You have a new short story A Place to Call Home that continues the story of Luke and Nora. Every woman is beautiful in her own way, exactly as she is. I want my readers to be able to see themselves reflected in my books, no matter if they are shy or super confident, have love handles or a six-pack, work as cashiers or lawyers, etc. I want to show my readers that they don’t have to look a certain way, be rich, or have a glamorous job to deserve love. When I look at all the awesome women in my life whom I love and admire, there’s such diversity in body types, jobs, and backgrounds, and I’m trying to reflect that in my books. Why is it important to you to feature these characters in your books? Most of your books have characters with real jobs and who are not model thin. And then Dawn from Conflict of Interest because she’s so approachable, kind, a great listener, and someone to talk to during dinner. Then maybe Drew from Something in the Wine so she could pick the best bottle of wine for everyone to share (or maybe bring it). That’s really tough! I really want to invite them all, but if I have to pick just three: Steph from The Roommate Arrangement because as a comedian, she would have us all in stitches throughout the entire dinner. If you could have a dinner party with just three of your characters, who would you invite? You have written over 20 books and have so many memorable characters. Where does that spark of attraction come from after knowing each other for 25 years? What suddenly changed? How do they navigate that new, unexpected aspect of their relationship while not losing their friendship?Īnswering these questions in Chemistry Lessons was actually a nice change of pace and really fun for me. The challenge wasn’t how to get them to trust each other but how to take them from best friends who hang out on the couch in baggy sweatpants and no bra to lovers. So the structure of a friends-to-lovers romance is entirely different from all other romances.

They know everything about each other-or at least they think they do. Regan and Ky have been best friends since the first day of kindergarten. In a friends-to-lovers romance, all of that has already taken place before the book starts. Most of my other romances are slow-burn romances-the characters meet as strangers at the beginning of the book and then slowly get to know each other, build trust, and open up to each other.

Paper love jae