A Sin and a Shame (38 page)

Touchstone

Reading Group Guide

1. Serena tells Jasmine that “there are plenty of unsaved folks parked in the pews all across America.” What does she mean by this?
   
2. Jasmine thinks her father’s insurance money is being used well to put her in a fancy Manhattan condo and a mink coat, all so that she can snag a rich husband. If you suddenly inherited a few hundred thousand dollars, what changes would you make in your lifestyle?
   
3. Malik thinks that Jasmine seems “obsessed…again” with Reverend Bush. What about her behavior is obsessive and what is just aggressive? Where do you think the line is between an ambitious woman going after what she wants and a stalker? Is this line different for men?
   
4. If you’ve read
   Temptation,
   the first of Murray’s novels in which Jasmine appears, do you agree with Jasmine—that she’s changed and come a long way since being “saved”? Why or why not?
   
5. Jasmine often repeats that she’s in charge, it’s her game, she’s following her own plan…and yet the man who awakens her heart is one who takes the control right out of her hands. What does this say about Jasmine? How does her need for control relate to her views about and use of sex?
   
6. Why is Jasmine so upset to learn that Hosea won’t have sex with her? Why do you suspect Jasmine doesn’t agree with celibacy?
   
7. Jasmine loves Hosea. But she can’t resist Brian. Have you ever wanted something you knew wasn’t good for you? How did you handle the situation?
   
8. Reverend Bush preaches about being an example to others, but Jasmine feels she’s failed when Mae Frances catches her with both Brian and Hosea. How do you feel about the concept of being responsible as a monument to God’s love every day? How do you try to live by example?
   
9. Jasmine unhappily muses that she was happy with the way Hosea loved her, so why was she lusting after a man she almost despised? What would you tell Jasmine if she asked you this question?
   
10. How do you feel about the pervasive belief that “all men cheat”?
    
11. Jasmine realizes that she and Mae Frances are the same—both women just taking care of themselves. What else makes them similar? Why do you think the author created Mae Frances as she did?
    
12. Jasmine’s experience is the perfect example of how easily “God’s word” can be twisted and manipulated to fit people’s needs. For example, when she is about to come clean to Hosea about her affair with Brian, and Hosea begins to tell her about the terrible day he’s had discussing cheaters, Jasmine takes it as a sign from God not to tell Hosea the truth. How do you distinguish between signs from God and coincidence in your own life?
    
13. Are you satisfied by the novel’s ending? Do you think Jasmine will ever come completely clean with Hosea? Should she?
    

1. Read the biblical passages on Hosea and the whore he took for a wife, per God’s instructions. Consider how it relates to the themes in
   A Sin and a Shame.
   
2. Jasmine is often blinded by the glitter of the “high life,” which leaves her doing almost anything to achieve the lifestyle she thinks she deserves. Get a taste of Jasmine’s temptation by taking your club on the road to the swankiest restaurant or nightclub in town. Try searching on www.citysearch.com or www.zagats.com for the right place, make a reservation, don your hottest outfit, and have fun.
   
3. Several characters in the novel refer to “witnessing,” which is when Christians tell stories about their experiences with God, often in order to convince others to open their hearts to His love. At your next book club meeting, go around the circle and share your own stories about the moments when you’ve felt God’s presence in your life.
   
4. Take some time to visit and browse the author’s website at victoriachristophermurray.com.
   

1. What made you decide to write a follow-up novel to
   Temptation
   focused solely on Jasmine?
   
   • I received hundreds of letters from readers asking what happened to Jasmine. I had no plans to ever write a sequel; however when I came up with the story line for
     A Sin and a Shame,
     I decided this plot was perfect for Jasmine Larson.
     
2. When we first meet up with Jasmine and Serena, they are recovering from the tragic loss of their father. You also lost your father during the writing of
   A Sin and a Shame.
   How did your experience influence this story?
   
   • Interestingly, my father passed away several months after I wrote the scene where Jasmine and Serena talk about their father. I was more than halfway through the book when I lost my father. So, his passing didn’t really influence the book at all. (Except that this book was difficult to complete because my father was the person that I discussed my books with as I was writing. I missed that a lot with
     A Sin and a Shame.
     )
     
3. It seems that Jasmine is often the subtle butt of a joke in
   A Sin and a Shame
   , particularly because she doesn’t get what it really means to live a Christian life. What were you trying to do by portraying Jasmine in this way?
   
   • I didn’t mean to write Jasmine as the butt of a joke at all. What I was trying to show is that there are many Christians like Jasmine—people who have prayed the Sinner’s Prayer and then they stopped right there. I don’t believe there is “a Christian life.” I think being saved is a journey—where we all walk into this life at different stages, but wherever we come in, we should continue to strive and grow. Jasmine came into this life as a baby Christian, and she continued to take baby steps. She is still not perfect, but she is trying.
     
4. You’re the author of several African American novels that preach God’s love. Do you consider your work Christian fiction? Why or why not?
   
   • I hope that no one reads any kind of preaching into my work. I don’t want to preach a thing. But, I do want to show the message of God’s love. When I wrote my first novel, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as Christian fiction. So, I couldn’t write to a genre that I didn’t know existed. Other people called me a Christian fiction writer. I’ve learned to accept that label, although it is a difficult label to wear. Once a reader hears “Christian fiction,” certain assumptions are made—my characters are held to a certain standard, people expect me to behave a certain way…it adds more pressure in the way of criticism and critiques that I’m sure other writers don’t have to endure. But the good thing is that I don’t have to answer to anyone—except for God. So, I will continue to write what He puts on my heart and hope that the readers who are supposed to “get it,” get it.
     
5. Do you think non–African American, non-Christian readers can still glean something profound from your novels?
   
   • I don’t know if any reader will glean anything profound from my work. I’m really not trying to be a profound writer. I’m trying to just tell a good story and if a reader can relate or get something out of it, that’s extra for me. I want my characters to be universal. My characters just happen to be African American; but I could write an entire book and never mention the characters’ race because that’s not what’s important. What’s meaningful to me is the message of the books—that any one of us can get through anything with the power and love of God.
     
6. Reverend Bush tells Jasmine that when she asked for forgiveness he was able to open his heart to her. He encourages her to ask for forgiveness from Hosea as well. What do you think the real “power of forgiveness” is?
   
   • The entire Christian doctrine is based on forgiveness. God forgives us every minute of every day for all the things we do. It is the basis of our salvation. Therefore, I cannot write a book about God’s love without connecting it to forgiveness. We have to follow Him and forgive others as He asks us to.
     
7. Many first-time authors write semiautobiographical novels. Now that you’ve written several, how much of your own life still ends up in your novels?
   
   • I haven’t yet written a book about my life; I’m much too private a person to have any part of my life end up in my novels. However, I did pull on some personal experiences in
     Grown Folks Business
     . (No, my husband is not/was not gay.) But, the family structure in
     Grown Folks Business
     is very similar to my own.
     
8. Jasmine gets to do things that the rest of us only daydream about, but would never do, whether out of fear or conscience! Did you get to live out any deep, dark fantasies through Jasmine in either
   Temptation
   or
   A Sin and a Shame
   ?
   
   • I get to live out all of my deep, dark fantasies whenever I’m writing about a “bad” character. I think all writers do. Just like I get to live out my “good girl” fantasies whenever I’m writing about someone good. (I would love to live like Serena.) However, my favorite characters to write are the “bad guys.” There are no limits.
     
9. Even though Jasmine tells some truly horrible lies and hurts a lot of people in this novel, she still ends up with everything she ever wanted. Why should readers be glad for her?
   
   • I don’t know if Jasmine ends up with everything she wanted. She has to live with the fact that she still has lies hanging over her head. And she has to live with these lies with the first man that she has ever loved. And, I don’t think Jasmine hurt a lot of people in the novel (at least I didn’t mean for her to). I think Jasmine always does the greatest damage to herself. But as far as readers feeling glad for her—I don’t know if someone should feel glad, but a reader can test their “forgiveness radar” by just how much they decide to forgive Jasmine. Because after all, none of us is perfect.
     
10. In the novel, Mae Frances seems to be the mouthpiece for all nonbelievers, while Jasmine stands as testament to the misled and confused. What character or characters represent your own opinions?
    
    • In all of my novels, I spread my beliefs among all of the characters. Mae Frances says some things that I believe…so does Jasmine, Reverend Bush, Hosea, and even Brian.
      
11. A Sin and a Shame
    takes place primarily in New York City among the upper class…hot clubs, fancy restaurants, and designer clothes abound. Have you spent a lot of time in New York cruising this scene, or did you have to do research to create the authentic feel of the novel?
    
    • I was born and raised in New York and when I attended graduate school, I lived in Manhattan—first downtown in Stuyvesant Town on Fourteenth and First and then on Central Park West and Ninety-sixth Street. I didn’t “cruise” this scene. I just really wanted to make Manhattan (my favorite place in the world) a character in this novel.