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Post Info TOPIC: Real Virtue - Book Club Discussion Questions
Katy Lee


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Real Virtue - Book Club Discussion Questions
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For those joining the book discussion on June 14th, or those who just like to answer discussion questions after reading a book, here are possible discussion starter questions. Feel free to come up with your own as well!

1)  Real Virtue has many themes woven throughout, from gaming to mental illness to low self-esteem to the aftermath of war to the many attributes of virtue. What were some of the themes that were important or interesting to you? Did you come away with additional thoughts and ideas about them? What were they?

2)  Did the characters seem real and believable? Could you relate to any of their predicaments? To what extent do they remind you of yourself or someone you know, and did this lead to a new understanding or awareness of some aspect of your life or someone else’s that you might not have thought about before?

3)  How do the characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes? Think about how you felt about the characters in the beginning. As the story progressed, did your opinion of them change? If so, were you surprised by the change? Were you surprised by anything else in the story? What was it?

4)  In what ways do the events in Real Virtue reveal evidence of the author’s world view? Did the author seem to appear in the book? How? Why? Was the presence of the author disruptive? Or did it seem appropriate/fitting?

5)  Would you recommend Real Virtue to a friend or family member? Is there someone in your mind right now who you think might enjoy this read? What would you say to them to encourage them to pick it up?



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Crystal Kelly


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Want to welcome all who are here and able to be a part of the discussion. This is our very first discussion and I'm really excited about it. I hope from the questions Katy has provided and the thoughts of readers you will all gather a little more insight into how the book impacts different people and for those of you who haven't read it I hope this discussion will give you insight into what a great book this is.


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Laura Thomas


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Great to be here Crystal! This is a new experience for me... how exciting! :)

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Crystal Kelly


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Katy you have provided some amazing questions here. I want to delve a bit into question 2. I thought the characters were definitely real and very believable. What I took most from this book is that people all over have hidden lives, hidden agendas and the character development you laid out for Mel was foundational in that we are all flawed and sometimes our flaws are considered worse than others but in all actuality we are all in need of God's saving grace. So well done.

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Crystal Kelly


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So glad you are here Laura please feel free to delve into the questions or ask one of your own that you may be curious about.

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Crystal Kelly


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Have you had a chance to read the book yet Laura?

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Crystal Kelly


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I enjoyed this book because it had just the right amount of romance and suspense to it for me.

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Laura Thomas


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It was almost ironic that Mel had such a superficial opinion of everyone else, when she had so many layers of issues and grief to deal with herself... made me more aware of the way I tend to judge others at face value without taking into account what horrors they might be dealing with in their lives.

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Crystal Kelly


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Katy can you share with us the research you put into writing REAL VIRTUE?

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Laura Thomas


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Sorry Crystal- looks like i have a delay coming over the border! :) Yes I read it and thoroughly enjoyed it!


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Crystal Kelly


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that's funny you should say that Laura I think we are all like that in a way. I know especially in relationships we tend to see ourselves as the better halfs rather than the problems. I think Katy did a good job of showing how real her characters portrayed our lives.

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Crystal Kelly


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It's okay I realized there's a delay too LOL but it's all good.

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Crystal Kelly


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I think most of us relate more to the flaws of characters and dream about the happy endings. I believe we are all flawed and its' a good thing because it develops our character and in some way working through our flaws we push to find our happy endings.

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Laura Thomas


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I have to say I was SO pleased there was a romantic theme- I was rooting for Mel and Jeremy from the start! I loved how his strong faith kept him going right to the end, and was so relieved when Mel finally committed her life to Jesus. Yay!


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Crystal Kelly


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I would definitely recommend REAL VIRTUE as a great read because it has a flawless message in that we are all flawed but we serve a flawless God. Katy Lee presented the story in an entertaining way as well as educated me a little more on the whole avatar world which i'm not very familiar with and actually after reading this book I found out that there are actually people who miss work and even get fired from their jobs because they are so consumed with their second lives. It's sad that they deem their actual lives as worthless and find redemption in an avatar.

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Laura Thomas


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Oh yes GAMING! I was worried that the book would be completely over my head with regard to gaming (I am SO not into it, and have difficulty understanding the attraction- much to the disgust of my teen boys!) I was pleasantly surprised and somewhat relieved to find I didn’t need to understand what gaming is or how it works, but the emphasis was on the harm it can cause if used without caution. THAT I get.

Sadly, I have seen not just typical teen boys but young and even grown women lost in a fantasy world thanks to their love of gaming or other Internet obsessions. It often goes hand-in hand with depression, and acts as a band-aid fix to fill the empty void of sadness in their real lives. Such a shame, but you can understand how it feels good- even if just temporarily. Mel buried a whole host of issues and chose to forget her real life. This book was a good reminder for me to stay on top of anything that can take the place of real life for myself, my family and my friends.


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Crystal Kelly


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I know I believe that we all need that anchor in our lives even those of us who are saved. Me too with Mel and Jeremy but I thought Mel's turn to Christ was worth everything she'd gone through because she understood the realness of who God was and what He could do.

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Crystal Kelly


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So true I have a bit of an addictive personality and it took a while for me to admit that but when I came to terms with it I realized that I was developing coping mechanisms that weren't healthy like watching too much TV or eating or just tuning everything out. Now I turn everything off when things get out of control and just turn on the worship music better to be addicted to that than the other things.

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Laura Thomas


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Totally. Katy did a wonderful job developing these 2 characters in particular. They were very believable, even with the plethora of tragedy they both faced!

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Laura Thomas


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The word "addiction" is so often restricted to alcohol and drugs- this book a healthy reminder that we can become addicted to pretty much anything. It's whatever has control in our lives- as Christians, we strive to give that spot to Jesus, but oh how often we slip up... thankfully we have a Father who loves us so much...

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Crystal Kelly


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You know what I think is funny how we look at books and the characters and we root for them hoping they will make the right decisions and such and we are thrilled when we see the ending come out the way we hoped but that's how our lives are we don't know how it will be tomorrow or the day after yet in the midst of our own tragedies even when no one else is rooting for us we have to root for ourselves and know that God is somewhere in the mix and in the end even though now it seems awful it will all work out.

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Crystal Kelly


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Katy I would like to know the thoughts behind coming up with the title of "Real Virtue"

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Laura Thomas


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Looking at how the characters changed during the course of the book, I found Mel’s was the most evident. There was such bitterness in the beginning, especially towards her mother. It was very moving to see her open up and try to rekindle the mother-daughter relationship she had obviously been craving. And as Nails was mentioned less and less through the story, it appeared that even when Mel didn’t feel ready to give her up, there had been a shift in perspective, and family life was becoming Mel’s reality. I think God had a lot to do with that shift, too...

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Crystal Kelly


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So do I. It's so true our flaws are what cause us to seek out how to rectify them and God is there to answer and heal each and every one. So amazing!!!

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Katy Lee


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Hi all. Im looking through all these great comments. give me a few moments to comment. But just because I am here dont feel like you have to be nice:) If there was something that didnt sit right its ok to ask about it. also Im on my phone so bear wih any misspellings

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Crystal Kelly


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Katy I absolutely loved "Real Virtue" you did an awesome job. It's sometimes as a writer hard for me to get in the heart of someone's pain especially if I haven't experienced it. It's so different when you do research compared to when you have experienced it. A reader can tell the difference. I think you did an amazing job of laying out Mel's imperfections and her growth throughout the book and Jeremy wow he was just awesome!!!

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Jennifer Harrington


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Hi everyone. I'm checking in to say hi. I haven't finished the book but I'm well underway and finding it fascinating and an exciting read. Sorry I cannot add more at this point. Only that I am totally intrigued to find out the answer to these mysteries and I'm also intrigued by the things others have shared in this discussion.

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Laura Thomas


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Katy- this is how much I loved "Real Virtue"- I actually read it on my I-Phone! That says it all. I have a Sony e-reader not a Kindle, but I was able to download to my I-Phone. My husband kept looking at me as if I were crazy reading on that silly little screen, but I couldn't put the thing down! You certainly had me hooked. Well done :)


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Crystal Kelly


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Thanks for being here Jennifer hope we haven't spoiled too much for you

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Katy Lee


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Okay I have to reply this way. Clicking reply on each one is not working. so here goes...

first Yes Jeremy is awesome. :) He is dear to my heart. In fact, when I am havibg trouble writing my other heroes I revisit some pages on Jeremy

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Crystal Kelly


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Laura same here I have the Kindle app on my phone and read all my ebooks there it's great because I don't have to have the lamp on at night which disturbs my husband. I'm up reading until 2 in the morning sometimes. So totally feel you there Laura.

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Laura Thomas


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Too funny Crystal- I think we both need nice, shiny new I-pads on our Christmas lists... for the sake of our eyesight!!

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Narelle


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Katy, I'm sorry I'm late to the discussion. It's nearly 11am here :) What I really liked is the way you handled Mel's relationship with her mum. My mum has bipolar (mild form) and I found Mel's responses to be authentic and very true to life. I loved how they reconciled at the end :)

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Katy Lee


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As for research...I had to open lots of online games, which I hated. all those games were deleted right away after. But it was during research that I found a schizophrenic avatar on one of the games. I did not set out to make Arlene have this disorder. but once I saw it I knew it would make a great inner conflict for Mel whose reality was off.

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Crystal Kelly


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YAY Narelle so glad you're here

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Laura Thomas


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I'm awfully sorry ladies, but I'm going to have to love you and leave you. After an hour of patiently waiting, my family are now swooning with starvation and in need of dinner (it's 6pm my time). It's been lovely to chat- I look forward to the next time.
Crystal- thanks so much for running this wonderful club- I appreciate it so much!
Katy- congratulations o a terrific book- you know how much I loved it by my reviews :)
Jennifer- you'll love it right to the very end!
Take care all xx

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Crystal Kelly


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Really a schizophrenic avatar!!! wow the gaming world has no escape from the real world just goes to show you can't run from problems even though you may those same problems will follow you into your so called safe place.

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Laura Thomas


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Oh sorry Narelle- this delay is not boding well for me.. next time maybe? Enjoy your chat... :)

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Crystal Kelly


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No problem Laura thanks for being here and sharing!!!

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Katy Lee


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Narelle-Thank you for sharing that. I would love to talk more with you that someday. It's a hard thing to grow up with.

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Narelle


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Thanks Katy. I thinks there's a story to be told one day, but now's not the right time. My mum is very stable, has actually improved as she's got older (new generation meds make a difference).

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Katy Lee


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Laura-I totally get staying on top of our children and their gaming. I used my own son as a reference to Mel's character. He is can become obsessed with his gaming characte.r

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Narelle


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No worries Laura :) I messed up working out the time differences and thought the discussion was a few hours later.

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Narelle


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I haven't allowed my kids to do online gaming and I think I'll delay letting them for as long as possible. I can totally see how people get addicted in escaping into their fantasy world.

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Crystal Kelly


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I know I have seen it and it's so destructive...a whole generation is being raised to think it's okay to get lost in this world

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Crystal Kelly


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Katy what was your inspiration behind the development of Mel and Jeremy's characters and their romance?

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Katy Lee


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Laura- I have a kindle and a.nook but my kids are always reading on them sooooo...i get my phone. Oh well at least they are reading.

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Katy Lee


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Thanks for being here Jennifer! Im glad the spoilers didnt spoil the book for you.

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Jennifer Harrington


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I'm afraid I have to leave too. Just want to add that I'm finding the whole gaming element of the book very timely and a great way to appeal to those who are gamers and perhaps get them to think about God and the greater realities of life. I was going to say it can appeal to those who are "younger" but I have a friend who is nearly 50 and totally into World of Warcraft! So being caught up in that world isn't just for young people.

Thanks again to Crystal for organizing this, and thanks to Katy for a great read. I'll be sure to post a review on GoodReads, etc. as soon as I finish it. (I'm sure it will be a glowing review!) Good night, all!

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Katy Lee


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I actually read research on people being arrested for neglecting their children because of their gaming and the children were not being fed

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