My name is Deidre Berry, and my debut novel The Next Best Thing would be perfect for your next book club selection. It is a humorous contemporary novel, which asks:
What do you do when the life you planned, is no longer part of the plan?
Tori Carter is a sassy, multi-tasking diva who prefers for her life to run as smooth and hitch-free as the events she coordinates. No drama, no problems—that's Tori's idea of the good life. Her tendency to plan everything to the max has made her the most successful event coordinator in the business—and the number one problem solver for her family and friends. But when her perfect fiancee, Roland, chooses their wedding day to run off with the woman he previously claimed was just a good, "platonic friend", Tori is left without a Plan B-through-Z...or any idea what to do next.
During a period of post-traumatic breakup blues, Tori suddenly has the epiphany that the best way to mend a broken heart is to simply: “Get back out there.”
Against the advice of a personal Life coach, Tori dives headfirst back into the dating pool where she suffers through one dating disaster after another, while also dutifully tending to the never-ending needs of her zany, high-spirited group of family and friends; as well as a hectic career where her senior position is in jeopardy due to backstabbing and blatant sabotage.
Then there is Nelson. Tori's handsome, widowed neighbor who could possibly turn up the heat in ways she never imagined, if only he could somehow manage to get past the emotional baggage he still carries years after the tragic death of his much beloved wife.
Told candidly through the pages of her journal, The Next Best Thing chronicles Tori's daily struggle to pick up the pieces of her once perfectly ordered life, while also learning to accept that no amount of planning can prevent the curve balls that Life sometimes throws your way.
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation Pub. Date: April 01, 2009; ISBN-13: 9780758238320; Price: 14.00
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Would you allow your man to have close friendships with other women?
2) Is it possible for a heterosexual man and woman to have a strictly platonic friendship?
3) What are your thoughts on prenuptial agreements?
4) What do you think is an appropriate amount of time to mourn the loss of a spouse before moving on and dating again?
5) Is it ever worthwhile to reunite with an ex, or should past relationships always stay in the past?
6) Tori's DSWYE rule prohibits dating neighbors and co-workers. Is this a good rule to live by, or should everyone be considered fair game?
7) With the divorce rate being over 50%, are lavish weddings ultimately a waste of money?
8) Did Tori place more importance on planning her wedding to Roland rather than the relationship itself?
The Next Best Thing will be available in bookstores on April 1st, but you can take advantage of steep discounts, and pre-order the book via Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. I would love to discuss my novel with your book club in person, via phone, virtual chat, blog, or radio show.
1) Would you allow your man to have close friendships with other women?
2) Is it possible for a heterosexual man and woman to have a strictly platonic friendship?
3) What are your thoughts on prenuptial agreements?
4) What do you think is an appropriate amount of time to mourn the loss of a spouse before moving on and dating again?
5) Is it ever worthwhile to reunite with an ex, or should past relationships always stay in the past?
6) Tori's DSWYE rule prohibits dating neighbors and co-workers. Is this a good rule to live by, or should everyone be considered fair game?
7) With the divorce rate being over 50%, are lavish weddings ultimately a waste of money?
8) Did Tori place more importance on planning her wedding to Roland rather than the relationship itself?
The Next Best Thing will be available in bookstores on April 1st, but you can take advantage of steep discounts, and pre-order the book via Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. I would love to discuss my novel with your book club in person, via phone, virtual chat, blog, or radio show.
My schedule is filling up quickly, so please contact me as soon as possible at: writeon777@aol.com or via Facebook where you can get additional author information, news, and other updates.
Best of everything,
Deidre Berry
Best of everything,
Deidre Berry
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