Lauren Graham Publishes First Novel About Aspiring Actress In New York

Lauren Graham knows what it’s like to be a young actress working her way up in a cutthroat business, and now she’s turned that experience into her first novel.

Graham, star of Parenthood and Gilmore Girls, took up writing in her free time and is set to publish her first novel, Someday, Someday, Maybe. The book follows 20-something Franny Banks, an aspiring actress in New York City during the 1990s.

“I don’t know why I don’t pick up knitting or watercolours,” Graham said in a recent interview, “but I wanted to write a book. There were times and days when it was fun and exhilarating and a lot of days where it was really hard.”

Graham said the experiences of a young actor are fascinating, the tension of auditioning for jobs and trying to catch a big break. In the book, Franny experiences just about every hitch a young actor can encounter. She picks the wrong agent, wears the same dress as a famous actress on her first red carpet walk, and is altogether clumsy.

“I was more interested in (the) waiting, auditioning… and that feeling when you’re on the outside of something looking in. So many people in general and young actors specifically spend so much time there, and many people never get beyond that, I just thought that’s what I wanted to focus on.”

Lauren Graham said she works writing in between the shooting schedule for Parenthood, which was renewed for its fifth season. Graham admitted that she’s even thought about Someday, Someday, Maybe being turned into a television series.

“To me it would be a compelling TV show because it lends itself to that serialization… and Mae Whitman will star as Franny Banks… after she’s done playing my daughter on Parenthood,” said Graham.

Publisher Ballantine Books is obviously pleased with Lauren Graham in her first novel. They’ve already asked her to write a second one, with Franny moving to Los Angeles.