affected her greatly. Because of the rape, she developed a fear of men and this fear of men caused her to do several things to herself. One of those things was very self-destructive. Subconsciously, she wanted to become unattractive to men. Gaining this weight, she may have felt that men wouldn't be attracted to her wouldn't approach her. She also became somewhat of a recluse. The contact with people was limited to her family and the student she worked with. She also developed an issue about control. These issues can just seeing in her OCD. Having things in her home very organized gave her a sense of security. When a woman is raped she loses all control of the situation. She is left feeling powerless. OCD developed in Monica because it was a way for her to have control. Monica chose for a long time to live her life this way and it wasn't until her sister pushed, encouraged, and provided her with the support she needed, that she finally dealt with the issues that developed because of the rape. Monica tiptoes into the dating scene with a friends with benefits relationship. She chooses this relationship because it's something she feels comfortable and safe with. Monica's backstory is my own backstory, so I speak from the heart when I write about the things that happened to her and the complications that came from it.
2.) Why does Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) play a part of Monica's life? Why do you think she developed this disorder after her rape?
OCD plays a large part in Monica's life especially before she meets Victor. OCD is a fairly common disorder that develops in people that have been raped or experienced other traumas where the victim feels powerless. Some signs and symptoms of OCD are extreme organization, counting steps and processes, limiting contact with the outside world, hand washing, seclusion. The person with OCD does not always realize what they are doing. They develop these habits because their mind is trying to help them cope with the trauma, the lost control they experienced, by giving them a sense of control in their daily lives and even small tasks. After years of living this way Monica eventually, through counseling, comes to terms with what happens. I also got counseling for two years, attended therapy, took medication and received a great amount of family support. I was ready to live again.
3.) Monica's home reflects her personality. How does her home symbolize her personality?
Monica's home is a two bedroom bungalow in a suburban community close to Tampa. It's in a gated community small look like houses cookie-cutter. It's the white house with picket fence. It's the image of what every American family hopes to own. It's what Monica wants, the image of the perfect little life, and little family. Beneath the surface Monica is far from perfect. She has issues that she has neglected to deal with for a very long time, but the image of perfection gives her security. Having a home in a gated community with neighbors nearby gives her a feeling of being safe. Even the contents of her home and the way everything is organized, having a place for everything with everything being neat and tidy, it's all part of her OCD. This gives her that sense of security that she lost when she was raped at 17 years old.
4.) What is it about Victor that appeals to Monica so much? Despite all the warning signs, why does she continue in this relationship?
The initial attraction to Victor is obvious as physical appearances are quite exciting to someone who has had very limited experience. He's extremely handsome. His blue eyes immediately draw her in. Even though he warns her off she continues to want to see him. For Monica who is 30 years old this is really first relationship. Her only other sexual experience was with a friend. I would definitely describe maturity in the relationship arena immature. Like a girl in her late teens or early 20s experiencing a real relationship that includes sex for the first time, she doesn't want to let go. She doesn't want to see the warning signs that would turn more mature women away. Despite some of his comments, he makes her feel safe. He's like the teacher, and he is teaching her a lot of new things, that she enjoys. By the end of the book you realize that these two characters are exactly what the other one needs. So it all works out in the end.
5.) Victor Ciccone has secrets. Why does he pursue women? Especially Monica? Why can't he let her go?
Victor is a 34-year-old man with a sexual appetite. He pursues women to meet those needs to satisfy his desires. The casual relationships Victor has had have been brief but he wasn't looking for more. He never let these women, other than his first wife, know about these desires. He never let anyone see the real Victor. That's why he finds Monica so surprising, so different. She doesn't judge him. For her, all the things that she wants to do are new, exciting, and she's in a blank page in a new book for him. He also finds her very attractive as well, and her willingness to do things with them without judgment or criticism allows himself to see his sexual choices any new light. It's because of her acceptance of him, and her pure love for him that he can't let her go. He has never been involved like this before.
6.) Why won't Victor allow his first wife a divorce even though she has wanted one for years? Why won't he give her the divorce when it is so clear he loves Monica and they should be together?
Despite the sexual activities that Victor enjoys he's old-school when it comes to traditional family values, duty, obligation, and responsibility. These are things he has been taught and raised with, and these are hard things to ignore. He doesn't want to get a divorce because he was taught you didn't do that and he also has a daughter to think about. He was raised to believe that parents stay together to raise the child together. And even though his wife wants the marriage to end, and is not happy in that relationship, he feels it's his duty to try to make it work. So even though Monica is his perfect fit, his pride, his values, and his beliefs all run counter to what his heart really wants.
7.) One of Victor's major flaws is his pride. How can pride, usually something seen as a positive, be a character trait in Victor?
Pride is seen as a positive character trait by most people, but extreme pride can hurt you and that's definitely the case with Victor. His pride makes him blind to other possibilities. He's a man grappling with traditional values and beliefs that can conflicts with his own personal desires. He takes pride to the extreme, and he wants to live by the values that he has been brought up with, yet as you know from reading the book, his desires aren't always accepted by society. There's definitely a war going on inside Victor’s mind and his heart suffers because of it. It's only at the end of the book when he is about to lose something so important to him, Monica, that he realizes that he can have it all. By divorcing his wife and starting over with a new family, he can still keep those values and those traditions. He just has to come to accept that he didn't choose the right person t
he first time around.
8.) Ana Perrot and Kat are two supporting characters in this book. How does each help/support the heroine and the hero in regards to their choices, and decisions? Why are both so careful about intervening? Why so cautious?
Ana is Monica’s sister and she serves as a good supporting character for her sister Monica. She sees things more clearly and she's definitely a lot more experienced and mature than her sister. But she's also very cautious with her sister. She doesn't want her to become afraid of men again, but she also doesn't want her to get hurt. Ana keeps a close eye on her sister, calls her, visits her and checks up on her. She intervenes when she feels it's the right time, and gives her sister good advice, and also encouragement, and a little push when she needs it. Kat is a really good friend to Victor. She's the voice of reason and logic when he is so blinded by tradition and custom to see what is really the best thing for him. She could've intervened sooner but she knew his patterns and didn't know if what he had with Monica was going to last. When she comes to know Monica, and sees what a real sweetheart she is, she decides that Monica is what her friend really needs. She is also no-holds-barred kind of person so the confrontation that she has with Victor three quarters of the way through the book happens at the appropriate time. She thought he was going to make the right choice on his own but when she sees that he isn't she lets him know it.
9.) As a first book by an indie author, what did you think of it? What were some of the issues and or concerns you may have had with the book? Did these problems take away from the message the author was trying to tell? Why or why not?
The Ultimate Romance-Erotica Book Club Guide Page 1