What is the title of your latest release?
STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Woman, in a slightly tipsy state, gets talked into going to therapy with a stranger to help her childhood best friend prove that a therapist can tell the difference between a real couple and a fake one.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I wanted a smallish town about four hours drive from Los Angeles. And Clovis is where I grew up so I thought it would be perfect.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
She’s a bit of a control freak, but I love her. And I love strong women, so yes, I would absolutely hang out with her.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Lol. I feel like I used them in the last answer. But how about: loyal, skeptical, and fun (iykyk)
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Well, I already knew this, but perhaps it drove the point home: therapy is a wonderful tool and something I wish everyone had access to. I think access to mental health care is still something that has a long way to go.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I want to wait until I’m totally done because there are things that happen at the end of the book that end up helping me with the front half of the book. But alas, my brain won’t turn off, even though I know the aforementioned fact, and instead I try to make it perfect without all the finer details that come into play later in the story and make it harder on myself than it needs to be. In my perfect world, I’d write a fast first draft and then flesh out the story and fix it in rounds two through five hundred (exaggeration, but I do read/edit my books a ton!). So anyway, long answer short: About halfway through my book, I remember how to write again and stop trying to edit every page and just finish (then edit).
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Ugh. My digestive tract hates me so I am gluten/dairy/egg free. Yes, that means food, for the most part, is a struggle to find. But I do love food. I recently found a little ice cream shop in Portland, Oregon called Kate’s that is free of all the things I just mentioned, and I’m not joking when I tell you that when I visit Portland I go every day. I love it so much. I am also a sucker for Dr. Pepper.
Describe your writing space/office!
I write in a big comfy recliner. My husband tells me I’m going to wreck my back because my posture is terrible while I write but it is what works for me. Often, I’ll sit on a heating pad too. And next to me is another chair that is full of all my things (snacks, books, papers) It’s really quite a mess, but it’s my mess.
Who is an author you admire?
In the YA space, I’m a big Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han fan and on the adult side, I love Emily Henry
Is there a book that changed your life?
There is not a single book that changed my life, but I will say that books in general shaped my life. My parents were big readers and I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember. Books made me who I am.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
It was back in 2011. My agent called me and told me that Harper Teen wanted to publish my book (Pivot Point). I remember at the time we had a laundry room that had a door with a little window that looked out to our side yard. And for some reason, I found myself in there (maybe it was a quiet place, because I had littles at the time. My kids are all grown up now, and I’m just realizing while typing this that that is probably exactly what I was doing, finding a place where I could hear best). And I just stared out the window while my agent told me with a big old smile on my face. I was so happy and I excited and couldn’t quite believe it. Sometimes I still can’t believe it.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Contemporary Romance
What’s your favorite movie?
I have so many. I haven’t really met a rom-com I didn’t like. My recent favorites are: The Hating Game and The People We Meet on Vacation (I love Emily Bader)
What is your favorite season?
Autumn
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Traveling somewhere
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Loved (like the rest of the world) Heated Rivalry. I’m also liking Rooster right now. I’m watching the second one with my husband (not so much the first one).
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Mexican food!
What do you do when you have free time?
Read or binge television or go on walks/hikes
What can readers expect from you next?
I have a couple more young adults coming out in the next 12 months and I also have my third adult rom-com that will be out this time next year. More on that soon!
Thanks for having me!
STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED by Kasie West
Narrator: Karissa Vacker
Can fake dating lead to real love? In Kasie West’s next sexy adult romcom two people must decide where the lie ends and the chemistry begins.
Sutton knows she needs therapy. After all, she’s managing her newly opened restaurant remotely while taking care of her ungrateful sick mother. Plus, her boyfriend of two years just dumped her over the phone. But does therapy with a handsome stranger, who she has to pretend to be engaged to, in order to help her friend’s struggling relationship count? Probably not. Then why did she just agree to go? Because she’s had a few too many drinks? Because this stranger, Elijah, is smug and annoying and really, really handsome? Because she feels guilty that she abandoned her best friend, Tara, after high school and this might just make up for it? Whatever the reason, she has committed to this unhinged plan.
What the hell is Sutton doing?
Helping Tara prove a point: a good therapist can tell the difference between real love and fake love. That’s what she’s doing. But as they attend their sessions, Sutton and Elijah only seem to be proving one thing—the lines between pretend desire and real desire are very blurry. This true connection forming between them is threatening to unravel everything Sutton thought she knew about family, friendship, and her own heart.
Romance Comedy [ Saturday Books, On Sale: April 14, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9781250349163 / eISBN: 9781250349170 ]
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About Kasie West
Kasie West lives with her family in central California, where the heat tries to kill her with its 115-degree stretches. She graduated from Fresno State University with a BA degree that has nothing to do with writing.
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