In writing the book] I realized that there were so many other things that I had [to do]. I had to bring in a whole crew. I had to think about that. I was Googling “What is it like being on an HGTV show?” I had to kind of figure out what it would actually look like behind the scenes. So for me, it was just really a mechanism that was already built in because she was an interior designer but also a way to increase what she was at risk of losing for both of them if this didn’t go well. KT: One of the protagonists also seems to struggle with a need to please her mother, who seems impossible to satisfy. Why did you include this dynamic? Shondaland caught up with Blake to discuss characters figuring themselves out, prominent career and life changes, HGTV shows, and more. I already knew that Isabel was like that. And I knew that a lot of Astrid’s journey, even in Delilah’s book, with her fiancé and her marriage and all the things that she thought were gonna happen [that] didn’t end up happening, was mostly the result of Isabel and Isabel’s expectations on her. KATIE TAMOLA: One of the main characters is questioning her sexuality. How do you best navigate thoughtfully crafting such an experience?

AHB: I love enemies to lovers or rivals to lovers. I just love seeing the animosity turn into something more and seeing that subtle shift of “we don’t like each other,” or whatever level that they’re on in terms of intimacy, turning something softer, and then finally, that realization. I love seeing their journey. I think it’s just delicious. I think everybody’s just very into [the question] how is this possibly going to turn into something romantic? Sometimes, I do make certain decisions because I’m like, well, obviously, Astrid needs this problem because Jordan is going to complement it. But I think they’re both at a point where they need to change what their normal everyday life is, career and romance [wise]. And so, they both went about that in very different ways. Who doesn’t love a good renovation story? Whether it’s the experts of “Queer Eye” making lifestyle improvements, Marie Kondo organizing clutter, the beloved hosts of “What Not to Wear” upgrading a wardrobe (still waiting on that reboot, TLC) or the “Property Brothers” giving a home a much-needed tuneup, we all like to watch professionals take a mess and rework, renew and restore it into something beautiful. There’s a hopefulness to renovations, too, in the idea that everything has hidden potential just waiting to be brought to light. And the main couple of Ashley Herring Blake’s Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail? Well, let’s just say they could use some touch-ups.

So, I think that’s a pretty common theme with millennials. 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. Everything in her life was pretty much decided for her either explicitly by her mother or just by what Astrid knew was the right choice in terms of what was expected of her. I knew I wanted her to really hold up to the title that she doesn’t fail — which means she must fail. I needed her to fail spectacularly in every sense of the word. 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. Regardless of Jordan, Astrid needed to get out of the cycle she was in. AHB: Isabel, Astrid’s mom, was built in from Delilah. 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.” [ Laughs.] They just are who they are because of how I made them in the first book. KT: Conversely, you have another character, similar in age, who enjoys what she does but is at a point in her life where she thinks everything she touches turns to destruction. Is this a case of two characters needing to meet each other when their own lives are somewhat derailed, whether they realize it or not?

I wanted readers to read that experience and be like, “Oh, that’s [something] that I can relate to.” Or “I’m glad she had that support because she has all her friends around her, even if her mom is not exactly into it.” 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. But I wanted to balance that with [the idea of] I have these people around me — no matter who I am or what I am, or how I see myself, label or no label, whatever it is — [who] accept me and support me no matter what. So to me, that balance right there was really important with Astrid’s journey, for sure. ASHLEY HERRING BLAKE: Well, Astrid’s experiences are very similar to my own. I pulled on a lot of personal experience because I was kind of a late-in-life realizer of my own sexuality. 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. So, there’s a lot of things that you can just kind of shove under the rug when you’re growing up or when you first start coming into [your] sexuality.Astrid, an interior designer, prides herself on her carefully curated image and reputation. And while her professional image is pristine, her personal one is not: A failed engagement and a tough-to-please mother have sent her flailing. But when Astrid gets an exciting opportunity to renovate an entire inn that will be featured on a designer television show, Innside America, she thinks her prayers have been answered. That is until she meets Jordan Everwood, the carpenter who will also be assisting in this production.