Clandestine (42 page)

And finally, no words can express my love and appreciation for Dave. Thanks for always supporting me and listening as I work through problems. Without you, none of this would be possible.

Reading Group Questions

O
h yes, this book has reading group questions.

Why?

Well, the English professor in me couldn’t publish this book without making it vaguely educational. And obviously your reading group would show excellent taste by selecting this book—reading groups don’t always have to be about the classics and Oprah’s Book Club. Sometimes you just need a shameless don’t-judge-me read. And any book that has reading group questions has to have redeeming literary qualities, right? So you’re totally justified in assigning it.

You’re welcome.

1. Throughout the book, Kit is frantic to hold on to her brother. Her relationship with him is more like a mother/caregiver figure than a sister. Do you feel that her attachment to him is understandable? Or should she just have let him go long before she actually does?

2. Unlike the first two books in this series, Marc is a twenty-first century hero. How did that change your reading experience? Did you like seeing a modern man in the past and all the humor it brought? Or did you find it less romantic and engaging?

3. How did you feel about the surprise reveal that happens about 60% of the way into the book? Did you suspect it? Did you feel betrayed by it or did you think it fun? How did it change the way you viewed the action in the book?

4. How concerned should we be over how our actions affect others? How much responsibility do we bear, particularly when those actions are done through our line of work?

5. How do you feel about the conclusion with Daniel? Do you like the explanation of his history or does it trouble you? Why or why not?

6. The next book will feature Linwood as the romantic hero. Do you think it will be possible to redeem him? Is he a truly evil person or just a product of his environment? Why or why not?

7. For me, writing is only fun when I can incorporate a lot of voice, meaning there is attitude and personality in the narration—so you get a sense of Marc and Kit’s thoughts throughout the book. Do you find this kind of narration more enjoyable to read or do you prefer the writer’s tone to be ‘invisible’?

8. When writing historical fiction, you face a conundrum. Do you stay completely true to the language of the period or do you allow it to be more modern (and therefore more accessible to readers)? Some argue that the language of the past would sound colloquial to those of the same time period. For example, a gentleman of 1813 might describe a new carriage as ‘bang up the mark,’ whereas my brother would describe his new truck as a ‘sweet ride.’ Though the phrasing is different, the words would have the same casual meaning in both eras. Considering this, how should language be used in historical fiction? Should authors use completely modern language, instead of trying to recreate the cadence of older English, in order to more perfectly capture the sentiments expressed?

9. As a writer, I feel the look of words on the page can communicate meaning as well. Therefore, I deliberately used line breaks, non-traditional punctuation, italics and visual cues to help convey tone and cadence. Did you find this helped as a reader, making your reading flow more easily? Why or why not?

10. Alright, let’s cast the movie of the book. (Cause hey, we can dream big, right?) Who plays Marc? Kit? Etc. In the movie version, what aspects of the book should be thrown out, condensed or altered? Also, what should the theme love song be?

About the Author

N
ichole Van is an artist who feels life is too short to only have one obsession. In former lives, she has been a contemporary dancer, pianist, art historian, choreographer, culinary artist and English professor. Though Nichole still prefers the label ‘adaptable’ more than ‘ADD.’

Most notably, however, Nichole is an acclaimed photographer, winning over thirty international accolades for her work, including Portrait of the Year from WPPI in 2007. (Think Oscars for wedding and portrait photographers.) Her unique photography style has been featured in many magazines, including
Rangefinder
and
Professional Photographer
. She is also the creative mind behind the popular websites Flourish Emporium and {life as art} Workshops, which provide resources for photographers.

All that said, Nichole has always been a writer at heart. With an MA in English, she taught technical writing at Brigham Young University for ten years and has written more technical manuals than she can quickly count. She decided in late 2013 to start writing fiction and has loved exploring a new creative process.

Nichole currently lives in Utah with her husband and three crazy children. Though continuing in her career as a photographer, Nichole is also now writing historical romance on the side. She is known as NicholeVan all over the web: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Visit her author website at www.NicholeVan.com to sign up for her newsletter. You can see her photographic work at
http://photography.nicholeV.com
and
http://www.nicholeV.com

If you enjoyed this book, please leave a short review on Amazon.com. Wonderful reviews are the elixir of life for authors. Even better than dark chocolate.

Copyright

Clandestine
© 2015 by Nichole Van Valkenburgh

Cover design © Nichole Van Valkenburgh

Interior design © Nichole Van Valkenburgh

Published by Fiorenza Publishing

Kindle Digital Edition 1.0

Clandestine
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ISBN: 978-0-9916391-4-4

Turn the page for a preview of

Intertwine
House of Oak Book 1

James and Emme's story and the
first
book in the House of Oak series.

Intertwine
House of Oak Book 1

T
he obsession began on June 12, 2008 around 11:23 a.m.

Though secretly Emme Wilde considered it more of a ‘spiritual connection’ than an actual full-blown neurosis.

Of course, her brother, Marc, her mother and a series of therapists all begged to disagree.

Thankfully her best friend, Jasmine, regularly validated the connection and considered herself to be Emme’s guide through this divinely mystical union of predestined souls (her words, not Emme’s). Marc asserted that Jasmine was not so much a guide as an incense-addled enabler (again, his words, not Emme’s). Emme was just grateful that anyone considered the whole affair normal—even if it was only Jasmine’s loose sense of ‘normal.’

Jasmine always insisted Emme come with her to estate sales, and this one outside Portland, Oregon proved no exception. Though Jasmine contended
this
particular estate sale would be significant for Emme, rambling on about circles colliding in the vast cosmic ocean creating necessary links between lives—blah, blah. All typical Jasmine-speak.

Emme brushed it off, assuming that Jasmine really just wanted someone to organize the trip: plan the best route to avoid traffic, find a quirky restaurant for lunch, entertain her on the long drive from Seattle.

At the estate sale, Emme roamed through the stifling tents, touching the cool wood of old furniture, the air heavy with that mix of dust, moth balls and disuse that marks aged things. Jasmine predictably disappeared into a corner piled with antique quilts, hunting yet again for that elusive log cabin design with black centers instead of the traditional red.

But Emme drifted deeper, something pulling her farther and farther into the debris of lives past and spent. To the trace of human passing, like fingerprints left in the paint of a pioneer cupboard door. Stark and clear.

Usually Emme would have stopped to listen to the stories around her, the history grad student in her analyzing each detail. Yet that day she didn’t. She just wandered, looking for something. Something specific.

If only she could remember what.

Skirting around a low settee in a back corner, Emme first saw the antique trunk. A typical mid-nineteenth century traveling chest, solid with mellow aged wood. It did not call attention to itself. But it stood apart somehow, almost as if the air were a little lighter around it.

She first opened the lid out of curiosity, expecting the trunk to be empty. Instead, she found it full. Carefully shifting old books and papers, Emme found nothing of real interest.

Until she reached the bottom right corner.

There she found a small object tucked inside a brittle cotton handkerchief. Gently unwrapping the aged fabric, she pulled out an oval locket. Untouched and expectant.