1–What is the title of your latest release?
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
From comedy writing duo Alli Frank and Asha Youmans comes The Better Half, a side-splitting spin on reaching the pinnacle of life, only to stare down a slippery slope on the other side.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
So far, we have placed our stories in California. We wanted a sophisticated Southern California setting without being in the typical Los Angeles or San Diego areas. For The Better Half, we landed on Pasadena and traveled there together to get a feel for the vibe of the city.
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! We adore Nina and her best friend, Marisol. It would be great to sit on a patio with them for happy hour and throw back some margaritas.
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Intelligent, Purposeful, Multitasker
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
We aimed to analyze every angle of Zora Neale Hurston’s quote, “All skinfolk ain’t kinfolk,” as it is one of the main themes we explore in The Better Half. We continue to expand our minds through our protagonist’s unique points of view.
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Edit as we draft for sure. We can’t go on to the next chapter until the one before it is at least “pretty good.”
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Alli: Trader Joe’s corn dippers and cowboy caviar salsa. I can polish off a whole bag and jar in one writing session, no problem!
Asha: Beef. It’s what I want for dinner.
9—Describe your writing space/office.
Alli: Fifty percent of my time I am in my home office and the other fifty percent I rotate between one of three of my favorite coffee shops. Ambient noise can really force me to focus.
Asha: I write from my couch with my trusty 13-year-old Yorkie napping at my side. Staring at the view helps keep me in my seat to work and I try not to lose focus as I watch boats float into the bay outside my windows.
10–Who is an author you admire?
Alli: Steven Pressfield. I read The War of Art right before Asha and I jump into writing a new book. Five times and counting. It’s my creative bible.
Asha: Toni Morrison. Her use of concise and piercing language gives me goosebumps.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
Alli: See above. Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art.
Asha: The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
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.
This being our third book we can say that “the call” for each book has been very different. For The Better Half, finding out from our editor, Alison Dasho, that our book was chosen as a Mindy Kaling Book Studio Book was a perfectly executed teaser. Alison surprised us by scheduling a conference call to offer mundane business news and then she pounced on us with this honor. It was a huge shock, but it was delivered in the most hilarious way.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
Alli: I swing back and forth between memoir and women’s fiction. I also love an intense military read about elite special forces. Trust me, I know more about Navy Seals than the average civilian.
Asha: I gobble up paranormal fiction, urban fiction, and a bit of sci-fi, often with a touch of romance. Bring on the things that go bump in the night!
14–What’s your favorite movie?
Alli: Chariots of Fire. Forever and always.
Asha: Full Metal Jacket. I love movies with strong dialogue.
15–What is your favorite season?
Alli: I am a sun hog, so summer is it.
Asha: Fall is my favorite. Sunny and cool suits me.
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Alli: Asha and I are both Leos, but not the loud and overly proud kind. I tend to quietly do all my favorite things on my birthday, July 30. Go on a big trail run, read in the sun, watch a great film, have my husband and daughters cook me a delicious dinner.
Asha: I celebrate my birthday, August 17, with my husband’s birthday a few days away from mine — which is also our wedding anniversary (it’s our 25th this year.) Dinner at a local steakhouse with our two sons is our tradition.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Alli: Ohhhhh I am an addict of all these things! TV Show: Shrinking; Movie: A Good Person; Book: Bravey (Alexi Pappas); Podcast: Rich Roll, forever my favorite.
Asha: TV Show: Servant (M. Knight Shamalan); Movie: Emily The Criminal (starring Aubrey Plaza); Book: Atomic Anna (Rachel Barenbaum); Podcast; I am not a fan of this type of platform yet, but Alli is working on me.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Alli: Any and all Mexican dishes.
Asha: Ditto! Chips and guacamole? Yes, please.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
Alli: I am a very routine person, so I try to get a bit of all the things I need to feel whole and happy into my days. I absolutely need physical movement, so I run or hike or ski depending on the season. I carry a book with me everywhere I go. I only allow myself to watch television if I stretch while doing it, so I am currently very flexible! And girlfriend time is a must.
Asha: When I am not traveling with my youngest son to watch my eldest son in productions in New York as he chases his acting dreams, I like to hang with a small group of girlfriends who keep me in stitches and encourage my goals. And of course, I read until my eyeballs ache.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
We are currently writing our fourth book which does not center around schools and educators. We are excited to step into a whole new landscape to explore generational themes and intersectional identity, and how they impact what it means to be successful in America. And we will continue to bring our signature laughs to readers of our next book.
THE BETTER HALF by Alli Frank, Asha Youmans
From comedy writing duo Alli Frank and Asha Youmans comes The Better Half, a sidesplitting spin on reaching the pinnacle of life, only to stare down a slippery slope on the other side.
After a difficult five years, at age forty-three, Nina Morgan Clarke’s time has finally arrived. With an ex-husband relocated across the country, her father bouncing back after the loss of his beloved wife, and her daughter, Xandra, thriving at boarding school, Nina is stepping into her dream job as a trifecta: a first-generation, Black female head of the storied Royal-Hawkins School. To mark the moment, Nina and her best friend, Marisol, take a long-overdue girls’ trip to celebrate the second half of Nina’s life—which is shaping up to be the best part of her life.
As Nina’s school year gets underway, all seems to be progressing as planned. Before long, wunder-hire Jared Jones, two hundred pounds of Harvard-educated ego, relentlessly pushes Nina to her ethical limits. Soon after, dutiful Xandra accuses one of her teachers of misconduct. And most alarming, the repercussions of her trip with Marisol force Nina into a life-altering choice. Time is of the essence, and Nina must decide if she will embrace a future she never could have predicted.
Women’s Fiction Contemporary [Mindy’s Book Studio, On Sale: July 1, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781662512339 / ]
Buy THE BETTER HALF: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | 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 Alli Frank
The robustness of a farm girl, the honed sophistication of a city woman, a dash of Jewish chutzpah, and a heaping cup of endurance athlete and voila, you have Alli Frank. Alli was raised in Yakima, WA, the only child of two parents who instilled in her that hard work coupled with a resilient spirit will take you where you want to go. So up some of the highest mountains Alli climbed, down insanely steep terrain she skied and across long swathes of land she ran. To pay for all this adventure, Alli has worked in education for over 20 years in San Francisco and Seattle – from an overcrowded, cacophonous public high school to a pristine private girl’s school. She has been a teacher, curriculum leader, coach, college counselor, assistant head, private school co-founder, sometimes pastor, often mayor, and de facto parent therapist. A graduate of Cornell and Stanford Universities, Alli can still be found with her nose deep in a book or hunkered down at the movies, never one to miss a great story. Alli lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband, two daughters and terribly cute mini-Bernedoodle. When she needs good food (cause she can’t really cook) she turns to her co-author Asha Youmans.
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About Asha Youmans
Asha Youmans was raised in Seattle, WA, by an educational and civil right pioneer father and a children’s hospital administrator mother, along with a sister and a brother she admires and adores. As a child, Asha was a member of a two-time city champions Double Dutch team, among the first wave of girls to integrate Little League baseball and rode a unicycle, tumbled and juggled as a member of a traveling circus acrobatics team. She also read everything she could get her hands on from X-Men comic books to the “Clan of the Cave Bear” series to Camus. Enrolled in gifted programs while attending public school, Asha went on to graduate from one of America’s premier private academies, Lakeside School, from which her father, TJ Vassar, earned a diploma as the school’s first Black graduate. After receiving a degree from the University of California, Berkeley, Asha returned to Seattle where she taught in public and private schools for nearly 20 years. Asha is a fabulous home cook who loves storytelling and connecting with others by making them smile. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her White husband, two ethnically ambiguous sons, and a dog that is part Yorkie and part who-the-heck-knows. In 2022, Asha joined with Alli as a Tall Poppy Writer.
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