Book Club Discussion Questions for Carolina Girl

1. The opening line of Carolina Girl is "At thirty-four Megan Fletcher was determined not to turn into her mother." How does that statement make you feel?

2. As in Carolina Home, there are four point of view characters in Carolina Girl: Meg Fletcher; Sam Grady; matriarch Tess; and ten-year-old Taylor. Which character did you identify with the most? Which engaged you most emotionally? Why?

3. How does Meg's perception of her mother change after Tess's accident? Over the course of the book? On p. 282, Tess says,

"Sometimes love means taking turns. Finding compromises.” “Except you never got your turn. You were always the one who compromised.” “What do you mean?” “Even after Dad retired, you did what he wanted. Lived where he wanted. Moved back here.” “Meg . . .” Tess frowned, her familiar features transformed by the darkening cap of hair goo. “I thought you knew. That was my choice. Your father would have gone anywhere. Back to Chicago, if that’s what I wanted. My brother Nick would have taken me back into the restaurant. But I fell in love with North Carolina when your dad was stationed at Lejeune. You kids always liked it here. Running a bed-and-breakfast was my idea. The Pirates’ Rest is my dream.”

Her assertion surprises Meg. Did it surprise you? Why or why not?

4. What attracted Meg to Derek? How do you feel about her kissing Sam while she is still in a relationship with Derek? Is it cheating?

5. Meg and Sam's first sexual encounter in high school was less than perfect.

It hadn’t been all bad, she remembered. Even though he was drunk, even though she had no idea what she was doing, making out with Sam had been exciting. ... Meg drew an uneven breath. She could even look back now on the inevitable fumbling, painful outcome with a certain nostalgia. At least when Sam was laboring inside her—Oh,God, Meggie, you’re so tight—she’d felt like a necessary part of the process." p.161

How did you react to that description? Did you find their reactions believable?

6. What were Sam's strengths and weaknesses as a romantic hero?

7. How are Tom Fletcher and Carl Grady alike? How are they different? How does Carl's "hard-assed, hard-charging approach to business and to life" affect Sam personally and professionally? Do you think it has an impact on his relationship with Meg?

8. How did Meg's interactions with the secondary characters (Josh, Cynthie, Taylor) affect your perceptions of her?

9. Did Taylor change or grow over the course of the book? How do you feel about her story arc being unresolved at the end?

10. How do you feel about Meg's final decision regarding her career?

Bonus question :-) - The next story is about the youngest Fletcher sibling, Luke (Carolina Man, March 2014).

Who do you think the heroine will/should be?

June Newsletter - Carolina Girl release day!

Carolina Girl, on sale today! At Amazon ~ B&N ~ IndieBound

Smart, ambitious Meg Fletcher had a major crush on her brother's best friend, Sam Grady. But back in high school, Meg had places to go, and Sam had things to prove, and except for one disastrous New Year's Eve, she never acted on her attraction.

Years later, in the wake of her company's restructuring, Meg is back in her family home on beautiful Dare Island to nurse her wounds and plot her corporate comeback. The last thing she needs complicating her life and her plans is Sam, all grown up and irresistible as ever.

But this time Sam is determined to make Meg notice him...

Carolina Girl is a reunion story, about first times – first crush, first sex, first big, big mistake – and second chances. It's about our fears of turning into our mothers and our discovery that maybe Mom isn't exactly the person we thought she was. It's about Meg and Sam. I hope you enjoy their story.

Happy reading!

Thank you for your support. It means more than I can say.

Visit with me, Mariah Stewart, Carly Phillips, Kristan Higgins, Susan Andersen, and Jesse Hayworth as we chat on the USA Today Happy Ever After blog about the reasons we love contemporary romance. http://usat.ly/17ljsgj

Want more Dare Island?

Click here to read an excerpt of Carolina Home about Meg's brother, charter boat captain Matt Fletcher. Matt is a stand up guy, a single dad--quiet, steady, tough, and sexy as hell. He’s the one who stayed behind, the man who’s put his own dreams on hold in support of his family. He keeps his love life uncomplicated and his heart intact by following two rules: No dating island women. And no serious relationships. Of course, all that changes when pretty young schoolteacher Allison Carter comes to the island and challenges both his son’s school performance and Matt’s notions of what his own life can be.

and in March 2014 look for Luke's story, Carolina Man!

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Carolina Girl - TWO big giveaways!

I'm doing TWO big giveaways to celebrate the upcoming release of CAROLINA GIRL on Tuesday, June 4!

The lovely ladies of Book Binge are giving away a copy of Meg and Sam's story. Contest Ends: 6/4/13 (release day!) @11:59pm. US Only. Enter by leaving a comment at Book Binge, here.

And at Plot Monkeys, fabulous Carly Phillips is sponsoring a big beach giveaway - beach book, beach towel, and beach tumbler!

Leave a comment at the Plot Monkeys blog here. Winner announced Sunday.

Good luck! Happy summer and happy reading!

"I’m here if you need anything," Sam said.

Meg narrowed those shining blue eyes. “Like what?”

He shrugged. “An ear. A shoulder.”

“Thanks, but . . .”

“A full-body naked rubdown.”

That choked a laugh from her. He watched, satisfied, as some of the tension drained from her shoulders. “I can do without the extraneous body parts, thanks.”

“Anytime,” he said sincerely. “You let me know if you change your mind.”

And tried not to imagine her tight, compact body, round and responsive under his hands. Under him.

“In your dreams, Slick.”

Probably. Tonight, for sure.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Tomorrow?” She looked wary, like he was coming over to make good on that full-body naked massage.

“To work on the ramp.”

“Oh. Yes. Good idea.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “I’d take that as a compliment if you didn’t sound so surprised.”

“I meant it as one.” An actual smile this time. “I appreciate you doing this for Mom.”

“Not just for your mother.”

“And Matt.”

Matt was his best, his oldest friend. Sam shook his head. “Not only for Matt.”

She pressed her full lips together. “You’re not doing it for me.”

He didn’t answer right away. He owed the Fletchers, Tom and Tess, more than he could say. Their home had been his refuge throughout high school, an escape from his stepmother’s moods and his old man’s tirades. Tom had taught Sam to change the oil in his first car. Tess had taken him in and treated him as one of her own, equally quick with a cookie or a scold. He would have done a damn sight more for either of them than build a ramp.

But his feelings for Meg were mixed in there, too, a potent brew of attraction and regret.

He smiled at her with intent.

“Oh, no,” she said. “You don’t even know me anymore. There’s nothing between us but one lousy hookup and some memories.”

He took his hands out of his pockets. Nothing between them? “Let’s see,” he suggested and made his move.

Carolina Girl, coming June 4 from Berkley Sensation
         

Teaser Tuesday! Carolina Girl

“Want to come?”

Meg’s heart gave an extra thud. She met Sam’s gaze as his question hung on the air, heavy with expectation. She wanted to say yes, she realized, dismayed. Yes, to the building supplies. Yes, to going with him. Yes, to pretty much anything he proposed that would get her out of this kitchen and away from the career coach’s stupid questions.

So take a break. You need a little fun.

No. The sooner she finished the assignment, the sooner she could begin the real work of finding a job. She wasn’t abandoning her schedule to go joyriding around the island with the Boy Who Had Everything.

She dug in her heels, resisting the tug of temptation. “I’m not scavenging materials off a construction site. I’m perfectly capable of buying what we need.”

“Think of it as close proximity sourcing. This isn’t about money, Meggie. It’s about time and energy. A trip to the mainland and back would cost me a couple of hours and half a tank of gas. This is quicker. Get in, get out. No problem.”

Okay, she could accept his reasoning. To a point. Time is money, Derek was fond of saying. In their relationship, household chores and errands were calculated and divided as neatly as the monthly utilities. So many minutes to unload the dishwasher or carry the trash to the garbage chute, so many hours to pay the bills or wait for the super or pick up the dry cleaning . . .

Sam wasn’t anything like Derek. Maybe, in this one instance, that was a good thing. “At least let me reimburse you for the cost of the materials.”

“Nope.”

She was forced to be blunt. “Look, I don’t want to owe you any favors.”

“Consider it payback.”

“For what?” The instant the words escaped her mouth, she wished she could snatch them back. What did she want him to say? For being drunk? For taking everything you offered? For not calling you the next day or for weeks afterward? They were too old for any of that to matter now.

And if he apologized again, after all these years, she would hit him.

Carolina Girl, coming June 4 from Berkley Sensation
         

Teaser Tuesday!

Meg stole a glance at Sam’s profile as they left the bobbing lights of the waterfront behind. He looked good in moonlight, strong cheekbones, straight nose, sculpted lips, chiseled chin. And then there were those not-quite- dimples, the promise of humor, the flashes of empathy. Any woman could be forgiven for losing her head a little over Sam.

It wasn’t just his good looks and his money and his charm. Okay, those things didn’t hurt. But the real appeal was his willingness to put himself out, the way he’d driven to the airport to pick her up or built that ramp for her mother, without looking for payback, without figuring the angles or calculating the cost. She liked that about him. She liked him a lot.

He had always been a friend of Matt’s, a friend of the family. There was no reason after all these years that Meg couldn’t count him as her friend, too. Her good, close friend.

But nothing more.

The clouds against the blue velvet sky were the colors of an oyster shell, purple, gray, and milky white. The last time she had been alone in the dark with Sam, he’d kissed her senseless. If he tried anything this time, she was ready. She would just say no.

But despite his words in the restaurant, he was being a perfect gentleman.

She shivered a little from the breeze and disappointment.

He slanted a look at her. “Cold?”

She wasn’t stupid. She recognized a line when she heard one. “Is this where you offer to put your arm around me to keep me warm?”

“No.” He slid out of his jacket. “This is where I give you my jacket to keep you warm.” He put it around her shoulders, smiling down at her, making her feel safe and warm and cared for. His jacket smelled like him, masculine with a hint of expensive soap. “Then I put my arm around you,” he said, suiting the action to the words.

Meg smothered a laugh. “Where did you learn this move, high school?”

He grinned back, not smug, just...Sam. “Why not stick with what works?”

from Carolina Girl, coming June 2013