In my novel, The Healing Quilt, one of the characters was a workaholic and wanted to be on his boat all the time, which was how he made a living. All he thoughts about was his job and he didn’t spend much time to do things to relax and have fun with other people.

Do you or someone you know tend to work too much, neglecting your personal relationships in exchange for your job? What are some things we can do to curb the desire to work all the time? How can we find more time to spend with our family and friends and balance work with play?

In my novel, The Robin’s Greeting, Sylvia postponed her wedding to Dennis for a few months in order to help her mother, Belinda, in the greenhouse. Do you think it was necessary for her to do that, or should Belinda have insisted that her daughter keep her original plans as they were?

Have you ever set an important plan or event aside for the good of someone else? If so, how did it make you feel? Or perhaps a friend or family member rescheduled their plans to help you with something they felt was important. Did you accept their help willingly, or insist that you could manage on your own and ask them not to cancel or change their plans?

In my novel, The Sugarcreek Surprise, the main character, Lisa, faced a terrible tragedy at the age of seven, when her parents and paternal grandparents were killed, along with their driver. Lisa was the only survivor of the accident. She was sent to live with her maternal grandparents, who lived in another state. Despite their loving care, Lisa became an introvert and feared the unknown. It was difficult for her to form a bond with anyone, fearful that something tragic might happen to them. Do you think this was a normal reaction? Have you, or someone you know, ever been in a similar situation when you’ve gone through a tragedy? If so, how did you cope?