When I initially began writing SPIES, LIES, AND ALLIES, I intended for it to be another YA rom-com like my previous books, with a fun cast of characters and romance. It checks those boxes, but this novel also ended up being a love story about dads and daughters. I say “ended up” like the book just happened somehow, but the truth is I wrote SPIES as my dad struggled with the end stages of Alzheimer’s. It was incredibly tough to “write funny” while grieving, and this book went through the most intense revision process of any of my books. For a while, I wasn’t even sure this one would make it into print, but my editor was patient, and I revised, again and again. Laurel and her dad share a love of Star Wars; she calls him Dad Vader and he calls her Princess, for Leia, naturally. Laurel convinces her dad to give her a summer job at his business, but it doesn’t turn out at all like she expects. As in “real life,” Laurel’s dad is hesitant to give her too much responsibility, not sure she’s ready for it. Many of us probably experienced this with our own dads,…