Book Club Discussion and Reader Questions for Floating Underwater

 

by

Tracy Shawn

Below are ten book club/reader questions that are included in my new novel, Floating Underwater. Please know there are no spoilers, so potential readers may check them out before reading the novel!

1. Paloma feels she is a “hostage of her own mind” while experiencing a vision. Do you think you’d feel the same way if you had ongoing premonitions? Why or why not?

 

 

2. At different times throughout the novel, Paloma notes that her husband, Reed, is fearful of her power. Why do you think Reed is so afraid of his wife’s gifts?

 

 

3. Frequently reminding herself that the past does not have to affect her present, Paloma fights ongoing dread. Do you believe personal history often colors a person’s present state of being?

 

 

4. Paloma asks Reed if he thinks it’s at all possible that there’s such a thing as an inner knowing that can’t be explained. He responds, saying that random coincidences may make it seem that way. Do you think Reed has a point?

 

 

5. Serena tells Paloma that mermaids are only part women, the other part being of the sea, saying that this is “part of who we were, who we are…and who we’ll be.” Why do you think Serena says this to Paloma?

 

 

6. When Paloma is in the midst of an out-of-body experience, she wonders if she could become eternally adrift. In what ways was Paloma “adrift” in her own life?

 

 

7. Paloma’s childhood friend Justine can be bossy and controlling as well as thoughtful and caring. Did you like or dislike Justine and why?

 

 

8. Paloma tells Justine that she does believe there are true healers, yet there are still con artists as well as people “who talk themselves into believing that they’re gifted but are as receptive as a loaf of bread.” What do you think of this statement?

 

 

9. What scene was the most memorable for you and why?

 

 

10. How did you feel about the ending? What do you think will happen next to the main characters?

Tracy Shawn lives and writes on the Central Coast of California. Her debut novel, The Grace of Crows, won several indie book awards. Floating Underwater is her second novel. Tracy Shawn’s short stories have appeared in Literary Brushstrokes, Psychology Tomorrow Magazine, and Steel House Review Literary Journal. She’s written numerous articles for print and online publications and is currently working on her third novel.