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

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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. And I think it can still be very harrowing if you don’t feel like there’s people around you who can see you. I think that a part of her journey that made sense to me was [asking] whether or not this is the world I want? 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. Sometimes, I do make certain decisions because I’m like, well, obviously, Astrid needs this problem because Jordan is going to complement it.

BookPage is a recommendation guide for readers, highlighting the best new books across all genres as chosen by our editors.It takes time for them to let down their walls, reveal their vulnerabilities and allow themselves to be seen and valued for who they really are. That was definitely something that I knew Astrid was going to deal with because [of] the way I set her up in Delilah’s book.

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.

We read about kids that have come out and realize [their] sexuality, but what does it really look like as an adult? So, I think with Astrid, I really wanted to balance the very real, authentic way that I experienced it with her character and all the things that she’s dealing with from her mom. I think everybody’s just very into [the question] how is this possibly going to turn into something romantic?