Author Notes

Behind the scenes of the stories: themes, ideas and the thinking behind the characters.

Author Note · Kiss Me, Captain

How Kiss Me, Captain Turns a Lost Friendship Into a Rivalry

Kiss Me, Captain builds the rivalry out of what the friendship left behind. Emily and Maddie fight with details only a childhood best friend would know. The ice keeps score for them in public. Old games and routines keep surfacing as a second, softer language, and through chapter 30 the rivalry slowly turns into a shared title rather than a contest.

Author Note · Kiss Me, Captain

What Kiss Me, Captain Is Really About: Performing Versus Being Seen

Under the enemies-to-lovers rivalry, Kiss Me, Captain is about performance. Both girls play roles to get through Lakeview. Maddie fakes wealth and a boyfriend, and Emily calls her feelings an experiment. The ice is the one place where faking doesn't work, and through chapter 50 the story asks what it costs to stop acting and be seen.