Discussion 3 - The Scent of Rain and Lightning

Hey all! Welcome back to the third discussion of The Scent of Rain and Lightning! Any and all are welcome to throw in an opinion or two!

I flew through this section.  I felt so bad for Red.  He obviously was falling for Jody and she was having none of it.   They definitely had different views on how their relationship was going. ;)  I also felt bad for Collin.  He must have been so conflicted, knowing that getting his dad out of prison was the RIGHT thing to do, however bad a decision it was for everybody around them.  I don't know if I could have been as nice as Collin and worked to get such an evil man out of prison.
An excerpt from the Random House interview with the author..

RHRC: You've woven two compelling stories into The Scent of Rain and Lightning. Which came to you first, the backstory or the presentday story? Did you find one easier to write than the other?

NP: I always find the backstories easier to write than the present-day stories. It's almost as if they already exist somewhere in time and space, and all I have to do is write them down; where with the present-day stories, I'm never sure what's going to happen next. This was true with Scent, it was true with Virgin, and it was true in my Marie Lightfoot series, in which my heroine, a true crime writer, was giving us chapters from her books about certain crimes and I was writing what was happening in her life currently. That's really where and when I started writing novels in this way, and I love doing it, though it's still a big writing challenge for me.

1. What do you think of everyone thinking Billy deserved prison even though they didnt think he killed Hugh-Jay?


2. How do you think Collin's life would have been different if Billy hadn't gone to prison?


3. Is it believable how quickly Jody starts accepting everyone's opinion of Billy's innocence?


4. Where do you see Jody's relationship with Red going? What do you think of Collin's confession to Jody?

5. What was the purpose of killing Val?

Come back next Friday for the last discussion through the end of the book!!! ;) Thanks for participating! Vote for November's book in the sidebar!