Nana Prah's Blog: Interview with Annie Wood author of Dandy Day

When I read the blurb for Annie Wood’s new release Dandy Day, I knew I had to have her on my blog for an interview.

Tell us a little (I’m stressing little here) about yourself.

I’m a life-long actress and writer, born in Hollywood and raised in the valley. I hosted my own national dating game show for awhile on the WB called “BZZZ!” which I also co-produced. Good times. J

That’s cool. Out of all the genres out there, why do you write chick lit?

I love watching romantic comedies. I mostly write plays, scenes & screenplays so I’m fairly new to novel writing but I’d say that the closest thing to romantic comedy in the novel-world is chick lit. I enjoy reading fun, entertaining reads with humor and heart so that’s what I write.

Makes loads of sense. How long have you been writing?

I wrote my first story when I was six years old. It was about a leprechaun. (I still can’t spell it but spellcheck can.) I wrote my first comedic scene as a teen and produced my first play in my early 20s. I published my first book of short stories, “Where Would I Be Without Me?” in 2000. I feel like I came in writing.

How did you come up with this book? Roller skating waitress. Too funny.

Thanks! I have a pair of white, old school roller skates and when I look at them, they make me happy. They remind me of sunny days (and growing up in southern California we had a lot of sunny days.) I love those old movies with roller skating waitresses from the 50s and I remember thinking what a tough job that would be to balance trays and roller skate at the same time. I couldn’t do it. So, I made my character do it.

Is Dandy Day a purely fictional character or is it really you we’re seeing?

My dad is a playwright and I used to ask him this question all of the time! I wanted to know if his main character was really him and if I was the daughter in his plays. We always put some of ourselves in our writing, how can we not? But I also make up a bunch of things which is where the most fun is. It’s true that I’ve had several relationships, like Dandy, but I, unlike Dandy, never doubted the concept of true love, not for a second. And it paid off (happily married now.) J

Congratulations to you and your husband. Please give an analogy of what writing is like for you.

It’s tough to describe what it is to write since, if it’s going well, it’s one thing, if it’s not, it’s another. It is work, after all is said and done. Work mixed with breath. Long, deep breaths.

But… having have written – that’s like… after a long swim in a lake on a hot, summer day when I lay flat on the dock to rest while the sun beams down on me and I know that now I can just stay there for awhile, listening to my breath as I watch the clouds float by until dinnertime.

What a wonderful analogy.

The Blurb

Dandy Day is a thirty-five year old free-spirited, commitment-phobic, Venice Boardwalk roller skating waitress. When Dandy is suddenly dumped by her therapist, right when they were on the brink of figuring out why her relationships last only a whopping three months, Dandy decides to take her relationship issues into her own hands. With the reluctant help of her lifelong best friend, Simon, Dandy tracks down her exes one by one and does a relationship autopsy on each of them in order to get to the bottom of her relationship challenged life.

A short novel about love, friendship and grown ups (sort of) growing up (sort of).

Animated Excerpt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuRylE-2C3E

Pinterest Board: http://www.pinterest.com/gypsywood/dandy-day-a-novella-by-annie-wood/

Author Bio:

Annie was born in Hollywood, raised in the valley. She avoided the valley girl accent by speaking backwards for the first 15 years of her life. As an actress she has guest starred on several TV shows. You may remember her best in her recurring role on Becker with Ted Danson, Lara in Good Luck Chuck and as the host of her own nationally syndicated dating show, BZZZ! which she also co-produced. As a writer, she is a produced and published playwright and recently had a comedic scene in the NBC/UNIVERSAL showcase. Her web-series, Karma’s a B*tch http://anniewood.com/karma.htm was chosen by Virgin America asBEST OF THE WEB and season 2 is now in the works. Her books of comedic scenes, Snapshots! & Act Up & Make a Scene have been performed on Hollywood stages and is available on Amazon. She lives in Los Angeles with her charming, Italian husband and her equally charming, Jewish/Buddhist/Italian dog, Lucy.

Connect with Annie!

Website: www.anniewood.com

Blog: I only occasionally blog at SheWrites:

http://www.shewrites.com/profiles/blog/list?user=1ljhao55bfiup

And my dog, Lucy, blog’s when we travel each year to Italy, where my husband is from.

http://thelucyadventures.blogspot.it/

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/welcometoanniewood?ref=ts&fref=ts

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7131722.Annie_Wood

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/anniewood