When we first started discussing the possibility of this book - at that point it was all fun, no commitments - the first thing I knew about Daisy was that she was organized, analytical and blind to how it was ruining her life. Pairing her with frenetic Bailey (more on him later) and her self-centered mother Peg (more on her later, too) was a joy, because you could both see why Daisy was the way she was (oy, Peg) and root for Bailey to loosen her up. And of course, Noah with his free spirit and ability to live in the moment was the slam-dunk.

I think what I enjoyed about Daisy the most was her sense of humor. She might have been a bit uptight, but man, that chick loved a good zinger, and I think that illustrated the person inside who wanted to get out and dance. My favorite one-liner of Daisy’s is when she’s giving Shar all the reasons she should sleep with Sam, and at the end she says, “Three birds, one bone.” To this day, that line cracks me up, and it was so essentially Daisy. I don’t think I’ve ever written another character who would express herself in quite that way, and it made Daisy just an absolute joy to write.

Daisy, like Abby and Shar, was a single child with mother issues, and had found herself fairly isolated at the beginning of the book. The sisterhood she developed with Shar and Abby was hugely important to the book, and the three of us were very conscious of that while writing. The deep bond the three women built during the story also mirrors the bond that the three of us built while writing it. By the end of the book, Shar and Abby are the first people Daisy would run to with a problem, and Krissie and Jenny are my go-to girls when I need support. It was such a joy to see Daisy get what I’d gotten, because I know the value of true friendship and community, people you can turn to no matter what.

I cast Angela Kinsey as Daisy - some of you might know her as Angela from The Office - and while it might seem at first that she’s really based on the character Angela plays, in reality, I drew most of my inspiration from the real Angela, who is quite possibly the most adorable person on the planet. Because I’m such a huge fan of The Office, I’ve seen a lot of behind-the-scenes videos and I’ve also seen some of Angela’s improv work, and the girl is just delightful. It was that playful nature in Angela Kinsey that helped me unlock Daisy’s sharp wit, and I’m so glad I cast her that way. Here’s the Daisy section of the collage Jenny made; isn’t she a genius? You’ll see the flowers that, regrettably, got cut because I couldn’t figure out how to keep them, and also the real Bailey and the lovely Alexis Denisof (Wesley from Angel) who was cast as Noah (we’ll talk more about him later, too):

Daisy is one of the characters I’ve had the hardest time letting go of. Most of my characters, when I’ve led them to their happy ending, I’m fine to let go. I don’t know if it’s just the joy of working with Jenny and Krissie, or how fun it was to write Daisy, or if it’s just that I know she’s not finished, but I would revisit her in a heartbeat, if we ever make that decision. I don’t know if we will, but if we do, I’ll definitely look forward to it!