Among the Fair Magnolias Read online

  3. How do Abby’s friends Penny and Theodosia support their friend? What specific scenes from the story show this?

  4. Abby regrets that she kept silent about Charles’s behavior last summer. Was she right to keep a secret? How would her father have reacted? Her mother?

  5. Do you think Mr. Clayton was thinking first of Abigail’s welfare, or of his own? Why?

  6. Did the behavior of any of the characters surprise you? If so which ones, and why?

  7. What three words do you think best describe Abigail? Wade? Charles?

  8. Abigail feels that her parents have forced her into an inauthentic life rather than letting her choose an authentic one. What did she mean by this?

  9. Do you think Abby was wrong to spend the day in Georgetown with Wade, or did the two of them deserve one day of happiness?

  10. In A Heart So True the author provides glimpses of characters from her other novels. Which characters, if any, did you recognize?

  TO MEND A DREAM

  1. Savannah Darby lost most of her family, her home, and like many Southerners following the Civil War, was forced to leave everything behind when family land went to auction. What family treasure—a portrait, diary, special possession, perhaps—would you miss most if forced to leave behind your home and belongings?

  2. Prejudice was a theme in To Win Her Favor, the Belle Meade Plantation novel in which we first meet Savannah Darby. What prejudices are evident in Aidan and Savannah’s story? Are those still prevalent today? How so? And do you struggle with them?

  3. If given the chance to get back into a home that had been legally taken from you, do you think you would have made the same decision as Savannah? Do you think her search for what her father left was right or wrong? Why?

  4. Aidan’s motivation in moving to Nashville is guided by what happened when he met the Confederate soldier one afternoon during the lull of battle. Are you aware that this really happened in the Civil War? That Union soldiers and Confederate soldiers would converse between battles? In what ways do you think these meetings changed these men?

  5. Have you ever experienced a “chance meeting” (like Aidan and Nashville) and yet knew deep down that chance had nothing to do with it? Share your experience.

  6. Savannah treasures a family letter in the story. Letter writing is all but a lost art these days. Would having a letter from a departed loved one have meant more back then, do you think? Why or why not?

  7. In chapter 12, Savannah reflects on the many possessions she and her family owned. With time’s passing, her perspective on those has changed. How has it changed? And can you relate to her feelings?

  8. God worked to weave Aidan’s and Savannah’s lives together in ways they couldn’t see and certainly didn’t plan. Have you ever made a plan that you thought was a good one, only to have God intervene and make it even better? Share your experience, and also your thoughts on Proverbs 16:9.

  TAMERA LOVES TO SKYPE/FACETIME WITH BOOK CLUBS WHO are reading her books. Visit Tamera’s website (www.TameraAlexander.com) for more information on inviting her to join your group and for recipes from all her novels.

  LOVE BEYOND LIMITS

  1. Discuss your group’s knowledge of the Reconstruction period (1865–1877) in the South and in Georgia in particular. Were any of the details from the novella a surprise for you?

  2. What were your impressions of the Ku Klux Klan before reading the novella? After?

  3. Could you sympathize with Emily’s attraction to Leroy? Discuss the relational “taboos” in twenty-first-century America.

  4. Have you ever taken a stand against something that was “politically correct” but “morally wrong”? Why? What was the result?

  5. How does Emily change in the course of the novella? What precipitates that change?

  6. Consider Emily’s thoughts at the end of the novella:

  There in the sanctuary of that home for that afternoon, they tasted true equality. And brotherly love. Love beyond the limits of what society imposed.

  As Emily, Thomas, and the girls turned from the fields and made their way up to the Big House where they would share dinner with Father, Mother, and Anna, Emily prayed for the day when that kind of love and equality would be spread throughout the land.

  7. Has that day arrived in America? Why or why not?

  8. Have you ever had someone like Miss Lillian in your life who spoke truth to you? How did you respond?

  9. Have you ever experienced the type of peace Miss Lillian describes and Emily ultimately experiences? If so, describe it. If not, is this something you desire to experience? Why or why not?

  AN OUTLAW’S HEART

  1. What was your first impression of Russell Champion? Is he an outlaw?

  2. Both Russell and his mother suffered greatly for the mistakes they made seven years ago. Do you think they could have mended their relationship after just a year had passed? Why do you think they both needed so much time apart?

  3. What are some traits that make Nora admirable? What are her flaws? Why do you think Braedon Hardy was able to manipulate Nora?

  4. Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which one and why?

  5. Most of the characters in An Outlaw’s Heart yearn to seek forgiveness for mistakes they have made. Is it more difficult to forgive oneself than other people? Why or why not?

  6. What role does each person’s faith play in the story?

  7. When have you had to ask another person for forgiveness? How did that experience change you?

  8. What do you think will happen with Nora and Russell?

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  DOROTHY LOVE

  It’s a cliché (which authors are supposed to avoid) to say that it takes a village to produce a book, but it’s true. I’m grateful to my publisher, Daisy Hutton, who spent countless hours putting all the pieces of this puzzle together, to my wise and patient editors, Becky Philpott and Anne Christian Buchanan, and to the entire team at HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Thank you to my brilliant agent, Natasha Kern, for wisdom and kindnesses too numerous to list on just one page.

  I’m grateful to the staff at the Georgetown Historical Society for their help in locating the resources I have used for all of my books set in the beautiful Lowcountry.

  To my colleagues Tamera Alexander, Shelley Gray, and Elizabeth Musser, thank you for sharing this project with me. What a delight it has been to work with you. And as always, to my family and friends inside and outside of publishing who have encouraged me every day for twenty years and more, thank you.

  TAMERA ALEXANDER

  Thanks to my fellow Southern authors—Dorothy, Shelley, and Elizabeth—for partnering with me in this collection. I’m honored to call you ladies colleagues . . . and friends. My thanks also to my HarperCollins publishing team. What a pleasure it is to work with each of you. Continued gratitude to Deborah Raney, my critique partner for over a dozen years now, for sharing her talent and laughter with me, and to the Coeur d’Alene ladies for brainstorming this novella during last summer’s five days of “plotting, praying, and praying.” I look forward to our time together all year. To Jerry Trescott, bless you for sharing your extensive knowledge of architectural history. To Natasha Kern, my literary agent, you’re simply the best! And thank you, dear reader, for taking these journeys with me. Your enthusiasm and eagerness to read is such an encouragement to me as I’m writing. I always love hearing from you.

  Finally, thanks to Dr. Michael Easley, one of our pastors at Fellowship Bible Church, for his oft-repeated phrase, “Don’t let the world teach you theology.” Oh, so true. Never judge God’s faithfulness by your present circumstances, friend. Instead, trust God who is faithful no matter the circumstance. He’s always working for your eternal good. And if you’ve trusted in His Son, Jesus, then you can trust that—no matter what happens in this life—the best is always yet to come.

  ELIZABETH MUSSER

  So thankful to be a part of this project with Tamera Alexander, Shelley Gr
ay, and Dorothy Love. I’ve had the pleasure of reading your lovely and entertaining prose—what a privilege to work together on the Southern novella collection.

  I’m also thrilled to be working with the great staff at HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Un grand merci to Becky “Phil” Philpott, Daisy Hutton, Ami McConnell, and all the others for your enthusiasm and confidence. I love your vision for fiction.

  Many thanks to savvy and perseverant Chip MacGregor, the most talented agent out there, for presenting me with this project and for your continual encouragement and expertise. Passez-moi les pommes de terre!

  To my best-in-the-world editor, L. B. Norton, I am always grateful for your expert eye and the fun we have collaborating.

  To my genius brothers, Jere and Glenn Goldsmith, whose knowledge of genealogy and history set me straight as I delved into Reconstruction Georgia, merci.

  Of course, to my family, all of you, enduring thanks for cheering me on amid the roller-coaster ride that is a writer’s life.

  And always to you, Paul, the best of my love, beyond the limits of what I thought possible. Je t’aime.

  SHELLEY GRAY

  It was such an honor to be asked to be a part of the Among the Fair Magnolias anthology! Thank you to Elizabeth Musser, Tamera Alexander, and Dorothy Love for being so warm and welcoming. I’ve learned so much from all of you!

  Thank you, also, to my editor Becky Philpott for your kindness and enthusiasm. I’ll always remember our visit to the Menger Hotel’s jewelry store! I am blessed to know you.

  Finally, thank you to the readers who enjoyed my westerns enough to continually ask about Russell. This story is for you! I hope you will find An Outlaw’s Heart to be worth the wait.

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  DOROTHY LOVE

  A NATIVE OF WEST TENNESSEE, DOROTHY Love makes her home in the Texas Hill Country with her husband and their golden retriever. An award-winning author of numerous young adult novels, Dorothy made her adult debut with the Hickory Ridge novels.

  Visit her at www.dorothylovebooks.com

  Facebook: dorothylovebooks

  Twitter: @WriterDorothy

  TAMERA ALEXANDER

  TAMERA ALEXANDER IS A USA TODAY BEST-SELLING author whose richly drawn characters and thought-provoking plots have earned her devoted readers worldwide, as well as multiple industry awards. After living in Colorado for seventeen years, Tamera has returned to her Southern roots.

  She and her husband make their home in Nashville, where they enjoy life with their two adult children, who live nearby, and Jack, a precious—and precocious—silky terrier. And all of this just a stone’s throw away from the beloved Southern mansions about which she writes.

  Visit her at www.tameraalexander.com

  Facebook: tamera.alexander

  Twitter: @tameraalexander

  Pinterest: tameraauthor

  ELIZABETH MUSSER

  ELIZABETH MUSSER WRITES “ENTERTAINMENT with a soul” from her writing chalet—toolshed—outside Lyon, France. Elizabeth’s highly acclaimed, bestselling novel The Swan House was named one of Amazon’s Top Christian Books of the Year and one of Georgia’s Top Ten Novels of the Past 100 Years (Georgia BackRoads, 2009). All of Elizabeth’s novels have been translated into multiple languages. Two Destinies, the final novel in the Secrets of the Cross trilogy, was a finalist for the 2013 Christy Award.

  For over twenty-five years, Elizabeth and her husband, Paul, have been involved in missions work with International Teams.

  The Mussers have two sons, a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.

  Visit her at www.elizabethmusser.com

  Facebook: Elizabeth-Musser

  Twitter: @LizzieSwanHouse

  SHELLEY GRAY

  SHELLEY GRAY IS THE AUTHOR OF THE Heart of a Hero series. Her Amish novel (written as Shelley Shepard Gray) The Protector recently made the New York Times bestseller list. A native of Texas, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Colorado and taught school for ten years. She and her husband have two children and live in southern Ohio.

  Visit her at www.shelleyshepardgray.com

  Facebook: ShelleyShepardGray

  Twitter: @ShelleySGray