The Insecure Writer's Support Group Book Club discussion

Discussion for Chill Factor.

Hello Writers and Readers!

From now on we will hold all book discussions in one spot.

If you posted a review of Chill Factor, please feel free to share it here.

Let us know your overall thoughts.

You can also answer the optional questions.

And we encourage you to reply to comments to create a conversation.


Let's have some fun!



1. In the opening of Chill Factor, I love the way Sandra Brown begins with setting, weaving in character activity and then details to create this uncertainty when we meet Ben Tierney. He is out in the open air of snowy mountains with a shovel where there are four unmarked graves. Then, as it continues, his thoughts detail the event and mystery of the graves, as he finds his way back to his vehicle. The introduction of the character, setting, and mystery are powerful. It makes you quickly flip the page to find out what happens next.

QUESTION: The first chapter ends in uncertainty. At that point, did you think Ben Tierney was a hero or a killer?



2. In the second chapter, Brown is in the female POV and she reveals the thoughts of the ex-husband in such a subtle way through the female's thought summary that you almost feel like you are hearing his thoughts, not hers. It’s so seamless it feels like you are in the room with them.

QUESTION: How do you handle deep point of view between characters?



3. A. Which characters did you like the most in Chill Factor? Why?

B. Which characters did you like the least in Chill Factor? Why?



4. Throughout Chill Factor, we’re not positive if Ben is a good guy or a bad guy. Have you ever put your readers on this roller coaster ride, tricking them into thinking a good character might be bad, or vice versa? And what techniques did you use?



5. As a fellow asthma sufferer, it was nice to see that as part of the heroine's character development and nicer to see that it didn't stop her from being depicted as strong. Too often asthma and allergy sufferers are portrayed as weak.

QUESTIONS: What other characteristics often make a character seem weak? What other characters have overcome weaknesses to be portrayed as strong?

1. I knew Ben Tierney would be the love interest of the man character, but that doesn't actually mean he'll be innocent. The book could've taken a massive turn, revealing he was a murderer and tricked Lilly. There's nothing that says a book couldn't do this, as we well know. The possibility of finding out he betrayed her, tricked her, trapped her kept me reading. I loved it!


3. A. I couldn't get enough of Ben Tierney. He was definitely my favorite character.

B. As for which characters I liked the least...well, pretty much all of the minor characters. They're not very likeable, but that's what also makes them very real.


4. I sure have put my readers on this roller coaster ride of "is he a good guy or is he a bad guy?" I've always said that I read a book set during a blizzard that got me thinking about the fact I've never read a book set during weather I knew (hurricane weather), and so I wrote Hurricane Crimes. Well, I'm revealing now that Chill Factor was the book that inspired my story. So, is it any wonder that Donovan is the one who readers aren't sure about? *wink wink*


5. I absolutely loved that Lilly had asthma. It added a layer to her as a character and another layer to the plot and added suspense. I got the idea for a character with asthma after reading this book (the only book I can recall that I've read with a character with asthma). I wrote quite a bit before stalling out. One day, I'll finish it.

But to answer the questions, I think any illness, disability, or flaw is used as a weakness. There needs to be more books with characters who have these things who are also portrayed as strong.

1. The first time I read the book at the end of chapter one I was uncertain, but because I am a huge Sandra Brown fan I knew he must be good, but did not rule out the fact she might trick me, because she is that good a storyteller.

2. Sandra Brown is a master of deep POV. I often feel like I am living the story too when reading her books. DPOV is something I need to work at a lot. It is hard to do almost impossible for me in the first draft. I can do a little better in the revision but I still need a lot of practice.

3. Ben Tierney was my favorite. I loved the ambiguous elements of his character.

4. To Chyrs, Love it. I should have guessed and recognized that about your story. Chill Factor is one of my fave of Sandra Brown and this is not my first read-through of it.

5. I have not considered using a disability that way and I agree more characters with disabilities should be portrayed strong. We do need more books like that.

Juneta wrote: "To Chrys, Love it. I should have guessed and recognized that about your story. Chill Factor is one of my fave of Sandra Brown and this is not my first read-through of it."

I was wondering if you or Toi would notice, but since I never said anything, I figured neither of you would piece it together. ;) Chill Factor is my favorite book by Sandra Brown, too.

Chrys wrote: "Juneta wrote: "To Chrys, Love it. I should have guessed and recognized that about your story. Chill Factor is one of my fave of Sandra Brown and this is not my first read-through of it."

I was won..."

Well, I was into your story so I was not thinking about others. I have to consciously be thinking about what a story reminds me of usually to notice when I am really into what I am reading. So Kudos to you for writing a story that kept me involved.

Juneta wrote: "So Kudos to you for writing a story that kept me involved."

Thank you!!! ((HUGS)))

Chrys wrote: "1. I knew Ben Tierney would be the love interest of the man character, but that doesn't actually mean he'll be innocent. The book could've taken a massive turn, revealing he was a murderer and tric..."

Sounds like a good book!

Ronel wrote: "Chrys wrote: "1. I knew Ben Tierney would be the love interest of the man character, but that doesn't actually mean he'll be innocent. The book could've taken a massive turn, revealing he was a mur..."

@Ronel, the whole series is good reading. I love the fact the series is built around a single couple as their lives with each other evolve.

1. I thought there was a fair likelihood that Ben was a killer (or one of a group of killers) early on in the book.

2. QUESTION: How do you handle deep point of view between characters?

I don't think I really give it much thought. If it works well, then it's a good technique.


3. A. Which characters did you like the most in Chill Factor? Why?

I liked Scott the best. He seemed like he was trying to do the best he could with a horrible situation.

B. Which characters did you like the least in Chill Factor? Why?

I thought every male character except for Scott was awful. Dutch and Wes were both abusive. Ben was passive-aggressive. William was a nasty little weasel.

4. I've written characters who were somewhat ambiguous. I never start out with any particular technique in mind. My characters are pushy jerks who write themselves.

5. I really don't feel that Lilly was a strong character. The line about her "not wanting to play the feminist card" made me say "oh boy, here we go" early on in the book. I have asthma, and I found it rather insulting that the author used Lilly's condition as a plot point to make her "need" Ben.

I was not a fan of this one. My review is here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ronel wrote: "Chrys wrote: "1. I knew Ben Tierney would be the love interest of the man character, but that doesn't actually mean he'll be innocent. The book could've taken a massive turn, revealing he was a mur..."

Chill Factor or my story? lol If Chill Factor, I personally thought it was a fun, exicting read. If Hurricane Crimes, I'm biased. ;)

Juneta wrote: "@Ronel, the whole series is good reading. I love the fact the series is built around a single couple as their lives with each other evolve."

Thank you! (((HUGS)))

Team wrote: "1. I thought there was a fair likelihood that Ben was a killer (or one of a group of killers) early on in the book."

"...the author used Lilly's condition as a plot point to make her "need" Ben." That is a good point. Her asthma was used to give the hero a moment of being...well, the hero.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and participating!

So, I’m way late to the discussion. Oh well. You can find my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

1. Whenever I read a story that starts out by telling you who did it, I always find the journey to how they did it to be the fuel moving the plot forward. That was not the case with this book. Even after the third chapter, it wasn’t clear who the killer was, so I never decided either way if he was or wasn’t the killer. I just felt like it was too obvious to say he was the killer near the beginning but if he wasn’t, I’d be disappointed if I allowed myself to read the whole book thinking he was. I think allowing myself to be paranoid about all the characters made it more enjoyable for me. The only person I never suspected as the killer was the heroine.

2. I think deep POV works most times, but I honestly think it is often overrated. In this story, I do feel it delivered on the promise of letting the reader feel more connected and involved. Sometimes, though, I feel deep POV can be pretentious. When it’s good it's great when it’s not so good, I’d rather have a clever narrator or an insecure first-person share the story with me. I can connect to a narrator or empathize with a first-person; I can’t always do that with deep POV because it seems to be telling your brain what you should be thinking and feeling… Does that make sense?
Who knows, it may just be a style preference.

4. Yes and no to this one.
I wrote a character once that was both a good guy and a bad guy at different points in the story. This character didn’t want to be a bad guy but knew he couldn’t always be good. The character eventually eliminated himself from the story so the other characters could thrive.
Not sure how the reader felt about that.

5. I find that in this age, a time when people are making a conscious effort to be more accepting of others, we are seeing more characters who were once thought of as weak, in more mainstream roles or at least being portrayed as normal, average, and even strong characters. Characters with limps, speech impediments, allergies, non-traditional hero body-types, and more are being seen, not just being used to bolster other characters.
This is not the same as characters with mental and or physical disabilities, though, thankfully, they too are also now getting better representation. While we still have a way to go, I’m excited about the current direction of diversity in books.