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<\/center><\/p>\nAuthor Dani Dassler’s first book P.R.<\/a> is the story of Andrea, a delinquent high school punk who is forced by her high school to take up track. (That or be expelled!) It is a rousing tale of a clash of cultures as well as a story about a resilient punk who drives herself through her chaotic life. <\/p>\n Dani Dassler hails from some town you\u2019ve definitely never heard of in a stinky, unshaven armpit of Southern California. She is a runner as well as a down-with-the-street punk who is active in the Southern California scene. Her book P.R. brings to mind the writing styles Stephanie Kuehnert and Adrian Tomine, setting her stories in more than a few worlds.<\/em><\/p>\n What inspired you to tell the story about Andrea and her journey from perfunctory student to pavement pounder?<\/strong><\/p>\n Life, I guess. I\u2019ve always been a storyteller. I\u2019ve wanted to write professionally since my earliest memory. And I was only 16 when these characters and this story came to me, even though it took me 14 years to actually commit to writing it.<\/p>\n I definitely pulled some of the content from personal places (I was a teenage punk and I ran track and cross country) but the book is fiction. It isn\u2019t based on me or anybody I knew or have known. It\u2019s Andrea\u2019s story.<\/p>\n But my hope, in telling it, is to give some visibility to the deeper plights of \u201cchallenging\u201d kids, so they won\u2019t need to feel so tainted or alone. And you know what else? You can be a punk jock. You can do whatever you want and be whatever you want. You can bet on yourselves.<\/p>\n Also this was my contribution to not only keeping the scene alive and helping the youths find punk rock but advocating for sports as an intervention strategy for at risk youth. Did you already have an outline when you started writing this story? Or did you feel it out as you were writing it?<\/strong><\/p>\n I knew two things when I started this book 14 years ago: who the characters were and how it ended. Everything else kind of just came to me as I wrote it. I was like a woman possessed. Once I decided to write the thing I would get up, write for eight hours or more a day, go to bed and get up to do it again. I had the entire first draft done in three weeks!<\/p>\n I did start working from a timeline as the book progresses past chapter 5, just to keep my dates straight, but overall, there was very little formal strategy that went into creating it.<\/p>\n Tell us about your main character Andrea, the central figure in PR. How did she come to be?<\/strong><\/p>\n Andrea is an incredibly tough, loyal girl. She came to me when I was teenager and adolescence is never an easy time in life especially when things outside of a kid\u2019s control compound that already challenging stage of development. I like to think Andrea came to be because she is who we all hope we can be in less than ideal circumstances: unapologetically ourselves and undefeatable. <\/p>\n There are some intense scenes in this book, including graphic depictions of domestic violence. What was it like to write out those scenes? Did you find outlining them difficult?<\/strong><\/p>\n It was very emotionally draining to write the more graphic scenes in my book, I\u2019m not gonna lie. I felt heart sick. Because it\u2019s authentic. Because I know so many kids carry those kinds of burdens in the shadows behind the masks they have to wear every day in public.<\/p>\n Writing the scenes was like living them: stressful and emotional. I didn\u2019t outline the scenes though. I knew what was going to happen and it just…kind of…did. Sometimes when I\u2019m writing I feel less like an author and more like a conduit for the story. It tells itself.<\/p>\n You show an intersection of cultures in PR, when one of your characters convinces some jocks to go to a punk show, which I thought was a big crux of the entire story.<\/strong><\/p>\n It was! The clashing of the cliques! The best part of that for me was how open minded the runners were. Like Andrea wasn\u2019t expecting that. I don\u2019t think anybody would expect that. But my experience has always been that runners are some of the nicest, most encouraging people you\u2019ll ever meet. You gotta be a little weird to run for fun, right?<\/p>\n Anne Lamott said “Don’t pretend you know more about your characters than they do, because you don’t.” I know sometimes my characters start to take on a life of their own and sometimes do unexpected things. Did Andrea ever do something that surprised you?<\/strong><\/p>\n I understand completely what you mean! There were times I thought the story was going to go one way and it went another way entirely! Not so much in THIS book, but in others I\u2019ve been working on. I guess I was a little surprised at how comfortable she ended up getting with Crunchy Matt. I never quite expected her to let him in as much as she did. She let her guard down more than I would have liked her to. But these characters really are their own people. They sometimes frustrate us.<\/p>\n I know I reveal a lot about myself through my writing. You cannot read my writing and not think “I bet this guy has done drugs before and has been to a lot of punk shows.” This leads a lot of people to assume my writing is mainly autobiographical. What would you say to someone who said they believed you were just writing your own story with PR?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, yeah, pretty much everybody, even people who knew me really well and were there were like, OMG did this happen to you? Are you Andrea?!<\/p>\n To these people I will admit only that any really good, relatable and believable story is going to have some solid roots in reality. Authors write what we know, yeah? But P.R. is fiction. There are parts of me in all of my characters, all of the scenes. But I won\u2019t tell you how much or which ones. Because it ISN\u2019T my story. It\u2019s Andrea\u2019s. And her friends.<\/p>\n In reading this book, it’s obvious to me you’ve hung out with musicians and have been to a lot of shows. Musicians showing up late for practice, and getting their friend in for free by making them roadies for example. Sounds familiar! Were you still involved with the scene? Before Covid hit that is?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ab-so-fucking-lutely!<\/p>\n The last show I got to see was the Horrorpops reunion at the Wiltern in February. Before that it was the Casualties at the Legion, Rancid and Pennywise at the House of Blues, and the Distillers at the Ventura theater. I live for the circle pit. They cancelled my Trio-Bad Religion show in March which was fucking devastating. I\u2019ve been aching for a show ever since. Time for the return of the illegal garage show, I think.<\/p>\n Your writing style is very neorealistic, very plausible. I can see these things actually happening in real life. You provide a lot of detail and really put people in the scene. What kind of feedback have you gotten about your writing style?<\/strong><\/p>\n Not much yet! P.R. is the first of my writing that I\u2019ve ever really let loose into the world. So far, though, my readers have echoed those sentiments. The characters felt very real to them and they became engaged and invested in the story quickly. I am always open to feedback.<\/p>\n Where are you, or where were you with your running? Were you running races?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m struggling with my running at present. I have a nasty tendency to train hard for two seasons and then crap out over the summer. Because it\u2019s hot. And I\u2019m NOT one of those, \u201clet\u2019s get up at five am and run through the desert\u201d bitches. I always pick up again when the weather turns, though and that\u2019s where I am currently\u2014starting all over.<\/p>\n I was running races before the Vid . I love races.<\/p>\n I had one 5k or one show planned for every month of this year, but the last in person race I did was the Jingle Bell Jog in December. Races are such an important motivator for me. I\u2019m really competitive. Virtual races are fine, better than nothing, but just not the same.<\/p>\n Who are some of your favorite writers? Can you recommend some books?<\/strong><\/p>\n Can I?! I better just do a few.<\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t say I have favorite authors, really. Maybe Louis Sacher and Shel Silverstein.<\/p>\n I definitely have favorite books, though. I will forever love and endlessly recommend The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber. It is without a doubt, one of the best novels I have ever read. You must read it. Everyone. All of you. Immediately.<\/p>\n I mostly love children\u2019s literature. Most of the books I\u2019ve ever read have been young adult or children\u2019s books and I\u2019d urge everybody not to write them off based on the age recommendations. These books can be very deep! I\u2019ve read and reread all the Anne of Green Gables books by L.M. Montgomery\u2014these are pure and beautiful.<\/p>\n The Harry Potter series, obviously. (You wouldn\u2019t believe how many people will tell me they\u2019ve seen the movies but never read the books. Like…I can\u2019t with them.)<\/p>\n The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (This movie was actually really good!)<\/p>\n The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky for those who need a good dose of emerging angst<\/p>\n PR is available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle form!<\/p>\n
\nAny sport, really, but, have you tried running? It\u2019s the besssssst!<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/needlepictures.com\/tbd\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/pr_book.jpg\")
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