Book Club Kit
Dear Reader, Thank you for choosing The Dead Romantics for your book club! I really hope you enjoy it, from the bottom of my cold, dead heart. The Dead Romantics is a story about a ghostwriter for a famous romance novelist who must return home when her father unexpectedly passes away, and face the ghosts of her past. . . and the ghost of her recently deceased (and very, very sexy) editor. It’s a story about love and all of its different faces—romance and grief and anger and homesickness. But most importantly, it’s about learning to not be a ghost in your own life. (Also puns! There are a lot of puns. I’d make a grave mistake if I hadn’t included all the good ones.) The Dead Romantics is also my ode to ghost stories. This might surprise you, but I believe in ghosts. Kinda. I’m not too sure on the reality of them—the Anabelles and the Caspers—because it’s all just a bit wishy-washy. Trying to pin down a ghost, to have exact proof that they’re real, is sort of like trying to catch the wind. (Or paranormal activity on a video camera.)
I believe in ghosts the same way I believe in a good story or a fond memory. A good ghost story, told across a crackling bonfire, will make you wonder what’s hiding in the shadows. It’ll make you believe that stories, passed down from one person to another, take on a life of their own. The stories themselves become the ghosts. And, while you’re pretty sure ghosts don’t exist, the possibility in the story makes you think, maybe just for a moment, “What if…?” Admittedly, there is no horror in The Dead Romantics (unless you count the horror story of ex-boyfriends who become That Dude in your MFA program), but it’s still a ghost story, nonetheless. The difference is, I suppose, most ghost stories end in a tragedy, and I won’t do that to you. We have enough tragedy in the world, so let me tell you a different story. And I hope you enjoy it.
Happy Reading!
Ashley Poston
Tell us about The Dead Romantics! The Dead Romantics is about a young woman, Florence, who is the ghostwriter for an acclaimed romance novelist. . . except she’s kinda lost her touch after a horrible break-up, and she’s blown past every deadline, unable to write an ever-after since.
A C o n v e r s at io n with A s h l ey Po sto n
When her father unexpectedly dies, she returns to her hometown and her family’s funeral home to say goodbye one last time. . . and finds herself haunted by her very hot, very dead editor.
Florence Day is a ghostwriter who quite literally has some ghosts of her own. What inspired the idea to include ghosts in your novel and a protagonist who has the ability to see and communicate with them? I’ve always loved ghost stories. I devoured them. Ghost. Hocus Pocus. The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot. Casper. Heck, I even love a good Force ghost! I love the circumstances surrounding ghostly romances, too—being with someone but being unable to touch them, being there but wholly separated from any part of life. Having a main character who can see ghosts also gave me a good vehicle to explore mortality and grief. I’ve always struggled with death—it feels like a train you know is coming, but you can’t quite look it head-on. I wanted to explore those feelings to try to understand my own. And, you know, I got some really spirited puns out of it, too.
Florence is a ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry and has stopped believing in love at the start of the novel. Because of this, she struggles with finishing her latest manuscript. Do you think romance writers have to be hopeless romantics? Do you consider yourself one? Romance readers come to this genre for stories with happily ever afters, knowing it’s a fantasy—they expect it. But it’s a good fantasy.
fety ”There is a sa that in a romance find ly l a e r ’t n a you c e.” anywhere els
There is a safety in a romance that you can’t really find anywhere else. There’s a formula, and a promise at the end—one of happiness, maybe not forever, but for the moment at least. In a book you know that even when things are at their worst, everything will work out in the end. And it’s nice, sometimes, to be reminded of what hope feels like. Maybe not everything will work out in real life, but when you meet a stranger’s gaze across a crowded bar, isn’t it
kind of thrilling to think. What if? So no, I don’t think romance authors are hopeless romantics! I think we’re all hopeful ones.
Florence feels the need to hide her unusual gift from society and it’s the reason she ran away from a town that never understood her. Why was it so important for you to include self-acceptance in your novel and the struggles that come with it? It’s hard to accept yourself! I’ve spent over thirty years on this rock hurtling
through space and time, and sometimes I still feel like I need to hide my raw edges, afraid someone will judge them. I always thought by adulthood I’d have everything figured out—when you’re a kid you think all adults have. So it was nice to write a heroine who is still struggling with parts of herself that might still be raw and jagged, and finding love and grace in those edges.
Florence’s family runs a funeral parlor. Did you do any interesting research on the funeral business to inform your writing? I did! A relative worked at a funeral parlor in my hometown, and there are so many great resources from morticians about the process of death. It was a very sobering experience, and I’m really thankful for all of the professionals who have made their work public to educate people.
Grief and love are two of the main themes in The Dead Romantics. Tell us about your decision to explore them simultaneously. Grief and love go hand in hand. To love someone is to grieve them someday, and to grieve them means that you love them. It just felt natural to explore the different kinds of love and grief—for your work, for your romance, for your late loved ones. They are both things that come into your life and linger. You make friends with love and with grief, and you sit with them. And, at least to me, it was cathartic to write about.
”Grief and Love go hand in hAND.”
Without giving anything away, what was one of your favorite scenes to write? I love the parlor dancing scene! It was my favorite. It’s just a shot of joy right into my veins every time I reread it.
What character in The Dead Romantics do you relate to the most? I would love to say I relate to Florence the most, but honestly? I’m very much Ben. Everything has its place. Everything has an order. Any disruption to that order feels like it throws an apocalyptic wrench into my system. That’s anxiety for you!
What do you hope readers will take away after reading The Dead Romantics? I hope they find a little joy, a little laughter, and a little bit of hope at the end of this ghost story. After all, it is a romance. What’s a good romance without a happily ever after?
”What’s a good romance without a happily ever after?”
Discussion questions Questions discussion 1.
Florence is a ghostwriter for Anne Nichols. Do you think books written by ghostwriters are just as important to an author’s legacy as those written by the author herself?
2.
Usually, keeping secrets can shake a person’s trust in someone else. But Florence’s dad kept the secret that he knew who Florence ghostwrote for and had read all of those books. Do you think some secrets can actually build trust once revealed?
3.
Throughout the novel, Florence struggles with trying to find the perfect ending. If you could write any sort of happily ever after, how would it go?
4. Both Ben and Florence find comfort in romance novels. What are some of your favorite comfort reads?
5.
There are many depictions of afterlives in the media—ghosts, reapers, spirits—from all different cultures. Why do you think the theme of death and the concept of life (or some semblance of it) after death are so universally explored in stories?
6. What is a book you loved that you believe more people should read? What did you love most about it?
7.
Death, and how a person handles it, is a big part of the novel. If you could leave a list behind for your loved ones, like Xavier does in the story, what would be on it?
8.
If Ben and Florence were put in a punderdome, who do you think would win? Kidding—but in truth, do you think humor and tragedy go hand in hand? Why or why not?
9.
Do you feel Lee Marlow was justified in writing When the Dead Sing? Do you think original ideas exist? Or do we all pull inspiration—knowingly or not—from the experiences we’ve had and the people we’ve met throughout our lives?
10. If Ben and Florence had a sequel, what do you think it would be about? How do you think Ben will handle his new-found power of seeing dead people?
11.
What do you think Florence will write next?