We chat with author Shannon Dunlap about Right Here, Right Now, which follows two teens who process grief, loss, and life across multiple universes in this story of love, friendship, and possibility perfect for fans of You’ve Reached Sam.,
Hi, Shannon! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m a lifelong lover of books who writes novels for teens as well as anyone who remembers what it’s like to be a teen. When I’m not writing or reading, you can find me corralling my children on the sidewalks of Brooklyn, trying to improve my crossword puzzle solve times or knitting something overly ambitious that I may or may not finish.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
When I was in preschool, we had a day where we were supposed to be interacting with each other in a pretend post office. I asked my teacher, “Can’t I just sit over there and write the letters?” This perfectly forecasted both my introverted nature and my desire to get things on the page.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I read it so many times, wondering “How’d she do that?” and then “Could I do that?”
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: A cruel question for someone who walks around in a constant fog of books she’s read, but okay: recently, I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai and American Mermaid by Julia Langbein.
Your latest novel, Right Here, Right Now, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Young love meets quantum physics.
What can readers expect?
It’s about two young musicians, Liam and Anna, and how their lives intersect in two different branches of the multiverse. At the beginning of the book, someone to whom they are both close dies (or doesn’t!) in a car crash, and this difference sends them off on completely different trajectories. It asks the question: Is anything constant or fated in a world of infinite possibilities?
Where did the inspiration for Right Here, Right Now come from?
This book was born during the pandemic when we were all asking ourselves, “What if just one little thing was different?” It made me think of all the moments in my life when I made one choice over another, when I zigged instead of zagged, and I also began to think about all those parallel worlds where maybe I was living very different lives.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
As interesting as it was to write about quantum physics, which is still an elusive topic for me, writing the scenes of teens making music together was very familiar and a pure joy. It made me relive all those years of my youth when I played in orchestras and think constantly of the people who performed alongside me.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on a book told in reverse order, which spirals back in time to the moment when a group of people experienced a tramatic event together. (Someday, I swear, I’m going to write something from a single perspective that follows a simple chronological order. Goals!)
Lastly, are there any book releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?
I’m itching to read The Cemetary of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez and The Book of Love by Kelly Link, both of which just came out.
