Mayor's Book Talk

For those who love books, “Mayor’s Book Talk” has something for everyone. Join Mayor Pam Iorio as she examines today’s literary environment.

View Guest Author | View Kids Book Description | View Kids Book Discussion Questions

March's Guest Author is Tim Dorsey

Tim Dorsey was born in Indiana, moved to Florida at the age of 1, and grew up in a small town about an hour north of Miami called Riviera Beach. Dorsey is the nationally acclaimed author of ten Florida-flavored crime stories. Dorsey, once a reporter and editor for the Tampa Tribune, discusses with Mayor Iorio his latest in a series of hilariously creepy crime novels entitled Atomic Lobster.  Dorsey resides in Tampa with his family.

March's Discussion Group Book: Kingdom Keepers by: Ridley Pearson Ridley Pearson's novels cover a lot of ground: from paranormals to Peter Pan. With an emphasis on entertaining the reader and delivering screw-tightening suspense, both his crime fiction and his young-reader novels have earned him a reputation for detailed research and hair-raising story lines.  Now a New York Times bestselling author, Ridley began his professional career as a singer/songwriter in an acoustic rock band and spent over a decade on the road playing gigs between clubs and colleges. He turned to screenwriting, writing for eight and half years without being produced or published, eventually finding his way to writing novels.  His 23rd published novel hit the shelves in July 2006.  A founding member of  "The Rockbottom Remainders," an all-author '60s rock and roll band now featuring Amy Tan, Dave Barry, Mitch Albom, Scott Turow, Greg Isles, and Roy Blount, Jr. (with cameos by Stephen King), Ridley has kept his ties to music. The Kingdom Keepers, a Young Adult novel about five kids inside Disney World after dark drew the most fan mail of any novel he's written and may be the start of a new series.  Ridley lives with his wife, Marcelle, and their two young daughters dividing their time between St. Louis, MO and Hailey, Idaho.

Discussion Questions for At-Home Participation.

1. Sometimes complex stories keep us interested as we work to figure things out. At other times they can frustrate us and make us lose interest. Was the Kingdom Keepers story easy or hard to follow? How did that effect you as the reader?

2. Have you been to Disney World? Did that make Kingdom Keepers more interesting to you? If a reader had never been to Disney World what impact would that have on him or her as a reader?

3. Was it interesting to see Disney characters in new stories?

4. Kingdom Keepers has lots of computer and technology elements. Did they add to the story? Did having lots of technology as part of the story line help you stay interested?

5. Finn and his friends are recruited by Disney to be DHIs. Would you like to be a Disney Host Interactive/Daylight Hologram Image? Why or why not?

6. The five teen hologram hosts have a mission. What is it? How will they know they have succeeded?

7. Do the boy and the girl DHIs have an equal opportunity to “save the day?”

8. Who is the leader of the Overtakers? What role did this character take in the original Disney story?

9. The Overtakers have a plan that extends beyond Disney World. What else do they want to do?

10. Who guides the teens in their battle against evil?

11. What was your favorite part of the book? Was there a part you didn’t like?

12. Which character or characters did you really like? Why?

13. Which character or characters did you dislike? Why?

14. Did you like the book’s ending? Was it logical? Was it a good ending and did it answer all the questions you had while reading the book?