ValiantVixen asked Kasie West:

Hi! I've read all of your books that are out, including "P.S. I Like You". They're all amazing and you never disappoint!!! Upon finishing this book, I realized that basically everything I have read from you has a pattern, at least one of the main characters parents are separated in some way, and they usually do not have a strong relationship with their father. Why do you choose to add this aspect into every book?

Kasie West Thanks for reading my books! I'm glad you like them. As for your question, I think parental relationships are a huge source of conflict for teenagers. It is a time in life where a child is trying to assert their independence and discover who they are and usually the authority that they are pushing against is the parental authority. So it feels huge. Sometimes, for a teen, almost repressive. Because on the other end, the parents are having a hard time letting go of that power and authority. It's a weird balancing act. Anyway, so yes, I have lots of parental conflict in my books. But, despite the conflict, I actually have very involved parents in my books. Especially for the main characters. Most of them have both their parents who are both involved in their lives. But yes, you are right, in some of the love interests, or side characters, and in 2 of my main characters, they have an absent parent. I think I did that because it's true to life. There are absent parents. And it just fit with the story I was telling. I try to take each story I write as its own story and not compare and contrast to my other books as I write or it would really give me a lot of writer's block. :) And I would say it's pretty 50/50 whether it's the mother they have an issue with or the father. 3 of my main characters have daddy issues and 3 have mommy issues. Ha. As for side characters, yes, there are a lot of bad dad relationships. Yeah, I didn't do that on purpose. No hidden meaning there. :) Great question! Thanks for asking it.

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