Taylor’s learning disorder is based on the daughter of a dear friend (who happens to be named Taylor). Like my Taylor, my friend’s daughter was not diagnosed until well after she’d finished high school. She was always a good student, but she had to work extra hard in every class throughout high school, college, and nursing school. Her story is one of strength and resilience. She was the perfect model for Taylor.

As I prepared notes for writing this story line, I interviewed a school speech pathologist who specializes in learning disorders and did extensive online research. My goal was to make Taylor’s character as authentic as possible by exploring the doubts an undiagnosed learning disorder can create, but also not allowing it to define her as a person.

Like Jamar, you also recently lost one of your best friends. Were you able to channel some of your grief into his character? Did the changes in your life shape the book in any way?

I lost my older sister—my only sister—halfway through the writing of this book. She was my very best friend and losing her knocked my entire world off its axis. It took months before I could even look at The Dating Playbook again, because I knew I had to face that aspect of Jamar’s story line.

I learned that I had never experienced true grief before. I’ve lost family members and suffered a deep sadness, but there is nothing that has ever come close to the raw pain I’ve endured since losing my sister. I truly believe this loss allowed me to empathize on a deeper level with Jamar’s grief journey. There were many tears cried as I worked through some of the scenes that explored Jamar’s loss of his best friend, Silas, but I stuck with it and hope it makes for a better story.

What was the most interesting thing you learned when writing The Dating Playbook?

The fascinating world of “Fitnessgram” is, by far, the most interesting thing I discovered while writing this book. There are fitness instructors who have created an entire world for themselves on Instagram, with hundreds of thousands of followers. The entrepreneurial spirit of these fitness gurus is inspiring.

Who’s your favorite football team and what’s your favorite game-day snack?

I am a lifelong New Orleans Saints fan, much to my uncle’s chagrin. He’s a thirty-five-plus-year veteran of the NFL and has coached for more than a half-dozen teams. I love him dearly, but I refuse to cheer for any other team. It’s the Saints all the way. As for game-day snacks, nothing beats a nice bowl of gumbo while watching my Saints.

Bonus Scene