Q&A with Rachel Wood: Author of Annie Knows Everything

Could you introduce yourself and your debut novel?

I’m Rachel, a Canadian who’s lived in Edinburgh for the last sixteen years. I moved to Scotland to study and never left – my dad grew up in the Borders and I have a lot of family here, so it always felt like a second home. Nearly ten years ago I founded Rare Birds, initially as a book subscription, and then five years ago I expanded the business and opened a bookshop, too. Every Friday I meet with two friends who I met during my studies all those years ago, and we write together – I wrote my debut novels over a series of Fridays (and evenings, and weekends…) over the course of a year. 

Annie Knows Everything is a romantic comedy about a charming go-getter named (you guessed it) Annie, who after learning she’s been laid off and that her sister is engaged to The Worst Man In Canada, decides to take matters into her own hands – to delightfully mixed results.

What drew you to writing romance, especially a romcom?

My writing career actually started on stage – I was a big theatre kid, and to that end, have always really loved and admired good comedy. Romcoms have always been beloved to me – and in my work life at Rare Birds, I read a lot of them! I’ve spent so much time thinking about what makes these stories tick, and really wanted to roll up my sleeves and write one for myself, packed with all the things I love best about romcoms, namely: flirting.

Can you introduce Annie to us?

If you can imagine Jane Austen’s Emma but set in a tech company in New York City, you’ve got a good idea of the vibe of the book. Annie and Emma Woodhouse share a few similar traits: they’re both confident, loyal and well-intentioned, but also have a tendency to meddle. Annie is basically the working definition of a personality hire, in the book – she’s lacking the technical skills to really thrive in her new job but brings so much else to the table that she ends up being really good at it. She wants to solve the problems of the people she loves – whether they want her to or not – and so a big part of her journey is learning that sometimes being there for someone means not doing much at all.

What have been your influences, including screen, literature and music?

How long have you got? I spend the vast majority of my time in a bookstore, so as you can imagine, my influences are pretty wide-ranging – I read a lot and very widely across genres. Off the top of my head, here are some writers whose books I never miss: Jane Austen (obviously!), Curtis Sittenfeld, Miriam Toews, Anne Tyler, Tayari Jones, Sarah MacLean, Tia Williams, Emily Henry, Ann Patchett, Bolu Babalola, Georgette Heyer, Sarra Manning, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Julia Armfield, Nikki May, Lisa Kleypas, Laura Kinsale, Meg Cabot, Sayaka Murata – I could do this list all day.

What drew you to writing?

Writing is weird in that I can’t remember a time I haven’t done it – this particular form of creativity is as natural and obvious to me as breathing. As a kid I was always interested in storytelling, and theatre, and making people laugh, and when I had a pen in my hand I found I could express things I couldn’t quite manage any other way. As an adult, I love the challenge of trying to get what’s in my head out on to the page. I’m sure everyone reading this will recognise the struggle – not as easy as it seems!

Has owning a bookshop influenced the story?

The story of my life, definitely. The story of the novel, not so much. Annie Knows Everything actually draws a lot of inspiration from the career I had before Rare Birds, working in digital marketing, which has a lot of parallels to the tech industry I am so gently spoofing in the novel.

What is your favourite quote from the book?

“What do you use as your excuse to talk to me?” This is from (the love interest) Connor – you’ll know it when you get there.

What surprised you about the debut publishing journey?

How many smart and fun people I’d get to work with! It’s been genuinely thrilling to bring so many people in to my orbit over the course of this book being made. Writing a book is a solitary pursuit, in a good way – I love and value that time alone with myself while I’m wrestling something on the page. But publishing has felt more like a big group project, and that has been so fun and stimulating for me in other ways. I feel like I’ve experienced a book from beginning to end now – writing it, editing it, marketing it, selling it to customers, and then getting it back home to read on my own. Books only feel even more magical to me now that I have a more intimate idea of what’s involved in creating them.

What would you like readers to take away from the novel?

I hope they have fun! Terms like ‘beach read’ are thrown around so much writers almost take it to be an insult at times, as if something offering genuine enjoyment to readers is not ‘important’ – whatever that means. Being on the shopfloor every day I couldn’t have a more different perspective on this: to my mind, it doesn’t matter what you’re reading, as long as you’re interested in the material and enjoying reading it, whether ‘enjoyment’ in this context is enjoying bawling your eyes out or enjoying reading ideas that really challenge and confront your perspective on something. Enjoyment can also be simple, straightforward enjoyment – as in, the reader was able to switch off for a few minutes and get lost in the story. Romcoms have been alongside me through a lot of highs and lows in my life – I’ve read them from beach chairs and beside hospital beds. And I love the sense of optimism that comes with falling in love – you meet someone and suddenly you imagine possibilities for your life that weren’t there before. If my book can offer a few happy, optimistic minutes to readers while it’s in their company, I’ll feel like my job here is done.