Book Title: MAKE THE SEASON BRIGHT Character Name: Charlotte Donovan   How would you describe your family or your childhood? First of all, family is a stretch. I was raised by a single mother who would rather write about murder than interact with me. You might’ve heard of her—she probably wrote your favorite thriller novel. She’s good at them, no doubt. No so good at her own progeny, as it turns out. I had the Fairbrooks though. They lived next door, and they were the kind of family lonely kids like me dreamed about. Loving. Warm. Funny. Actually asked questions about their kid’s day. Anyway, they were my family. Them and their daughter Brighton. Always have been.   What was your greatest talent? I play violin. Very well. I think that’s all I need to say on the matter.   Significant other? Good lord, how much time do you have? I’ve only ever loved one person—Brighton Fairbrook. She was family, my best friend, my first love, my fiancée. She was never my wife though. Yes, I can see you wincing. Because how does a fiancée not end up a wife? Well, when one of them leaves the other at the…

Book Title: IRIS KELLY DOESN’T DATE Character Name: Iris Kelly   How would you describe your family or your childhood? Loud. I’m the middle kid of three, and let’s just say my brother Aiden and my sister Emma probably spit up diamonds when they were babies. They’ve always had it together, had a plan, while I’m the kid who cussed out my high assistant principal about the patriarchal dress code. I tried to be well-behaved, I did, but I’ve just never been good at keeping my mouth shut, and, well, seems like well-behaved people never really get to have much fun. And I do like fun. My parents loved me—still do—but they’re not sure what to do with me. Never have been, and you know, that’s okay. I know what to do with me.   What was your greatest talent? Oh wow, I’ve got so many. I can draw pretty well. Owned a paper shop for a while and designed planners, some of them custom made for clients. Had to close that down though, and now I write romance. Yeah, go ahead and laugh. But I’m pretty decent at it…until I ran up against some writer’s block, but it’ll be…

From ASTRID PARKER DOESN’T FAIL published by arrangement with Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2022 by Ashley Herring Blake.   Astrid didn’t usually attend demo days. She hated the dust, the chaos, the crew tearing cabinets out of walls and wielding sledgehammers like Neanderthals. But the Everwood Inn wasn’t just any design project, and everything had to be documented for Innside America, including her overseeing parts of the demo—or at least pretending to. Plus, with her reputation already on shaky ground with the lead carpenter, Astrid knew she needed to be involved. Passionate. Maybe peeling off a segment of wallpaper or two might go a long way to repairing things with Jordan. All she had to do was be her usual collected self. Except when she pulled up to the front of the inn and spotted Jordan and Natasha standing on the porch, laughing, Astrid’s nerves quickly rebelled. With the giant dumpster situated in the front yard, coupled with the show’s crew mixing among the demo crew, things were getting real. “You’re here,” Jordan said when Astrid got out of her car and headed toward the porch, her work bag hooked onto her elbow. Astrid made sure…