Welcome to the KISS ME IF YOU CAN Bookclub!
I’m so excited to be here with you guys today to talk about KISS ME IF YOU CAN. I asked for questions and you guys answered! In case you didn’t see Sunday’s post, I had promised I’d pick 3 winners to receive signed copies of LOVE ME IF YOU DARE. Thanks to all who submitted questions!
The winners are:
Patricia Sinclair
Denise Sutton :applause
Bella Franco
Congratulations! Email me at: carly phillips @ mac . com no spaces to confirm your email so I can send your prize!
The one thing I discovered on receiving questions is that most weren’t “discussion” questions per se but rather questions for me, which I’m happy to answer before we get into Book club discussion!
1. Of all the books I wrote, what was my most memorable sex scene: BRAZEN’S shower scene! It’s when I knew I could write Blaze!
2. The Jewelry in KISS ME IF YOU CAN – nope, not real, not inspired by anything particular, although Trifari is a real jewelry name and I did research on it.
3. If my characters pinch the bridge of their nose a lot, I wasn’t aware of it. Now I will be, LOL!
4. Of course Yank isn’t going blind quietly (though he is going blind). Yank is learning to live with his macular degeneration condition (unlike my grandmother who gave up) he is still enjoying life in different ways with Lola by his side and his nieces and their kids around often! For now, I won’t be mentioning the Hot Zone in books again for awhile.
Since I received SO many other questions, I think I will save them for next week’s Blog. They’re questions about characters and writing and I’m happy to answer them, so check in again next week!
BOOK CLUB
I’m going to put up 3 questions to discuss today. Feel free to ask one of your own. So here we go, two questions reader inspired, one me inspired!
1. Aside from the book being a romance title, what path did you expect Coop and Lexie to take? Were you surprised by anything that happened between them? Did the romance feel genuine to you?
2. Interesting relationship between Coop and Sara, next door neighbor. Do readers think he should have hooked up with her? Is she too nosy? Does she need to mind her own business? Where do you draw the line in friendships male/female? Can you really be only friends??
3. Carly speaking here: When I read a book and the heroine can’t give up something (i.e. Lexie’s traveling and lack of roots) when she falls in love, it drives me nuts because personally I’d do anything to make love work. Not give up ME but compromise. Did you feel Lexie or Coop were too firmly entrenched in their ideas? Or were they properly motivated so you understood where they were coming from?
I found cover flats for the following books:
Kiss Me If You Can
Love Me If You Dare
Lucky Streak
Lucky Break
Hot Number (the most recent cover)
I will pick from today’s posters and you can email me and choose which cover flats you want after I post the winners on Sunday!
Now … LET’S DISH!
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Of course I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t remind you: The sequel to Kiss Me If You Can, LOVE ME IF YOU DARE (Sara and Rafe’s story) is in bookstores and available online TODAY!
Carly Phillips would like to take 100% credit for all her stories but the truth is, Carly’s strength is writing family, emotion, funky elderly people and animals. She couldn’t plot her way out of a paper bag, which is why she smartly found her plotmonkey pals early on in her writing career. Thanks to their support, Carly is now a NYT Bestselling author of 23 plus novels. Because writing doesn’t keep her busy enough, Carly is also a wife, a mother of one preteen and one teenage daughter, the primary care giver of her soft coated Wheaten terrier and an expert carpool mom.
Destiny
Dirty Little Secrets
Once Upon A Valentine
Through The Night
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I loved Coop’s relationship with Sara. I would think that people who are trained with a police force share a certain bond and a certain closeness and are always looking out for each other’s backs.
P.S. I’m so excited that Love Me If You Dare is FINALLY out today!
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Thanks, Sue! I have to say, I’m a jealous-type female. If I’d been Lexie, I’d have reacted the same way! I don’t mind men/women friendships/best buds – until there’s a love interest involved on either side. Then to me, how do you have emotional intimacy with two women? So I may be in the minority, but I totally get Lexie’s reaction!
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I guess I as long as he’s not giving her bedroom eyes, I can separate the friendship from a romance. Now if she was throwing herself at him, that would certainly tick me off!
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OK as long as I don’t feel threatened, it’s cool. I get that!
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It’s hard for me to deal with a guy who claims a female friend is truly just a friend. I’ve had too many bad experiences where it just wasnt the truth. But I myself have a guy friend that’s been my friend since we were 11 &12, so I know platonic is possible. I just get nervous that I’ll end up looking gullible again so I get jealous/suspicious
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Hi Carly!! It’s going to be a fun day.
Interesting questions. I think Lexie’s background had so much to do with her unwillingness to compromise and commit to a relationship. I think this is true for a lot of people. They are just scared to take that leap. Some times for good reason. Other times, you just need to risk your heart.
I could definitely feel the chemistry between Lexie and Coop. The story was very believable.
Can’t wait for Love Me If You Dare!
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Thanks! I thought Lexie and Coop came from such opposite places they needed to LEARN compromise along the way, and the idea of – is this person important enough to me in order to even think about change/compromise in their own life!
FYI kids are out of school, lots of appointments, if I don’t check in for a bit, I WILL be back when I can and replying!
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Great qs, Carly. Too in depth for me to answer right now, but I wanted to do a quick drive by to say hi. I will probably be distracted by them during the orientation lecture today….thank you very much. Have fun with the bookclub chat today. See you later.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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We all having coping mechanisms in place to protect us from situations which have occurred in our lives. Some we recognize, like Coop knowing his stemmed from issues with his ex; and some we don’t, like Lexi’s need for travel which started as her way to handle issues with her parents. Though even if we know they are there it is not always easy to overcome and to ‘step out on a limb’, so to speak. If Lexi and Coop had immediately given in and compromised on the travel issue the book would have been more of a fairy tale and less like life.
I read your books because even though there are, “that would never happen in real life” situations; there are also “I can see that happening” ones. That’s what makes your books so enjoyable, so keep them coming!
Just took a ‘trip’ to Amazon to place my order for LOVE ME IF YOU DARE!
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Thanks, Diana. I never thought of it in terms of coping mechanisms for characters, but that’s a great point! WE all have them, why shouldn’t they?
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I liked the Coop/Sara friendship. I believe you can have friendship with the opposite sex without becoming anything more. I don’t think a romance between them would have worked out and look forward to reading Sara’s story.
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Thanks, Pat. I also don’t think Coop and Sara would have had a believable romance. I toyed with the idea of having them have a past, but he already had one with Amanda and Coop was no playboy… he needed a good friend!
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I liked that even the dialog between Sara and Coop was different than what you’d hear from a non-platonic relationship. Their conversations and interactions had a completely different tone from Lexi’s and Coop’s talks together.
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ooh thank you for noticing! I love knowing that!
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BTW, I just got notice that “Love Me” is being shipped!!! Whoot!
Okay, now for the questions:
1. Aside from the book being a romance title, what path did you expect Coop and Lexie to take? Were you surprised by anything that happened between them? Did the romance feel genuine to you?
I felt it was a little ‘forced” (ie. I think in the beginning they just had a ‘mutual’ agenda from each other, but then it became real…that’s sometimes how romances are…they have their own agenda and then fall in love…which is totally fine).
2. Interesting relationship between Coop and Sara, next door neighbor. Do readers think he should have hooked up with her? Is she too nosy? Does she need to mind her own business? Where do you draw the line in friendships male/female? Can you really be only friends??
Most of my friends used to be male. Why can’t males and females be friends and nothing more? I think Sara was just looking out for Coop’s best interest as a friend.
3. Carly speaking here: When I read a book and the heroine can’t give up something (i.e. Lexie’s traveling and lack of roots) when she falls in love, it drives me nuts because personally I’d do anything to make love work. Not give up ME but compromise. Did you feel Lexie or Coop were too firmly entrenched in their ideas? Or were they properly motivated so you understood where they were coming from?
I think it depends on where you are coming from. If you really love a person, then you are willing to make a compromise (and you can, I think, as long as there are not kids involved and the kids get older, otherwise, you need to figure out what is best for the kids. If you are just in ‘lust’ with a person, then you shouldn’t compromise (there’s a difference, you know). When you truly love a person and something is important to them, it should be important to you. Otherwise, you are not true to yourself. I probably need more therapy. LOL.
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Thanks for the comments! I think them each having an agenda is something that really can happen and the attraction was a bonus!
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Totally Carly…I think they did fall for each other, though…
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Great questions! I enjoyed the Coop/Sara relationship. I think her being nosy was point on. I personally have friends that are the opposite sex and have been protective of them, so I could relate to it. Is it possible to be “just friends” – for some it is. I think it depends on the personalities involved.
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Good point, Cheri. Personalities actually do dictate everything in a relationship even in real life. If the “friend” has their own agenda (i.e. really “likes” their friend), then it’s an issue. Not in Coop and Sara’s case!
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This is the first time I’ve participated in a book club and it is great to see all the comments on here. After I read some, I thought, hey I thought that too. Others have me wanting to read the book again with that perspective. Thanks for doing this! And thanks for writing another great book!
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I’m glad you got something out of the book club! thanks for contributing too. I’ve had a lot of fun!
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First, I loved Kiss Me If You Can and can’t wait to pick up my copy of Love Me If You Dare today.
Totally reminded me why contemporary romances are still my first love.
1. I really liked the path Coop and Lexie took along the way to finding true love. You could feel their attraction to one another from the first and I loved watching them fall for one another.
2. I loved the friendship between Coop and Sara. They really cared about one another and I loved seeing a great male/female friends only relationship. Not sure you can ever really be too nosy when you are looking out for a friend.
3. So funny you should ask about the travel issues between Lexie and Coop. One of my questions as I read the book was whether or not they could find a way to make it with Lexie’s need for travel and Coop’s issues with it. I liked the compromise they found to make it work. I think if you really love someone you will do anything to make love work, while still being true to yourself.
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Thanks, Liza. Just the fact that you asked yourself “how will they work it out” to me is the sign of a believable conflict between two people!
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1. Actually, this was one of the first contemporary romances I’ve read. I’m used to paranormal romance/urban fantasy so I’m used to magic and soulmates, lol
But Coop was an easy character to fall for and though I was surprised by his being the one to seem more attached before Lexi, it felt real
2. When it comes to friends, I personally find it hard to believe that a true platonic friendship could exist between the two had they hooked up previously. I think that that’s why the other paper writer was such a good juxtaposition to Sara; Coop (if I remember correctly) had slept with her, and they worked together and nothing was going on between them any longer, but were they real friends? Nope. But he and Sara are real friends, with no tangles ever between them which made it possible to trust each other in a way you cant if hooking up had taken place
3. I feel the same way, Carly. Personally I’d do all I could for something real. But I also understand that you gotta be really careful to not put your heart on the line too quickly either. Sometimes compromise just isn’t an option too, if it’s something that is your passion, so instead I tend to relate to characters more than get frustrated when they have issues and freak out,lol
Though with Lexi I did have trouble relating to her at first, I liked and felt I understood Coop right away.
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Amanda! that was her name. I couldnt recall it when I was typing out my answer to #2
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Bella, I’m so honored you read KISS ME when you’re normally a paranormal reader. Thank you!
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Just finished Kiss Me If You Can last night. What a great book! Can’t wait to read the rest of the series. I really liked how the whole cast of characters (even Grandma Charlotte) were multi-layered and written with such depth. What I noticed is how everyone seemed to have “Trust” issues and the main conflict was within themselves. To answer question #3- I think this drove their motivations. Coop and Lexie were influenced by past hurts. This shaped their behavior towards each other.
I also thought the family dynamics portrayed in the book were very interesting and shaped the characters. For example: mother/ son (Charlotte and Grant); father/ daughter (Lexie and Grant); grandmother/granddaughter (Charlotte and Lexie); lifelong best friends (Sylvia and Charlotte); and father/son (Jack and Coop) These relationships contributed a great deal to the overall story.
Thanks again Carly for a great book!
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Thank YOU, Vanessa!
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I loved Grandma Charlotte and Sylvia, they were great and reminded me of my Great Aunt Connie. Maybe they could make an quick appearance and tiptoe through the other bachlor books. Maybe being over heard talking loudly at the next table, or fighting over whos turn it is to pay the bus fare keeping the bus stopped long enough for a heart to heart talk between the main characters. Okay, if not them then someone like them.
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oh! that would be fun! I’d love “overhearing” them at another table in one of the other books lol theyre just so funny & lovable u dont want to let em go
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It has been awhile since I read the book. I am a believer that men & women can be just friends. There are many factors that enter into any reltionship. Not all male/female relationships need or should evolve into romance and or marriage.
I think if you do love someone and they return that love then you do need to learn to compromise to make the relationship work. Coop & Lexie both had trust issues which they needed to work out. I like the way you developed the story and the relationship.
The comments here are interesting and fun to read. Thanks for having Book Club.
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Donna, I agree. Compromise is the basis for ANY good relationship!
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Hey Carly, orientation Day 1 finally done. Now I get to play…yay. Oh, Love Me is here. I am so excited to have it in my hands.
1. I thought Lexie and Coop’s path was very realistic. It was very clear she had some hangups about staying in one place and not being able to express who she was and Coop wanted to fly. I loved the dichotomy of that aspect of their relations. Coop’s desire to right and just be was the perfect foil for Lexie’s desire to not be caged. It created great emotional conflict and helped to ramp up my desire to see them succeed in this relationship. The figuring out how they will make things work with them is what made the book special to me.
2. I think that it was a good thing that Sara and Coop didn’t hookup and that there was no hint of sexual tension between them. It would have turned me off a bit, and put Coop in the dog house with me. Just the idea of having her as just a friend was perfect because it helped me as a reader to see Lexie’s character develop more. Her having to deal with some jealousy about Coop enabled her to examine her feelings even more. Sara’s being a cop and a good neighbour made her very likeable. As I was reading, I got the sense that maybe Sara wanted more between her and Coop at some point in the past, but she is resigned to the fact that they will just be good friends now.
3. I think the way you wrote both Lexie and Coop was a great way to get them to focus on what they need to do in order to find a way to be together. I love the idea of “giving something up” because it forced them to take a serious look at what they want from themselves and for each other. This particular high stakes conflict is especially important for their growth as well as for the movement of the plot in a story or novel.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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Thanks, Paula. In writing the nonsexual nature of Coop and Sara, I felt a touch of “me” coming through – in that if I were Lexie and they had been involved, I’d always be questioning. This worked better for me … and for the characters!
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Hi! I thought of Sara as a big sister type, who really would be nosy with Lexie because Sara is truly looking out for Coop. And if she sees Coop as the little brother type, she definitely wouldn’t be attracted to him.
I liked that Coop and Lexie, although they were attracted to each other from the beginning, waited long enough to get to know each other better. Of course, being that they were wrong for each other in a way (the traveling thing) that pushed their insecurity buttons helped make the gradual, developing relationship more reasonable/realistic.
In the beginning, I thought Charlotte and Sylvia were too much, too in the way of Coop and Lexie’s romance. Charlotte should have known better than to push Lexie since she should know that Lexie would just run away if pushed too hard. If Charlotte really wanted Lexie to be with Coop, why the secret pictures and such which would just upset Lexie? Okay, I’m glad that in the end, the revelations about Charlotte made Lexie reevaluate how she saw herself and her life (even before the guy with the knife), but for the longest time I thought Charlotte was hindering, not helping, Coop’s cause.
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Yes. Charlotte and Sylvia were over the top. On purpose … and yet not the feelings behind their actions. It was fun writing them and Uncle Pirro in LOVE ME IF YOU DARE. Next year’s books will lack the over the top dimension, so I’m glad to have had so much fun with these. Writing SERENDIPITY now and it’s flying. Loving it.
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Sorry I couldn’t contribute any questions, I just got my copy from the library this weekend. I liked Sara’s and Coop’s relationship. Reminded me of college when the guys/girls wouldn’t date suitemates or the people who lived next door. They were friends or similar to siblings to each other. My husband had a lot of platonic female friends when we were dating, but it didn’t bother me because I knew I was the only
“non-platonic” one. Lots of trust issues in this story, but I’m glad Coop and Sara learned to compromise. (It should be a pillow: Love means being able to compromise.) Can’t wait for Sara’s and Rafe’s story.
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Thanks, Ellen!
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I can’t wait to read Sara and Rafe’s story either. I’ll have to go by the bookstore later.
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Hi Carly just picked up my copy of Love me if you Dare can’t wait to start it.
2. I thought there was going to be more to Coop and Sara’s past she seemed really intreseted in him. I think men and women can be just friends but I think when people spend a lot of time together there is always that chance that things can change.
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Isn’t that the truth? It’s why girlfriends can get insecure about girl “friends”.
Thanks!
I’m not surprised that aspect generated the most discussion. i was so happy it was asked as a question!