Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail: A swoon-worthy, laugh-out-loud queer romcom

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Astrid is beautiful, composed, organized, efficient—and also desperately unhappy, locked in a life that doesn’t bring her any joy. I was familiar with shows like Property Brothers and the Joanna [Gaines] and Chip [Gaines] show, Fixer Upper — just all the really popular ones. On top of that, the place she loves most—her beloved grandmother’s historic Everwood Inn—is on the verge of closing. A lot of the reason why sexuality can be really confusing, especially if you end up kind of falling under the bisexual umbrella, pansexual, or anything like that, is that you’re attracted to multiple genders. I think everybody’s just very into [the question] how is this possibly going to turn into something romantic?

But I think they’re both at a point where they need to change what their normal everyday life is, career and romance [wise]. I want to say I wrote the whole book like that, or at least the first third, and I realized that I really needed to up the stakes, and I needed something bigger at stake for both her and Jordan with the show. And now, to save her stalled career, she’ll have to work with the exasperating, sarcastic, gorgeous, immensely talented Jordan, who thwarts and upstages her at every turn. And while there are certain experiences where adults are going through this, and they’re not seen, and they’re not supported by family or people around them, I wanted Astrid’s experience to be a little gentler. And I don’t think you can get that unless you’ve already established some kind of dynamic [the characters] have.But filming the show means working with glamorous, ice-cold designer Astrid Parker, with whom Jordan has a disastrous meet-ugly. And my favorite romances to read are not only [with people] figuring themselves out so they can be with another person, but they’re also figuring themselves out for themselves. BookPage is a recommendation guide for readers, highlighting the best new books across all genres as chosen by our editors.

KT: One of the protagonists also seems to struggle with a need to please her mother, who seems impossible to satisfy.I wanted to capture the angstiness of “Oh, my gosh, I don’t think I am who I have always thought I was,” which has its own level of trauma and hardship just realizing that in and of yourself. So, I had to figure out a way to insert some additional expertise, some tension with someone else, with [the character] Jordan and the carpentry [business]. This is my first experience writing a series, so it was very interesting, like coming to book two thinking, “I can’t change any of these people. That is until she meets Jordan Everwood, the carpenter who will also be assisting in this production.