Q&A: Lauren Okie, Author of ‘The Best Worst Thing’

We chat with author Lauren Okie about The Best Worst Thing, which is an intimate story about starting over, second chances, and two people who cannot help falling into each other’s orbit once again.

Hi, Lauren! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi! Sure! I’m Lauren, and I’m the author of The Best Worst Thing! I’m also a part-time copywriter and mom to a six-year-old. I live with my family in a tiny beach town just south of Los Angeles. I’ve been in California ever since I graduated from college at NYU.

I am, by nature, a bit of a mess. I’m a chronic oversharer (probably why I write books, to be honest!) and I never stop talking. In my twenties, I worked in hospitality, so when I’m not writing, I’ve also been known to host all my friends for an elaborate dinner. There’s an unwritten rule that nobody brings food to a party at my house without checking with me first, lest they disturb my carefully curated meal story.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I think I was born a storyteller. I have ADHD, and in the ‘90s, traditional school was really hard for me, but I loved to create things. My parents were really good about making space for that. I constantly put on puppet shows, wrote plays, or used a video camera to film my stuffed animals starring in commercials I wrote.

I didn’t have the “study skills” needed to succeed in the classroom quite yet—I actually had to go to a writing tutor at some point in grade school, but becoming an author was always the dream. It just took a few decades for everything to come together, that’s all.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Three Billy Goats Gruff??? It was part of a giant set of learn-to-read books, and this was the first one I ever read aloud completely on my own. I’m sad I don’t have them for my daughter!
• The one that made you want to become an author: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Birds of California by Katie Cotugno is one of my favorite romances of all time!

Your debut novel, The Best Worst Thing, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Sad. Funny. Honest. Sexy. Raw.

What can readers expect?

The Best Worst Thing is a modern love story that combines all the hard stuff women in their thirties are already talking about (infertility, infidelity, motherhood, feeling like something isn’t quite right) with all the highs and lows of falling in love with someone new. It’s an emotional, complex read about sliding doors, silver linings, and starting over, but it’s also a testament to chasing joy and having some fun while redefining “happily ever after.”

It’s also, at its core, a love story about that missed connection you told yourself to forget about, but could never seem to let go.

Where did the inspiration for The Best Worst Thing come from?

I struggled with infertility for years before I had my daughter via surrogate. My husband was the best partner in the world during this time, and we were on that journey together. But it got me thinking: What if that hadn’t been the case? What if he’d been a lying, cheating jerk? What would it look like to discover that truth only after it was already too late?

And so I took those questions and threw them at my protagonist, Nicole. And then, because I LOVE MESS, I gave her a Jim-and-Pam from The Office situation with a former colleague. The setup is simple: Two hours after she discovers the affair, Nicole finds herself drunk and standing on Logan Milgram’s doorstep . . . and the rest is history.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I could go on and on, but writing the fights in this book (and there are many!) was so rewarding for me. Yes, the work was ugly and brutal and heart-wrenching, but I felt so deeply while crafting these scenes. These characters, by the third draft of the story, all had such big emotions and opinions, and they were not afraid to shout them onto the page. I loved the push and pull of that—how interesting and layered and emotional it made the work.

My father-in-law is a TV writer, and he said to me, “The best fights are when both people think they’re right.” I think about that a lot. It’s excellent advice.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

I wrote this book without an agent for 18 months with no idea whether I’d be able to even get representation for it. That, in and of itself, scared me at times, but I didn’t let myself think about it too much. Instead, I focused on working as hard as I possibly could to create a story I believed belonged on bookshelves.

That said, this “bet on myself” came at the expense of a lot of people who love and count on me. My mind was often elsewhere, wrapped up in this story, and I think that’s something we don’t hear about very much: the cost of making art. My fingers, hands, and wrists hurt. I was tired and overextended. Hours I used to fill with my husband and daughter became writing time.

Now that I’m (hopefully) in this for the long haul—my sophomore novel, Tropesick, was just announced and will publish in June 2026—I’m really working on balance. I don’t know if we can have it all, but I am trying to bucket my time better so I can be more present in everything I do.

This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

My previous answer touched on this accidentally, but, in general: a tremendous amount of hard work. I read constantly. I rewrote the book a thousand times. I inhaled craft books, had friends and family reading, worked every line until I couldn’t find a single syllable to tweak or shift or change.

I started writing the book in May of 2022. I’d started, a few months prior, another manuscript, but abandoned it pretty quickly in favor of The Best Worst Thing. My gut knew this was my book. And I guess I was right!

What’s next for you?

Tropesick! The book is another hard-fought love story about an all-grown-up girl next door and her dead brother’s best friend, a now-sober literary fiction author. Forced to ghostwrite a romance novel in the Hamptons over the course of a summer, the two are hosted by a reclusive, best-selling author who’s hiding a few secrets of her own. And, as they begin to draft, Tyler and Katie realize the tropes they’ve plotted into their book are mysteriously playing out in real life.

It’s a love letter to the romance genre, and an honest look at the pain of addiction, the power of forgiveness, and the strength of even the most broken of hearts. It comes out in June!

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

I devoured Regina Black’s August Lane recently! I also loved Melissa O’Connor’s debut, The One and Only Vivian Stone. I’ve also gotten an early look at two of my author friends’ 2026 novels, so if you’re a fan of Tarah deWitt or Katie Naymon, you’re in for a treat!

I live in Los Angeles, and something I’ve been really pushing myself to do is meet another author or attend a book event at least once a month. I’ve met some really great people this way! I had a chance to grab dinner with Natalie Messier this summer. Her debut, Every Version of You, looks tremendous, and she’s promised me a galley! It’s at the very top of my list.

Will you be picking up The Best Worst Thing? Tell us in the comments below!