The Moment of Everything (24 page)

Thank you to my agent, Stéphanie Abou, and my editor at Grand Central Publishing, Emily Griffin, who saw promise in my work and gave me the courage to make this novel all that I wanted it to be. Thank you to Ellen Sussman and Tom Parker, in whose writing workshops I not only learned the mechanics of storytelling but also met many other writers who have supported and encouraged me along the way. Two of those writers are Tracy Guzeman and Christine Chua, who kindly read many drafts of this novel, pushed me to make it better, and held my hand when it was time to let it go. Thanks to all the amazing members of my writing group—Gordon Jack, Eileen Brody, Rich Register, Cheyenne Richards, Mary Taugher, Beth Sears, Katy Motiey, John Foley, Lolly Winston, and Julie Knight—with whom I’ve survived many rounds of critiques and courses of questionable Chinese food. Sincere thanks to Robert Wendin for sending me taunting e-mails until I finished this novel. Thank you to Will Schuur for reminding me of what it’s like to be in your twenties in Silicon Valley and for cooking all those delicious dinners. Thank you to Matthew Williams and Rebecca Laincz for all the late-night waffles and tales from the wild land of used bookstores. Thank you to my devoted and loving parents, Virginia and Harold Gilbertson—who are nothing like the parents in this novel—and to my brother John and his wife, Ethel, for all their love, support, and the use of their beautiful pond house—the best writing retreat on earth. And thank you to my husband, John, for helping me find the peace and quiet in my heart to be the writer I wanted to be.

1. “Books don’t change lives, not like people think they do.” Do you agree or disagree with the first line in Shelly King’s novel? Do you think it’s meant to be tongue-in-cheek? Did a book, or books, change Maggie’s life?
   
2. At the beginning of the novel, Maggie’s life is in a holding pattern after her layoff. Have you ever been laid off or fired? Does Maggie’s experience, of feeling part of a corporate family and then being let go, resonate with you?
   
3. Have you ever read
   Lady Chatterley’s Lover
   ? Was it for a school assignment or leisure reading? Which of the book club members’ interpretations ring the most true to you?
   
4. Though the Silicon Valley Women Executives Association Book Club is an extreme (and somewhat satirical) example of a reading group, have you encountered similar dynamics in any of your own reading groups? What do you think makes for a good reading group?
   
5. Have you ever written in a book?
   
6. How does Maggie’s relationship with her mother change over the course of the novel? Do you fault Georgine for staying in her marriage? Why or why not?
   
7. Throughout the book, we meet characters who want to lose themselves in other worlds—from those who read romances to those who imagine they’re Henry or Catherine and still others who participate in medieval re-creations. What does it say about these characters, and the world they all do live in, that they create and escape to these other worlds? Have you ever pretended to be someone else, either in real life or a virtual world?
   
8. By the end of the book, Maggie has lost two good friends for two very different reasons. Which of those reasons do you think is harder to get over? She’s also made a very good friend in Jason—did that surprise you? Have you ever had an antagonistic relationship turn into a close friendship?
   
9. Who did you think Henry and Catherine would reveal themselves to be? Were you surprised by Maggie’s discovery? Did you think her involvement in their love story was reasonable, or did she cross a line?
   
10. What do you think happens to Maggie and Rajhit after the novel ends?
    

Shelly King is a native Southerner who packed her bags and moved to Silicon Valley at the beginning of the Internet boom. She works for a major software company as a social media strategist and information architect. Her stories have been published in the
GW Review
,
Epiphany
,
Slow Trains
, the
Dos Passos Review
, and the
Coe Review
. She lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains with her husband, two big dogs, and a disapproving cat.

You can learn more at:

ShellyKing.com

Twitter @shelbelle94

Facebook.com/ShellyKingAuthor

Whatwewriteinbooks.tumblr.com

“Populated with an endearing, eccentric cast of characters, and told with sharp Southern humor, THE MOMENT OF EVERYTHING is a gift for those who believe in the magic of bookstores…and in the power of books.”

—Tracy Guzeman, author of
The Gravity of Birds

“If the cast of
Girls
moved to the Silicon Valley and got tech jobs, if the correspondence in
You’ve Got Mail
took place in the pages of a used book, you might find THE MOMENT OF EVERYTHING at this hypercool intersection of retro appeal and modern smarts. Shelly King has drawn a perfect heroine for this very moment—snarky enough to make you laugh and yet satisfyingly full of hope and soul. Thoroughly rooted in the now, but achingly in love with the past, THE MOMENT OF EVERYTHING is a book lover’s book—a warmhearted illustration of the continuing relevance of books and bookstores in our modern culture that’s sure to make readers fall in love.”

—Lydia Netzer, author of
Shine Shine Shine
and
How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky

“In Shelly King’s charming novel, a young woman finds love letters in an old copy of
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
. Her quest to discover their source leads her in and out of the many worlds of Silicon Valley, and the surprising twists and turns of love and self-discovery. We’re the lucky readers who get to come along for this delightful ride. Ms. King writes with humor, passion, and great intelligence.”

—Ellen Sussman,
New York Times
bestselling author of
French Lessons
and
The Paradise Guest House

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For more about this book and author, visit Bookish.com.