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" Cosmo: What was it about this unique family situation that made it the basis for your new novel?  Jane Green: I&amp;#039;ve always drawn from the themes of my life for inspiration. When I married my husband, both of us had children from prior relationships, and I started exploring the concept of blended families. The one dynamic I kept coming across was that of the stepmother who believes that love and sheer force of will are enough to smooth the most difficult of beginnings. I was fascinated by this changing archetype\u2014these days it&amp;#039;s less wicked stepmother, and more about the angry and resentful stepchild who is able to manipulate a guilty parent. And yet, I could also see it from the stepchild&amp;#039;s point of view\u2014losing her dad to this new woman\u2014when she&amp;#039;s already suffered a tremendous loss.  Cosmo: What do you think is the biggest challenge for Andi, the stepmother, and Emily, the stepdaughter, in accepting each other?  JG: They are fighting a power play and Ethan, the husband, is caught in the middle. Ethan refuses to get involved, leaving the two of them fighting to be Queen Bee. Cosmo: How do you think Andi and Emily could have handled the situation better?  JG: I think Ethan could have supported Andi much earlier, without denying or changing the love he has for Emily. He could have set boundaries much earlier by presenting Andi as an equal in their family, and presenting himself and Andi together as a united front that couldn&amp;#039;t be broken up by anyone. But Andi is equally culpable in personalizing everything. Andi is equally culpable in personalizing everything. Instead of seeing Emily as a child in pain, she takes every insult as a personal attack, behaving much like a child herself. She lets it wear her down. Cosmo: So in real life, what advice would you give to Cosmo readers who may be dating men with kids?  JG: If there are problems, they won&amp;#039;t magically go away. It is possible to work through anything, but it requires willingness from both you and him. There are some wonderful books on step-parenting and successful blended families\u2014I would suggest reading a few! To buy Jane&amp;#039;s latest novel, click here.  To see which books Jane loves click here. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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