We chat with author Farrah Penn about Right Where We Belong, which sees past and present collide in this swoony romance when a girl searching for a sense of belonging may have found it in an unexpected—and undeniably charming—visitor from the nineteenth century.
Hi, Farrah! Welcome back! It’s been about 18 months since we last spoke for the release of Cancelled! How have you been and what have you been up to?
I’m great, thank you so much for asking! I’ve been ready to embrace fall to be honest, so recently I went around and put up some Halloween decorations and made a lot of tortilla soup.
Your latest novel, Right Where We Belong, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Time travel, humor, and heart 🙂
What can readers expect?
So I think one side of this story dives into the adventures of accidentally bringing a cute English nobleman into modern day—and what happens when our main character Delaney realizes the only person who might be able to help is her academic rival. That was fun and entertaining to explore! Because there’s tension and banter and romance.
The other side is an examination of grief, loss, and letting go. I thought, you know, if I’m going to try and execute time travel, then there’s a lot I want to explore when it comes to our time here on this planet and who we choose to spend it with. To me, those themes organically fit together. How privileged are we to find our corner of this huge, wide world and the people we’re lucky enough to connect with? The heart of it all, to me, is remembering to live in the moment and embracing the time we get to spend with others.
Where did the inspiration for Right Where We Belong come from?
I’d been toying with the idea of having someone from the past magically enter someone’s present day similar to Kate and Leopold. But I also knew (sorry, minor spoiler alert) that I didn’t want the person from the past to end up with the person in the present. They always had to find their way back to their time—right where they belong, if you will. That in itself lead to those themes of loss and letting go. Although Delaney’s story isn’t identical to mine, I’ve also experienced losing a parent. So she’s already in this mental state of, what actually matters? What’s the whole point? Those are big questions! And so valid when your world feels like it’s monumentally changed. I wanted her internal journey of figuring that out to align with the journey of having to send this attractive nobleman back to his correct time. My hope is that readers come out the other side hopeful and changed.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I did a lot of research within the Victorian era, so getting to craft William and his mannerisms and backstory was fun—especially when he’s now transported to a new time and place, and what sort of things would he know and not know? I also loved getting to write the tension and banter between Delaney and Sumner. There are unresolved issues between them that they have to work through, but they’re scared to communicate feelings. And I think that’s an understandable fear at that age!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
YES. But! I think it’s good to feel challenged when writing a story. It means you’ve learned something new about yourself as a writer. It means you’re growing! But because I was wading into new genre waters—a mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and historical—I had so much imposter syndrome. I owe a huge thanks to my writer friends, editorial team, and agents for helping me find the right direction and plot. One challenge was time travel itself. I think with any time travel story, you’re going to deal with paradoxes. My brain hurt when I thought about it too much—when I went down astronomy rabbit holes and tried to logic my way through it. In the end, I did have to let go of trying to fix certain time contradictions and hope that the themes explored was what made the story satisfactory instead of, you know, solving time travel.
What’s the best and worst writing advice you’ve received?
I’ll speak for what does and doesn’t work for me because every writer is different! Worst advice: Write every day. My brain and internal creative spirit need breaks. I’m a better writer when I go outside and touch grass. Best advice: Never stop learning. I don’t think I’ll ever feel like—oh, hey, now I’ve learned everything about being a great writer! There’s always something new to learn about storytelling.
What’s next for you?
I’m excited to share that I’ve written the novelization of The Kiss Bet, which is a web comic by the wonderfully talented Ingrid Ochoa. Getting to collaborate with her was so fun! That was a new experience for me and I loved it. It’s out 2/24/26.
As for my next original work—it’s another YA story, but we’re fully entering historical romantic fantasy territory. I think that’s all I should say for now, but I’m very excited to share more!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?
I love this question, thank you for asking! I thoroughly enjoyed Alanna Bennett’s THE EDUCATION OF KIA GREER. It’s so wonderful! I also was immersed in reading THE BEWITCHING by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, THE FLOATING WORLD by Axie Oh, and LADY LIKE by Mackenzi Lee. Highly recommend!
As for upcoming books, A GOOD PERSON by Kirsten King is a must-add to your TBR! It comes out in March. I’m also dying to read BLOOM by Robbie Couch and IN TIME WITH YOU by Kristin Dwyer, which are also out next year!
