I am delighted to share with you all today...
My Exclusive Interview with Writer,
Dandi Daley Mackall,
who has written over 400 books...
including a novel titled:
My Boyfriends’ Dogs, that has become
a Hallmark Channel Original Movie!
Writer Dandi Daley Mackall is from the Midwest, residing with her family and beloved pets, in rural Ohio.
From a young age, growing up amidst a family of storytellers, Dandi knew she always wanted to be a writer. And now, those horizons have broadened even further, to movie making!
Please see all the exciting details (below) of Dandi’s new TV movie, in her interview, with me!
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| Writer Dandi Daley Mackall, on the set of My Boyfriends' Dogs, with the stars of the movie: Adam, Shirley, and Eve |
The Interview....
1. First of all, since the Hallmark Movie My Boyfriends’ Dogs is based on your book, by the same name, can you share with us some of your other popular book titles? Do you, perhaps, have a favorite?
Thanks for asking that (though it’s a bit like asking me to name my favorite child….). THE SILENCE OF MURDER, Knopf/Random House, won an Edgar Award. LOVE RULES is a novel I’d love to see as a movie. THE SECRETS OF TREE TAYLOR, Knopf/Random just released, and I hope it will be popular because it’s the most autobiographical thing I’ve written, which is a bit scary. But the one that’s sold over half a million copies is WINNIE THE HORSE GENTLER.
2. What was your reaction when you first learned the Hallmark Channel wanted to turn your book My Boyfriend’s Dogs into a movie?
Honestly, I hung up the phone and screamed, “I’m going to be a movie!” Then I spent the next hour trying to convince family and friends that I wasn’t kidding. I was naïve enough to believe that when a book is optioned, it will certainly be a movie. Not true. Since then, I’ve discovered how rare, even miraculous, it is for that option to lead all the way through to the screen. I’ve also been grateful to join the ranks of Hallmark. I knew the story would remain family-friendly. And as it turned out, Hallmark made sure the movie stayed very close to the book.
3. Do you, personally, have any dogs? Or, other animals?
I grew up riding bareback, with a couple of dogs tagging along behind me. A writer’s adage is: Write what you know about. I know horses and dogs, and besides the WINNIE books, I’ve written HORSEFEATHERS! series, BACKYARD HORSES series, and STARLIGHT ANIMAL RESCUE, plus easy reader children’s books, BOB THE HORSE. Now we’re down to one horse, a paint, Cheyenne. And we have two wanna-be Shih-Tzu pups, Moxie and Munch, plus a host of outside cats and wildlife visitors.
4. Where do you find inspiration for your stories/characters? Does your faith play a role?
What a lovely question, in an age that doesn’t always want to talk about faith—yes, my faith plays a major role in my writing. I came to a faith in Christ a bit later than many and after quite a struggle.
I don’t think I’ve ever been didactic or faith-in-your-face in any of my books, but I think if we’re writing from our heart and our characters are authentic, what we believe becomes a natural part of everything we do, including writing. Inspiration is everywhere—the morning call of a mourning dove, a broken chair in the middle of a corn field, the guy on the bus, the woman in the check-out line, the smell of an attic in summer, not to mention my quirky family and friends.
5. Did you visit the set of My Boyfriends’ Dogs during filming and meet the cast?
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| Actress Erika Christensen on the set of My Boyfriends Dogs with Dandi Daley Mackall |
Yes! What a wonderful experience that was—surreal to see characters who started in my head, now walking around and saying my words! My sister from Oklahoma and I (from Ohio) flew to Vancouver to see the final days of filming. I was afraid we’d be fifth-and-sixth wheels, but the phenomenal cast and crew treated us like royalty. Marcy Gross and Ann Weston, producers, drove us from set to set. Erika Christensen and the rest of the cast couldn’t have been more gracious. And I loved those dogs! I’d always imagined movies being filmed from beginning to end. Instead, we got to see the climax, the wedding scene, then skip to one of Bailey Daley’s boyfriends, then skip to the yoga scene (where you can see me sitting on a park bench . . . if you don’t blink).
6. What do you hope viewers will take away from watching your Hallmark Channel movie My Boyfriends’ Dogs?
First of all, I’d love for an entire family to have a great time watching the movie together. It still feels unbelievable to think of families all over watching my little story in their living rooms. Blows my mind. Beyond that, there is a theme about unconditional love, about waiting for someone who will accept you the way you are and love you just like that. If only we could all be more like dogs—they’re always happy to see you; they forgive you; and they love you unconditionally.
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| My Boyfriends' Dogs, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie |
Thank you so much, Dandi, for sharing your passion for Writing Stories and exciting Movie Experience with all of us!
I absolutely loved your response... to the question, “Where do you find inspiration?”. It is a joy to “meet” another believer in Christ and with the very mention of the “broken chair in the middle of a corn field”, you spoke directly to my “country girl” heart. Then, as any good writer does, you took me back to my childhood, playing in my Grandmother’s home, with the simple mention of “the smell of an attic in summer…” It’s amazing how words, smells, and even peaceful silence… can carry our hearts and imaginations to somewhere else. Thank you for blessing all of us with your lovely words!
Thank you to everyone... who just read my interview with writer Dandi Daley Mackall. I hope you enjoyed it and will take away something just as beautiful and meaningful, as I did!
Also, I truly hope you will all enjoy her new Hallmark Channel Original Movie – My Boyfriends’ Dogs. As Dandi wrote above... "If only we could all be more like dogs—they’re always happy to see you; they forgive you; and they love you unconditionally."
Gather your family & dogs, too, and enjoy a family movie night of watching My Boyfriends’ Dogs - premiering October 18th on the Hallmark Channel!
Until next time... God bless, Net
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Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, her Web-site, and her Blog.
See my post on “My Boyfriends’ Dogs” for more Movie Details!
Please share your thoughts on this Interview by clicking on "Comments" or "Post a Comment", below...
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*Pictures above via: Dandi Mackall and Hallmark Crown Media Family Network.
