Interview with Francesca Flavia, Author of HALF-ASSED

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write HALF-ASSED?

I wrote it because I saw it as a type of catharsis to rid myself of all my accumulated regrets of past mistakes I made. I workshopped it in grad school and my fellow students thought it was hilarious. I finally got around to finishing it some twenty years later. Procrastination, you know.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of HALF-ASSED, what would they be?

“Born under a Bad Sign” by Albert King.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I love to read and have many favorites. Mysteries, romantic suspense, bios, and humor, I suppose are my top tier. I love to write in all kinds of genres except cookbooks. I wouldn’t say I’m qualified to write in all of them though, haha.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl; The Housemaid by Freida McFadden ; The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson; The Witch of New York by Alex Hortis; In My Time of Dying by Sebastian Junger.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

My book is nonfiction and about my life, so I guess my favorite parts are those about my kids and dogs.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

My only quirky habit is to do most of my writing in bed. My husband laughs and calls it my “boffice.”

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

I don’t, but I think I need one. Anyone have an extra I can have?

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

I’d like readers to remember that no one is perfect, that everyone makes mistakes, but the most important thing is to move past them. Dwelling on past regrets ruins your future. Believe me, I know firsthand.