TMI (26 page)

Chase stared out at the brick facade on a building a few blocks over and said “Binoculars.”

“What?” She looked worried when he grinned.

“Nothing. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the bedroom. He shoved a pile of dirty clothes off a metal folding chair by an ancient battered desk, sat down, and logged into Facebook. She watched him click his profile, tap a few keys. Finally, he looked up at Megan and said, “Okay. You sure about this? I'm not deleting it this time.”

She turned her gaze from his monitor to enchanting green eyes and swallowed once. “Told you…I'm making this up as I go.”

“I like this plan.” Chase clicked Post and smiled when his status updated.

Forty miles away, Bailey's cell phone buzzed. She unlocked it, saw a new Facebook update from Chase, and clicked it.

Chase Gallagher is in a relationship with Megan Farrell.

“Oh, my God!” she squealed and did a little chair dance, and this time, Gran didn't shout at her to stop.

Questions about
TMI
:

1.
What are
TMI
's main themes?

2.
Pick one trait that describes each of the main characters. Do you think the same trait still applies by the end of the story? Why or why not?

3.
How do you think Megan's family life influences her? How does Bailey's family influence her? Compare the girls' families to Chase's family.

4.
Why do you think Megan denies how she feels about Chase for so long? What finally prompts her to admit her feelings?

5.
How others perceive us often determines how we act in certain circumstances. How do Bailey's decisions reflect the way others think of her? How do Meg's decisions reflect the way others think of her?

6.
Why do you think Megan and Bailey are friends? Do you feel the girls respect each other? Why or why not?

7.
Let's talk about Ryder. Why do you suppose Bailey trusted him? Why do you think she believed him instead of Megan?

8.
Do you feel the characters changed by the end of the book? In what ways?

Questions about
You
:

1.
Which of the characters is more like you? Would you be more likely to be Bailey's friend or Megan's?

2.
Bailey blogs about secrets that girls have. Do you agree with her that secrets are the foundation of a friendship? Why or why not?

3.
Consider the friendships you have. Do your friends know your secrets? How would you react if a friend revealed your secrets online?

4.
What do you think it was like for Megan and Bailey to return to school after their secrets goes viral? Have you ever wanted to skip school because of an embarrassing moment?

5.
How we perceive ourselves is often different from how others see us. Does Bailey think she is smart? What about Meg? How is people's perception of you different from how you see yourself?

6.
Have any of your views and thoughts changed after reading
TM
I
? Which ones?

We did it again!

I used “we” because even though it's my name on the cover, this was not a solo endeavor. Hugs, kisses, and head rubs to my guys, Fred, Robert, and Christopher, who picked up the household slack while I tried to complete
TMI
a few weeks after my mom passed away. Know this would never have been possible without you. An extra cuddle to Chris, who introduced me to
Assassin's Creed
and helped me nail many of the game references, and to Rob, who introduced me to a friend willing to beta-read.

To Kelly Breakey, Alex Newcorn, and @Alyssa-Susanna, big hugs for reading
TMI
so fast and providing the incredibly insightful feedback that helped me make Bailey into a character I am proud of. You all rock!

To all the members of the Long Island Romance Writers, RWA Chapter 160, *mwah*! Thank you for your support, advice, cheerleading, and sanity preservation as I juggled this project while I was saying good-bye to my mother. Special thanks to Jeannie Moon for not only reading early drafts of
TMI
but inviting me to join her and her own BFF under the guise of “research.” I'm so touched that you shared your oldest and bestest friendship with me. *grins*

Enormous thanks to Aubrey Poole and the Sourcebooks team for giving me this opportunity, for the time I needed to mourn, and for making sure I'm not a one-hit wonder! *laughs* The Gallagher twins were named for my agent, Evan Gregory at the Ethan Ellenberg Agency, to whom I send extra special thanks for continuing to be a fount of wisdom, humor, and patience (especially patience!) as I learn the ins and outs of publication. I am so grateful to you. *high-fives*

Finally, love and gratitude and all the chocolate to my Twitter friends for your continued guidance, humor, and support, especially Ali Trotta, the sister of my heart (she knows why), and my Book Hungry ladies—Kelly Breakey, Abby Mumford, and Karla Nellenbach—for their cheerleading, feedback, and outstanding taste in books. *winks*

Thank you to Janet Reid, Brooks Sherman, and Jeff Somers, for rallying around this debut author in ways too big to ever adequately express my gratitude, and to Bill Cameron…just
because
.

On a dare by her oldest son, Patty, who writes software instruction manuals during the day, wrote her first novel in an ice rink during his hockey practices. Though
Penalty
Killer
was never published, Patty figured if she could do it once, she could do it again, and she finished several more novels. Her big break came in 2012 with
SEND
, a story about a former bully learning to cope with his guilt after one thoughtless click led to a classmate's suicide.
SEND
was published by Sourcebooks Fire in 2012. Fueled by a serious chocolate addiction, Patty is always looking for story ideas and wrote
TMI
after she read a headline about a fake Facebook account.

Patty lives on Long Island with her family and is currently writing a ghost story set there. Visit
www.pattyblount.com
for more information.