Authorial Intrusion - Ann Dee Ellis
Welcome to the first Authorial Intrusion of the year!
To read any of the previous interviews, just click on the tag “authorial intrusion” on the left side of the page.
For those just tuning in, here’s the history behind these posts:
I love reading about the Publishing Journeys of my favorite writers.
I love the long, soul-searching interviews that reveal every obstacle and triumph: the author whose agent made her do three revisions before signing her … the author who gets up at 4:30 a.m. to write, because it’s the only time she has to herself … the critically acclaimed author who spent nine years trying to get published … I never tire of this stuff!
Long, luxurious interviews aside, don’t you sometimes find yourself wondering: “But do you like Thai or Chinese food better?”
Reader, I asked them.
I assembled a grab-bag full of random questions and emailed them to some of my favorite writers.
They answered!
And now, without further ado, please welcome Ann Dee Ellis!
Ann Dee (pronounced Andy) Ellis is the author of This is What I Did, a YA novel about the aftermath of an act of violence, which opens with one of the best first lines I’ve ever read: “Last week Bruce kicked me in the balls at Scouts and all his buddies were there laughing and I started crying.”
Logan’s well-meaning parents, attempting to help him recover from an unspecified but terrible event, worsen his isolation by transferring him to a new school and forcing him to join a group of Boy Scouts from Hell. Using Logan’s staccato voice, Ann Dee painstakingly reveals bits and pieces of what happened last year to Logan’s best friend Zyler and a girl named Cami. Even when I was breathless with dread, I couldn’t put this book down. Black and white clip art-looking illustrations and handwritten notes between Logan and a new friend, Laurel, relieve the tension of the narrative. I loved it.
Ellis’s second book, tentatively titled Everything is Fine, is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2008. I’ll be lining up to read it, and anything else that Ann Dee writes. Which reminds me! She posts as adellis on LJ in her own staccato voice - entries about writing, teaching, and motherhood.
Thai food or Chinese?
Thai food 100% which is weird because I spent a couple years in Hong Kong and ate a lot of excellent food. However, I will ever be a sucker for Masaman Curry and Pad Thai.
Where did you go on your first date?
My first date with the man I ended up marrying went like this: We went for Indian food and I was nervous because it was a blind date and he was much cuter than I had anticipated and why did I pick these jeans and did I forget deodorant? Then, and this almost killed me, he didn't talk the whole time during dinner. I assumed he hated me. But then on the way home from dinner he said, "Hey, I have a video of me break dancing. Do you want to see it?" So I went from thinking, "I like him; I wish he liked me" to "This guy is a freak." A year and a half later we got married.
First job?
Book washer.
Early bird or night owl?
Early Bird.
Advice for writers in 5 words or less.
Eat candy let it go.
Any phobias?
Seaweed. Styrofoam. Bugging people. “Leprechaun,” the movie.
Do you use writing prompts?
No.
Beach or mountains?
I live five minutes from the mountains but I would move to Hawaii if I could. So both.
If someone made you sing karaoke - you couldn't refuse! - what would you sing?
”Stop in the Name of Love” by the Supremes or “Circle in the Sand” by Belinda Carlisle or “Eternal Flame” by the Bangles or “Hey Mickey” by Toni Basil.
"House" or "Grey's Anatomy"?
House. Always House.
Thanks for indulging our curiosity, Ann Dee!
To read any of the previous interviews, just click on the tag “authorial intrusion” on the left side of the page.
For those just tuning in, here’s the history behind these posts:
I love reading about the Publishing Journeys of my favorite writers.
I love the long, soul-searching interviews that reveal every obstacle and triumph: the author whose agent made her do three revisions before signing her … the author who gets up at 4:30 a.m. to write, because it’s the only time she has to herself … the critically acclaimed author who spent nine years trying to get published … I never tire of this stuff!
Long, luxurious interviews aside, don’t you sometimes find yourself wondering: “But do you like Thai or Chinese food better?”
Reader, I asked them.
I assembled a grab-bag full of random questions and emailed them to some of my favorite writers.
They answered!
And now, without further ado, please welcome Ann Dee Ellis!
Ann Dee (pronounced Andy) Ellis is the author of This is What I Did, a YA novel about the aftermath of an act of violence, which opens with one of the best first lines I’ve ever read: “Last week Bruce kicked me in the balls at Scouts and all his buddies were there laughing and I started crying.”
Logan’s well-meaning parents, attempting to help him recover from an unspecified but terrible event, worsen his isolation by transferring him to a new school and forcing him to join a group of Boy Scouts from Hell. Using Logan’s staccato voice, Ann Dee painstakingly reveals bits and pieces of what happened last year to Logan’s best friend Zyler and a girl named Cami. Even when I was breathless with dread, I couldn’t put this book down. Black and white clip art-looking illustrations and handwritten notes between Logan and a new friend, Laurel, relieve the tension of the narrative. I loved it.
Ellis’s second book, tentatively titled Everything is Fine, is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2008. I’ll be lining up to read it, and anything else that Ann Dee writes. Which reminds me! She posts as adellis on LJ in her own staccato voice - entries about writing, teaching, and motherhood.
Thai food or Chinese?
Thai food 100% which is weird because I spent a couple years in Hong Kong and ate a lot of excellent food. However, I will ever be a sucker for Masaman Curry and Pad Thai.
Where did you go on your first date?
My first date with the man I ended up marrying went like this: We went for Indian food and I was nervous because it was a blind date and he was much cuter than I had anticipated and why did I pick these jeans and did I forget deodorant? Then, and this almost killed me, he didn't talk the whole time during dinner. I assumed he hated me. But then on the way home from dinner he said, "Hey, I have a video of me break dancing. Do you want to see it?" So I went from thinking, "I like him; I wish he liked me" to "This guy is a freak." A year and a half later we got married.
First job?
Book washer.
Early bird or night owl?
Early Bird.
Advice for writers in 5 words or less.
Eat candy let it go.
Any phobias?
Seaweed. Styrofoam. Bugging people. “Leprechaun,” the movie.
Do you use writing prompts?
No.
Beach or mountains?
I live five minutes from the mountains but I would move to Hawaii if I could. So both.
If someone made you sing karaoke - you couldn't refuse! - what would you sing?
”Stop in the Name of Love” by the Supremes or “Circle in the Sand” by Belinda Carlisle or “Eternal Flame” by the Bangles or “Hey Mickey” by Toni Basil.
"House" or "Grey's Anatomy"?
House. Always House.
Thanks for indulging our curiosity, Ann Dee!