1–What is the title of your latest release?
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Sisters Libby and Hannah are trying to save their late grandmother’s PR agency by wooing a potential big client – an eccentric self-help guru named Lou. In order to win Lou’s business, the sisters must take one of her “Crush Your Comfort Zone” challenges. Shy Hannah must go on 12 first dates with 12 strangers and Libby (who is allergic to exercise) must train for and compete in a public, athletic activity. The sisters help each other through their challenges – but things get complicated when Hannah’s first love tries to win her back, and Libby falls for one of the guys she’s supposed to be setting up for her sister. Can they save their company, and more importantly, their relationship?
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Our last book took place in Destin, Florida, and readers really loved the beachy vibes. For The Comeback Summer, we wanted to find a city that had a beach, but also had a bigger professional market since our sisters run a PR agency. Chicago fit the bill—and it helps that we both love the city. Alison currently lives there, and Bradeigh lived there during her medical training.
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! We would have such a fun dinner party with the two of us and the two of them. (And it would be really fun if they brought their love interests along, too!)
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
For Libby – romantic, insecure, loyal
For Hannah – analytical, anxious, loyal
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
This is a great question, and we both learned a lot.
Alison – Libby’s journey to love and accept that she is deserving of love as a plus-sized woman is a journey I’ve been on myself. And I learned a lot from her example. How brave she was in learning to appreciate her body and realizing that it’s the least interesting thing about herself.
Bradeigh – I learned a lot from both sisters as they worked to crush their comfort zones and consider a new path for themselves. That isn’t easy to do!
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Since there are two of us, we edit as we go. Each one of us has a character that we “own.” When we’re in the drafting stage, our usual schedule has us each drafting a chapter one week, and we read/edit each other’s chapter before we move on to the next one. For this book, we got some good feedback when we were about three quarters of the way through, so we stopped and went back to make some edits before going back to cross the finish line.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Alison: I’m more into salty foods than sweet…the first things that came to mind were really good crab rangoon and a tuna-avocado sushi roll with fake soy sauce. Mmm!
Bradeigh: Chocolate. The darker the better!
9–Describe your writing space/office!
Alison: I’m a creature of habit in many areas of my life, but when it comes to my writing space, I’m pretty flexible. I have a desk in my apartment, but sometimes I’ll write on the couch or in bed. But my favorite place to write is a coffee shop!
Bradeigh: I have a writing office at home where I do 90% of my writing. Usually, the door is open so my kids can come in and say hi. Occasionally, though, I can shut the door and get some peace and quiet.
10–Who is an author you admire?
This is such a hard question because there are SO many incredible authors we admire. We’re both big fans of Emily Henry, Katherine Center, Christina Lauren, Colleen Oakley and Taylor Jenkins Reid. We also admire Jodi Picoult, both as an author and how much she supports other writers.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
Alison: The first book that comes to mind for me is Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. As a plus-sized Jewish girl, it was the first time I could see myself in the heroine of a novel. At the time, it was pretty revolutionary. I’m so relieved that’s no longer the case, and I’m proud to add Libby Freedman to the list of bad-ass plus-sized characters who find love—with themselves and a swoony partner!
Bradeigh: Beach Read by Emily Henry. I read an early copy at a time when I was considering quitting writing – I’d been trying to get published for so long, and it didn’t seem to be happening for me. But reading about fictional authors working through their own publishing struggles helped me get the courage to try again. A few months later, I had a book deal! And a few months after that, we got the deal for The Beach Trap!
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
We found out that we’d sold our first book, The Beach Trap, during the pandemic. I believe the news came in an email from our agents – and Bradeigh and Alison quickly jumped on a FaceTime call to scream and celebrate with each other. It was such an exciting moment. Berkeley has always been a dream imprint for us, and we couldn’t believe that we’d gotten a two-book deal with them off of a proposal with just five chapters. It’s still a pinch-me moment!
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
We both enjoy reading the kind of books we write—stories about family and friendship and love. And we also both love reading mystery, suspense and thrillers. (Bradeigh’s solo books are psychological suspense!)
14–What’s your favorite movie?
Alison: My favorite movie is pretty obscure, and I’ve only seen it one time more than twenty years ago—but it’s stuck. (If I saw it again, I hope I would still love it as much!) It’s called Passion of Mind and it stars Demi Moore who plays two characters. She’s a working single-mother in New York City, but every time she goes to sleep, she wakes up in another life where she’s a widow in Paris. She has a therapist in both lives who try to convince her that the other life is a dream. It’s so good!
Bradeigh: Maybe this sounds silly, because it’s a cartoon, but Beauty and Beast. I related so hard to bookish Belle with her dreams of adventure. And who doesn’t want a giant library?
15–What is your favorite season?
Alison: Every season has its benefits…but I would have to say my favorite is summer because I love being outside. (As long as it’s not too hot!)
Bradeigh: Summer for me, too. I hate the long, dark, cold winter.
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Alison: I love celebrating birthdays – whether it’s mine or someone else’s. For my most recent birthday, I went out to dinner with a few friends and then to my favorite bar where they have great drinks and fun live music. I also celebrate my half-birthday.
Bradeigh: My birthday is on Halloween, so I spend my birthday trick-or-treating with my kids.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Another hard one!! There are so many incredible pieces of content out there!
Alison: For tv shows: I loved The Last of Us and Daisy Jones & The Six. For books, I’ve read so many good ones lately. A few faves: The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley, Hello Beautiful by Ann Napalitano and The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton.
Bradeigh: I echo all of Alison’s recs, including The Last of Us and Daisy Jones for TV. A few other books I’ve recently loved: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren, and Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder. Also, we’re both fans of Glennon Doyle’s podcast, We Can Do Hard Things.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Alison: That would be a tie between Asian and Italian. And believe it or not, there is a restaurant in Destin, Florida that serves both! (And I’d have to give an honorable mention to Mexican.)
Bradeigh: Thai or Mexican for me. I am obsessed with Thai curries and Mexican mole.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
Alison: Free time? What’s that? Ha. If I do have free time, I love to read, to travel, spend time with my friends and my two adorable nephews, and I love going to hear live music.
Bradeigh: I love to read, travel, and hang out with my husband, four kids, and dog.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
We are almost finished with the first draft of our next book, Camp People, which will be out in the Summer of 2024. It takes place at an adult summer camp and it’s full of nostalgia, summer vibes and strong female friendship – and of course, there are two steamy romances.
THE COMEBACK SUMMER by Ali Brady
Two sisters have one summer to crush their comfort zones and save their grandmother’s legacy in this sweet, sexy, and heartfelt novel by Ali Brady, author of The Beach Trap.
Hannah and Libby need a miracle. The PR agency they inherited from their grandmother is losing clients left and right, and the sisters are devastated at the thought of closing. The situation seems hopeless—until in walks Lou, an eccentric self-help guru who is looking for a new PR agency. Her business could solve all their problems—but there’s a catch. Whoever works with Lou must complete a twelve-week challenge as part of her “Crush Your Comfort Zone” program.
Hannah, whose worst nightmare is making small talk with strangers, is challenged to go on twelve first dates. Libby, who once claimed to have period cramps for four weeks straight to get out of gym class, is challenged to compete in an obstacle course race. The challenges begin with Hannah helping Libby train and Libby managing the dating app on her sister’s behalf. They’re both making good progress—until Hannah’s first love rolls into town, and Libby accidentally falls for a guy she’s supposed to be setting up with her sister.
Things get even more complicated when secrets come to light, making the sisters question the one relationship they’ve always counted on: each other. With their company’s future on the line, they can’t afford to fail. But in trying to make a comeback to honor their grandmother, are they pushing themselves down the wrong path?
Romance | Women’s Fiction [Berkley, On Sale: May 9, 2023, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593440179 / eISBN: 9780593440186]
Buy THE COMEBACK SUMMER: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Ripped Bodice | Love’s Sweet Arrow | Walmart.com | Target.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Ali Brady
Ali Brady is the pen name of writing BFFs Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey. The Beach Trap is their first book together. Alison lives in Chicago and works as a VP creative director at an advertising agency. She’s the author of You and Me and Us and Little Pieces of Me. Bradeigh lives with her family in Utah, where she works as a physician. She’s the author of the psychological thriller, Imposter.
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