Author Interviews

Author Interview with Ali Brady

This was a big surprise for your readers—a holiday novella!

A: It was a big surprise for us, too!

B: We’ve been playing around with another idea for a holiday novel for a few years now—but since we both have full-time jobs and have been on a book-a-year schedule with a new book coming out each summer, we haven’t had the time.

But you had time now?

A: Well…I wouldn’t say we had time. But we made time because this was something we were both really excited about.

B: We had the idea for this story at the end of October—and since holiday stories have a pretty short window, we had to move fast and do things a little differently to make it happen.

How was the writing process different from your other books?

A: Like our other books, we each had a character that we “owned.” But usually, we have about six months to write a first draft. We spend a lot of time doing a pretty extensive outline and we know what’s going to happen in each chapter. Our usual schedule is a chapter a week—we both write our character’s next chapter and then swap and edit.

And you didn’t do that for this one?

B: We didn’t have time! We spent about an hour coming up with the basic plot for what we thought was going to be a short story. (We should have known it would be longer—we always write on the longer side!) From there, we took more of an improv approach, each of us writing a short scene from our character’s point of view, then sending it to the other to write the next one..

A: It was like a literary hot potato! Especially one of Bradeigh’s chapters. I was reading it and loving it—and when I got to the last line, she had one of the character’s suggesting a game of strip dreidel. My first response was—OMG! I have to write a strip dreidel scene?!?!

B: You came up with that idea!

A: Yes, I mentioned it when we were brainstorming—but I was joking and I had no idea how it would work. But Bradeigh had written it in, so I had to figure it out! And I’m so glad—because it is one of my favorite scenes in the book. Super flirty and fun.

B: People are never going to look at dreidel the same way again… Things like that happened a few other times, too. In my head, Jack had a big family with a lot of brothers and sisters. But in an early draft, Alison wrote that he just had one older sister, so I had to go with it. Honestly, it made the whole writing process a lot more fun!

You guys did a really nice job of talking about the traditions of both Christmas and Hanukkah—do you both celebrate both holidays?

A: According to my DNA, I’m 99.5% Ashkenazi Jewish, so I have always celebrated Hanukkah. And for some reason, my family has always celebrated Christmas as well. Not the religious aspects, just the Christmas tree and presents. Growing up, my grandparents collected pigs, so our family tree was filled with pig ornaments. But that’s a story for another day…

B: My family celebrates Christmas, it’s always been one of my favorite holidays. I’ve never celebrated Hanukkah—but, speaking of hot potato—Alison ended her chapter right before sunset, so I ended up writing the scene where they lit the menorah!

Wow—how did you know what to write?

B: Google! I knew the basics, but I watched a few videos to get some more specifics. It ended up being a really special scene, and interesting to have it from the point-of-view of a character who didn’t grow up celebrating the holiday.

A: You did an amazing job with it! I only made a few teeny tiny tweaks. I was very proud! And if I’m being honest—I had to Google a few things, too. It turns out I’ve been lighting candles the wrong way my whole life! So in a way, writing this book helped me learn more and connect on a deeper level with my own traditions. Pretty cool…

Did you work any of your own family traditions into the story?

B – Most of Jack’s traditions come from my family–either things I did growing up, or things I do with my kids now, like wearing matching Christmas PJ’s and reading The Night Before Christmas. We also celebrated Advent (not the calendar with chocolates, though we did have those, but the wreath with the candles we lit every Sunday in December). Some of my favorite memories of the Christmas season are of lighting those candles and reading the Christmas story with my parents and siblings.

A – I can safely say that I have never played strip dreidel before…but I’ve played the regular version of the game and try to have latkes at least once during Hanukkah. There were a few little things I tried to incorporate—like putting tinfoil under the menorah. But like I mentioned earlier, I had to do some research on the holiday. I learned the reasoning behind some things that I’ve always done (lighting a menorah by a window) and some things I’ve never done (lighting the newest candle first). It honestly gave me a whole new appreciation for the holiday and the traditions. The whole thing is really beautiful.

This book gets a little steamy… and this is your first pure romance, right?

B: All of our books (The Beach Trap, The Comeback Summer and Until Next Summer) have had elements of romance, and there have been open-door sex scenes. But until now, our books have had two different women as point-of-view characters, and while they each have a romance, it’s only been a part of the story.

A: Our next book—Battle of the Bookstores—is our first full-length romance novel. It was really fun to write, and part of the reason we were inspired to write this novella. We wanted to introduce ourselves to more romance readers. And then hopefully, they’ll be excited to read our new book when it’s out in June!

What do you want people to take away from this story?

A: Ooh, good question. A lot, honestly. I hope that people will approach this story and whatever holiday they don’t celebrate with open hearts and minds. It’s been a tough year for the Jewish community, and I think so much of the hate we see in the world comes from a lack of understanding. So I hope that this story makes our Jewish readers feel seen, and that it helps our non-Jewish readers have a better understanding about the traditions and the stories behind the holiday. At the end of the day, I hope people come away with a new understanding and respect for each other. I know, it’s a lot to ask of a novella!

B: I’ve always loved learning about different cultures and religions, and I hope readers who celebrate either holiday (or neither of them!) might learn something new. Like Nessa says in the story, traditions are like a thread that ties us all together, creating a tapestry of memories that connect us to our family, our cultures, or beliefs–and sharing traditions and beliefs can help us respect and appreciate each other. On a less serious note, I also hope readers find the story to be a cozy, fun, romantic escape–we all need that!

Okay, now let’s talk about how you’re releasing the story. Three different ways!

B: At first, we were talking about writing this short story as a free gift for our newsletter subscribers, to thank our readers for being such amazing supporters and friends through the years.

Where did the idea of releasing it serial-style on Substack come in?

A: When we were about a week away from finishing the draft, I recorded a mini episode for the #AmWriting podcast with Jennie Nash and KJ Dell’Antonia. After we stopped recording, I told them a bit about what was going on with us and the idea we had for the short story. KJ suggested releasing it in a serial style on Substack. I wasn’t sure about the idea at first, but the more I thought about it, the more excited I got!

And you’re also self-publishing the ebook and print book?

B: Yes! We’ve had a crash course in indie publishing the last few weeks, but we have a few friends who have done it before and provided a lot of helpful advice.

A: And we got a lot of help from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association Indie Publishing group. That’s actually the writing group where Bradeigh and I first met! They have a sub-Facebook group for people who indie publish and they were very patient and helpful answering a lot of our questions.

Now can we talk about how you got REDACTED to narrate this book?

A: I’m seriously still pinching myself over that one. I’m such a big fan of REDACTED and it’s been one of my author dreams to have her narrate something I wrote.

B: The whole thing happened so fast—every step of the way, I was like—is this really happening?

A: We knew it was a long shot, but we’ve become friends with REDACTED over the last few years (which is so cool!) and as a big audio book fan, I love what she’s doing with REDACTED. Bradeigh and I both know how important narrators are, and we’re thrilled to have our story on REDACTED!

Before we finish, let’s do a quick Rapid Round of Questions:

Favorite Christmas Song:

A: I want a hippopotamus for Christmas

B: I ADORE Christmas music, so this is tough, but my current obsession is Pentatonix’s Twelve Days of Christmas, because it is so creative and fun.

Applesauce or Sour Cream:

A: Applesauce!

B: Never had either! Maybe I should rectify that this year?

Matching PJs—love them or hate them?

A: Love them!

B: I also love them!

Chanukah or Hanukkah?

A: Chanukah! (We spelled it the other way in the book so it didn’t look so similar to Christmas since they both start with the same two letters.)

B: I have no preference!

Favorite Holiday Movie:

A: A Christmas Story

B: Home Alone or While You Were Sleeping

Thanks again for talking to us. Where can readers find more about you?

B: We’re the most active on Instagram, @AliBradyBooks and via our newsletter on Substack: www.alibradybooks.substack.com

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Have a question we didn’t answer? Ask it in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer! (Also – the redacted answers will be replaced once the announcement is live, hopefully in the next few days!)

If you like what you’re reading and want to support future Ali Brady projects including additional novellas, book tours and events, you can send us a tip via Venmo or PayPal. And make sure you’re following us on Instagram!

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