Behind the Pages with The Traveling Sisters discussion
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Spoiler Free Q & A with Robyn Harding author of the Arrangement
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Brenda ~The Sisters~Book Witch
(last edited Jun 30, 2020 07:10AM)
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Aug 07, 2019 12:51PM
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Oh I’ve only just got this book. I connected with her on Instagram. I hope to start it soon not sure I’ll be ready😳
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ooow this is definitely a great idea for a group ladies well done, my only problem now is I have another book to read (isn't life hard hard ;-) lol )
Robyn, I know you did research for this book by learning more about the Sugar Baby/Sugar Daddy relationships. I would like to know how you found the individuals you interviewed and what were some of the pros and cons they shared with you about these arrangements.I would also like to know what was the most eye-opening thing you learned while researching this book.
Thank you so much Robyn!
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Congrats on your success! 🎈🎉 Both main characters had a dark and vengeful side. Was it hard to come up with all the evil actions and thoughts for those characters?
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I also love the cover! I am always curious about how authors choose the cover. How did you go about choosing the cover? Did your family have a vote?
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What are you working on now?
Hi Robyn. I loved This book and was wondering (without revealing spoilers) if you knew from the beginning who was guilty, innocent ETC or did you decide that as you were writing and going along?
Hi Robyn!I love choosing my books to read by covers first and then titles so I am really curious to hear your answer to Brenda's question above. I absolutely love the cover and title of this book and think they are both perfect representations to the storyline.
Hi Robyn!The topic was at first morally offensive to me, but I soon became completely caught up in comparing the morals of the main characters and what I could learn from them.
Would you share if and what you learned about people's moral leanings from this story?
Comment: I plan to recommend this book one-on-one to my reading friends. It IS a page turner and a thought-provoker.
Hello Robyn...When socializing or hanging out with friends, does your book come up a lot in conversations?
What question are you asked the most often?
What kind of books do you like to read?Do you have a favorite author? If so, who?
Like Norma, book covers have a lot of influence on my reading choices, so I’m really looking forward to your answer.
Debra wrote: "Robyn, I know you did research for this book by learning more about the Sugar Baby/Sugar Daddy relationships. I would like to know how you found the individuals you interviewed and what were some o..."Hi Debra - The women I interviewed were very sweet. I asked if there parents knew that they were sugar babies and they said yes. That surprised me... but it's good because at least they can tell their parents where they are going and hopefully stay safe! The pros were the money, the gifts and the trips. The cons were emotional complications and, though they didn't articulate this, it can't be fun to do sexual favors for someone you're not attracted to!!
Julie (JuJu) wrote: "Hello Robyn...When socializing or hanging out with friends, does your book come up a lot in conversations?
What question are you asked the most often?"
Hi Julie - Yes, the books often come up! A question I ALWAYS get - in a joking way - is "is this based on real life?" My next book is about a couples swap gone wrong so friends have been teasing my husband and me!
Julie (JuJu) wrote: "What kind of books do you like to read?Do you have a favorite author? If so, who?"
I read a lot of thrillers, but I'm open to all genres (except I'm not into fantasy or romance). I worship Kate Atkinson! Love her historical fiction and her Jackson Brodie mystery series. Also Lisa Jewell and Liz Nugent!
Bren wrote: "Hi Robyn. I loved This book and was wondering (without revealing spoilers) if you knew from the beginning who was guilty, innocent ETC or did you decide that as you were writing and going along?"Hi Bren - without giving any spoilers... I changed the killer at the very end. It was going to be another character, but as I was writing, it seemed to make more sense for this character to commit the murder. That happens sometimes...
Celia wrote: "Hi Robyn!The topic was at first morally offensive to me, but I soon became completely caught up in comparing the morals of the main characters and what I could learn from them.
Would you share i..."
My point of view changed somewhat after my research and writing. While I have some moral issues with this lifestyle too, I feel it is more productive to focus on the safety of women engaging in the lifestyle. After I talked to these young women, I realized that judging them just makes them take it underground. Sex work is the oldest (and most dangerous) profession. I decided to suspend my judgement so that they would be more open and safer (willing to tell friends or family where they are going, who they are with). In this book, I wanted to show how a regular girl could fall into this lifestyle.
Brenda - Traveling Sister wrote: "I love the title The Arrangement and really thought it was a perfect title. It describes the story but still leaves it pretty open to what the arrangement is if you haven't read the book or go in b..."I originally wanted to be very provocative and call the book DADDY. They did a cover with the word on sugar cubes and I LOVED it. But the sales department thought it looked too much like erotica. I was so bummed, but I think THE ARRANGEMENT is a good title. We went through many cover options. I love the colors of this one and I think it's eye catching, but I would have preferred something that spoke more to sugar relationship. The Aussie cover is great and they will use it for the US paperback. It's so hard when you don't agree with your publisher on a cover, but they are SO important!!
Norma * Traveling Sister wrote: "Hi Robyn!I love choosing my books to read by covers first and then titles so I am really curious to hear your answer to Brenda's question above. I absolutely love the cover and title of this book..."
I'm glad you do! :)
Brenda - Traveling Sister wrote: "I would really like to about the names sugar babies and daddies. I feel like there is so many different meaning to it. Did you get any insight as to why they are called that? Or how those names cam..."In researching the origins of this term, I learned that there was a very wealthy businessman who had a sugar plantation and factory. He married a very young woman and people called him her sugar daddy. The term stuck around all these years!
sue wrote: "Oh I’ve only just got this book. I connected with her on Instagram. I hope to start it soon not sure I’ll be ready😳"Hope you enjoy Sue!
Robyn wrote: "Julie (JuJu) wrote: "Hello Robyn...When socializing or hanging out with friends, does your book come up a lot in conversations?
What question are you asked the most often?"
Hi Julie - Yes, the ..."
I can’t wait to read it. I love your writing! The Arrangement was SO interesting. A few bad choices can definitely change the course of your life, no matter how good your intentions are!
Brenda - Traveling Sister wrote: "Often thrillers are purely entertaining and lately, I have noticed from hosting groups reads believability can be very important to readers. I thought you did a really good job here adding a realis..."Realism is so important to me! I like to read about heightened reality, things that could plausibly happen. I related a lot to Nat because I'm from a small town and moved to the city and was often struggling financially. So I took that stress and fear and put it into her story line. I'm glad it felt like it could really happen!
Jess☺️ wrote: "ooow this is definitely a great idea for a group ladies well done, my only problem now is I have another book to read (isn't life hard hard ;-) lol )"Ha ha! I hope you enjoy it!
Brenda - Traveling Sister wrote: "Ok last question from me! What are you working on now?"
I am working on moving into my new house! So stressful! Buuuut... last week I handed in my next manuscript that should be published next summer. It's about a couples' swap that goes very very badly. It will be called THE SWAP (thought that could change).
Brenda - Traveling Sister wrote: "How long did it take you to do the research and write the story?"I spent ten months to a year researching and writing this book.
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When socializing or hanging out with friends, does your book come up a lot in conversations?
What question are you asked the most often?"
Hi Julie - Yes, the ..."
That's too funny! You could have some fun with that! Heehee!
Brenda - Traveling Sister wrote: "What do hope readers get out of your stories or The Arrangement specifically?"I am hoping readers get some insight and understanding into why a young woman might do this. It's a cautionary tale but I also hope people will be more accepting of sex workers in general in an effort to make it safer for women.
Julie (JuJu) wrote: "Congrats on your success! 🎈🎉 Both main characters had a dark and vengeful side. Was it hard to come up with all the evil actions and thoughts for those characters?"
Ha ha - no it was easy!!! They had such a twisted dynamic!! The opposite of love is not hate but indifference. They still had intense feelings for each other that played out in such a toxic way!
Hi, Robyn! I just started your book last night and loving it! I was curious about your earlier comment regarding how you changed which character committed the murder as you were finishing the book. How did that effect your already established plot line and strategic groundwork to make the new character fit your new decision? Did you have to rework the book substantially? I am still in the early chapters of the book and look forward to seeing everything continue to unfold... ✨😎✨
Brenda - Traveling Sister wrote: "I loved that the setting was in New York City? Why did you pick NYC?"I originally wanted to set it in Vancouver where I live, but my editor wanted a US setting. I was going to fight for it, but I realized that a bigger center worked better. There was more anonymity for them to "pretend" their relationship was legitimate. I've been to New York several times, and have a friend there who helped me ensure locations were accurate etc... And of course my editor lives there.
Brenda - Traveling Sister wrote: "I always love to know a bit about authors writing process. Did you start with the idea and then let it guide you, or does it all come together as you are writing? With the research, you did, did th..."I knew I wanted to write about a sugar baby/daddy relationship. I started writing it and then my Canadian publisher pushed me to do the research. That changed everything! With that insight, i went back and basically started over with a deeper understanding of how that life really works!
Robyn wrote: "Celia wrote: "Hi Robyn!The topic was at first morally offensive to me, but I soon became completely caught up in comparing the morals of the main characters and what I could learn from them.
Wou..."
An excellent answer. It has added to may appreciation of this book. Thank you.
Brenda - Traveling Sister wrote: "Congratulations Robyn on The Arrangement being an instant Canadian bestseller!! Can you sure share with us how that felt when you found that out? I did my famous book dance for you! Was there some ..."Can you post a video of your famous book dance? I was in bed when I got the email from my publisher with the news. (They are in Toronto so three hours later than it is here.) So I didn't dance, but I felt very very happy. I think all writers have a lot of insecurities, so it feels really nice and very validating. Like... I guess I am kind of good at this after all! :)
Celia wrote: "Robyn wrote: "Celia wrote: "Hi Robyn!The topic was at first morally offensive to me, but I soon became completely caught up in comparing the morals of the main characters and what I could learn f..."
I'm so glad! Thank you!
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LOL Robyn! A few friends have asked me to but I like to do it when no one is watching!
Thank you so much for having me here today! Excellent and intelligent questions! So nice to connect with some new book friends! xx
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