DELILAH GREEN DOESN’T CARE Book Club Kit

Book Club Kit

Dear Reader , WHEN ONE OPENS A ROMANCE NOVEL, ONE EXPECTS TO READ. . . ROMANCE. We want the swoons, the feels, the steam, the HEA. We want our stomach to flutter when one character first realizes they like the other, and we want to be on the edge of our favorite reading chair waiting for the moment when they finally kiss. And while we may or may not have that third act breakup, we certainly want to see our lovers struggle and overcome some kind of odds to be together. We want a sweeping love story, one that restores our faith in true love, in second chances, in happily ever after.

These are the things we come to expect from a romance novel, and I hope you find all of these things when you read Delilah Green Doesn’t Care. However, this isn’t all we want out of romance novels. We also want messy, true-to-life characters who make mistakes, who have a million things going on in their lives just like we do. When writing this book, I loved writing all the romantic elements—the glances, the sighs, the flirting, the kisses, and the sex. However, what I really enjoyed creating were the characters themselves. Delilah, to be quite honest, is a train wreck, surrounded by other train wrecks, and they all make a decent train wreck out of their current situations.

Which is exactly what I love about these characters. They felt so real to me, pouring onto the page in a way that made me, even though I was their creator for all intents and purposes, feel seen as a human being. They are me, in all of their mess, their lies, their fear. Delilah, specifically, is lonely, terrified of love, and uses a tough veneer to protect herself against vulnerability. Because she’s been hurt. Because she’s scared of getting hurt again. Who among us cannot identify with that fear?

But as I wrote Delilah, she slowly started to break through that shell. Romance is a part of it, yes. Her relationship with Claire helps her see that she is lovable, that she does have things to offer others. But it isn’t Claire alone who helps her with this. It’s also snarky Iris, and Delilah’s estranged stepsister, Astrid, and even Claire’s eleven-year-old daughter, Ruby.

It’s a community. It’s friendship.

Which we all need. To be healthy humans, to be ready and able to accept the love we all deserve, we need friendships, family. We need to see that our mistakes, our fears, do not define us or preclude us from our own HEA. If anything, our humanness—the beauty and the mess— make us even more ready to accept our own HEA, whatever that might look like for us.

Happy reading!

Ashley

Which Character Are You?

Where would you want to live?

A) Small towns all the way; I like knowing everyone B) Big city life, please; small towns are okay, but I also need some action C) I like both; give me variety!

D) Small towns, because they’re quiet and clean

What do you look for most in a friend?

What is your go-to snack?

A) Comfort

B) Dark chocolate

B) Loyalty

C) Trail mix

C) Fun

D) I don’t like to snack between meals

A) Potato chips

D) Consistency

What is your drink of choice?

A) Any white wine will do B) Vodka soda with a twist C) Bourbon, neat D) Club soda

What kind of job appeals to you the most?

A) Something quiet and cerebral B) Anything where I’m my own boss, thanks very much C) I need to be on the move, doing different things every day D) Whatever makes the most money

If you were stranded on an island, what would you bring?

Your friend has a minor crisis.

What do you do?

A) I make them some soup and make them a nest of blankets on their couch B) I rant and rave about whoever hurt them, then hold them super tight while they cry C) I listen to what the problem is, then only offer advice if they really want it D) I come up with actionable steps to get them through the hard time

What hobby would you want to pick up?

A) Scrapbooking B) Caring for plants C) Creating cool apps for artists D) Baking

A) A book B) A vibrator C) A phone D) A lot of soap

IF YOU PICKED: Mostly A’s: You’re a Claire Mostly B’s: You’re an Iris Mostly C’s: You’re a Delilah Mostly D’s: You’re an Astrid

Discussion Questions 1. Out of Delilah, Claire, Astrid, and Iris, who would you want most as your friend?

What qualities of each character do you relate to?

2. Delilah and Astrid never had a relationship growing up and couldn’t be more different

on the surface. In what ways are they similar? With Delilah and Claire’s new relationship, do you think Delilah and Astrid will become friends?

3. What do you think about Josh? Is he just misunderstood or should he be a better father to Ruby?

4. If you were Claire, do you think you’d be able to forgive Delilah for what she said even though the bet was never officially made?

5. If you didn’t like your friend’s partner, would you say something?

How would you go about it?

6. Throughout the novel, Delilah, Claire, and Iris pull pranks and plot schemes

to get Astrid to see that Spencer isn’t right for her. Have you ever pulled a prank or done something similar?

7. Claire is very devoted to raising her daughter, Ruby. How do you think single parenthood complicates dating? Enhances it?

8. Bright Falls holds very visceral memories for Delilah, a lot of them negative. How do

you think place affects our memories and how we feel about them? Do you have a certain location that you associate with extremely strong memories?

9. For a long time, Delilah chose to deal with her problems by avoiding them.

How did this method hurt her? Are there any ways in which it helped her actually come to terms with her issues?

10. Claire has a difficult time putting herself first. Why is self-care important? In what ways did Claire grow to figure out that it was okay to take things for herself?

© Craig Pope

Ashley Herring Blake is the author of the young adult novels Suffer Love, How to Make a Wish, and Girl Made of Stars (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and the middle grade novels Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, and Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea (Little, Brown). You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at AshleyHBlake and on the web at AshleyHerringBlake.com. She lives in Georgia.