1--What is the title of your latest release?
TIRED LADIES TAKE A STAND
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
During one unforgettable year in their twenties, best friends Emma, Fern, Carolina, and Andi make a pact to embrace whatever life throws at them, inspiring Fern to write a memoir detailing their escapades and the magical power of saying Yes. But fast forward twenty years, and they have reached their bandwidth of responsibilities, and must finally commit themselves to learning to say no.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Much of the book was inspired by the real-life “year of yes” my friends and I undertook in our twenties. It was the late nineties, and we were living in San Francisco, starting our careers, dating and breaking up, and simply trying to make our way through the world as young women. One night, probably over cocktails, we decided we’d had enough of waiting for good things to come our way and made a pact to say yes to adventure, regardless of the form. At bars, we bought the cute guys drinks. We took new risks at work. We traveled. We danced. We lived one of the most memorable years of our lives.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Definitely! In fact, I do!
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Driven. Empathetic. Exhausted.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Crafting fictional characters from real people proved more challenging than expected. As I said, the book was loosely based on my friends and me, so for a few months, it was difficult to separate the person in my head from the character I was trying to create. Each fictional “tired lady” needed to follow an arc that wasn’t necessarily relevant to the woman on whom she was based. It all felt very muddled for a while.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I do my best to “write forward,” meaning my primary goal is to get the story on the page. Even so, I can’t help but go back over my chapters as I go, sharpening the flow and some of the imagery.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
It’s a new one! I’m in a book club with the very friends on whom this book is based. We call it the Traveling Book Club because we all live in different states, but once a year, we take a trip together to discuss books. This year, we went to Mexico, and the management company from whom we rented our house hired a chef to come in and cook dinner for us on the evening we arrived. It wasn’t terribly expensive, and it was such a luxury not to have to worry about finding a place to eat after a long day of travel. Plus, the food was amazing! Definitely recommend.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I used to write in our home office, but when my husband started working from home during the pandemic, I had to move out. All those conference calls! Instead, I took over a loft space upstairs that we never quite knew what to do with. My desk faces two big windows that look out onto the neighborhood. I have a love seat on which I love to read while my dog, Winnie the Poodle, naps. The colors are light and happy—cool blues and creams—and it’s all mine. I love it.
10--Who is an author you admire?
My writing group partner, Joshua Moehling. He writes a detective series, and despite some very dark storylines, he manages to write so much beauty into his settings and characters. If you love a good mystery, check him out.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I get this question a lot because the bookseller in my last novel, The Book Haters’ Book Club, prided himself on putting the right books into non-bookish people’s hands. For me, there are two. A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving helped form my love of quirky, hard-to-love protagonists. And I often think of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg as the perfect novel—a love story wrapped up in a mystery and tied into a bow through the story of a woman’s self-discovery. It’s exquisite.
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.
I was sitting in a coffee shop trying to work (but probably shopping online) when my now agent called and said she loved my manuscript. I wanted to scream and do a touchdown dance right there in front of all those strangers (but I’m a shy Minnesota girl, so I could never do that).
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Contemporary fiction. Gimme a good book club book.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
When Harry Met Sally. No question about it. It’s my red suede pump. (Fellow WHMS lovers will know what I mean).
15--What is your favorite season?
Summer. I’m a water girl. Gimme a hot sunny day on the lake.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
First, I take the day off. I hate working on my birthday. Then I do whatever I want. Shopping? Sure. Movies? Yes, please. Dinner out? Absolutely. I don’t go to bed until I’ve had chocolate cake.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
My very favorite podcast is The Office Ladies with Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. They met on the set of The Office and became best friends in real life. They’re rewatching every episode of the show, which is great. But what I really love is that together, they laugh and grouch and share their messy lives with each other just like I do with my friends.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Thai. I spent a semester in Thailand during college and developed a deep appreciation for the food.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I love to spend time at the lake. Kayaking. Floating. Reading. Anybody want a beer?
20--What can readers expect from you next?
Somebody please tell me! The next novel is still brewing and taking its sweet ol’ time.
You've heard of Year of Yes. Introducing... Year of No.
During one unforgettable year in their twenties, best friends Emma, Fern, Carolina, and Andi make a pact to embrace whatever life throws at them, inspiring Fern to write a memoir detailing their escapades and the magical power of saying Yes.
But fast forward twenty years and they have reached their bandwidth of responsibilities. Fern is a full-time writer struggling to pay the bills. Carolina is a fitness-obsessed workaholic. Andi is a disillusioned human rights lawyer. And Emma is a stressed-out divorcée in the thick of planning her daughter’s wedding. To reconnect to the fun, fulfilled women they were before, they must learn how to stop saying Yes to everything asked of them. And so begins the "Year of No."
Heartfelt, emotionally perceptive and sharply funny, Tired Ladies Take a Stand celebrates the bonds of female friendship and women reclaiming their autonomy in a world that expects them to do it all.
Women's Fiction Contemporary | Women's Fiction Friendship [Park Row, On Sale: May 14, 2024, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780778307969 / eISBN: 9780369746887]
GRETCHEN ANTHONY is the award-winning author of The Kids Are Gonna Ask, recipient of the 2021 Alex Award from the American Library Association. Her debut novel, Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners, was a Midwestern Connections Pick and a best books pick by Amazon, BookBub, PopSugar, and the New York Post. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, Medium, and The Write Life, among others. She lives in Minneapolis with her family.
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