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!

Will you be picking up Right Where We Belong? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Farrah Penn, Author of ‘Right Where We Belong’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Farrah! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello! I’m a writer who currently resides in Los Angeles but grew up near Dallas, Texas. I used to work in media, but lately I spend my time writing books and scripts. When I’m not doing that, I’m most likely enjoying the outdoors or trying new coffee shops in the area. My best companion is my dog Gizmo, who looks exactly like the gremlin he was named after.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

My grandmother was a huge reason why I grew up a voracious reader. One of her favorite pastimes was reading with her grandkids, so my love of storytelling only grew from there. I’m a millennial, so back then I was consuming Mary-Kate & Ashley chapter books and Goosebumps—anything written by Meg Cabot and Sarah Dessen. So I really credit her for instilling that initial love for reading, which then gave me courage to try writing my own stories.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Goodnight Moon
• The one that made you want to become an author: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I listened to How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water on audiobook and it was so, SO fantastic, though it did make me cry. Highly recommend!

Your latest novel, Cancelled, is out March 19th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Olivia Rodrigo’s “Brutal” as a book. (That’s six words, I cheated! I’m sorry!!

What can readers expect?

Cancelled is a young adult contemporary novel that (I hope) feels a little like those early ‘00s comedies we know and love. It follows an 18-year-old high school senior named Brynn, a known serial dater, who is falsely framed for hooking up with her ex best friend’s boyfriend at a Halloween party, and in turn, must figure out if exposing the real person is worth destroying everything she’s worked for. At its core, it’s a novel about the strength of friendship, learning to lean on others, and staying true to who you are even when everyone thinks negatively of you.

Where did the inspiration for Cancelled come from?

I went to a private middle school and a public high school and, strangely enough, two scandals that happened at those schools ended up on national news. They were nothing like what happens to Brynn in Cancelled, but when you tell people about two separate national scandals at two different schools, I found they’ll usually have a story about a scandal that happened—way more insularly—at their school. And I thought, damn! It’s so hard trying to get through high school on top of dealing with all this judgment from your peers, and that led to me wondering what it would look like for Brynn, especially during an era where students are so locked into social media and technology.

The other part to this novel’s inspiration was me asking the question, “What if Hitch was a teenage girl? What would that look like?” And also, “What kind of person shows up to a high school party in a banana costume?” That was someone I wanted to know—to be friends with.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

Getting to tackle sex positivity in a way that, I hope, is meaningful and important. Not treating sexuality or sex education like a taboo topic and challenging what’s considered “normal” about what we’ve been taught. Because one person’s “normal” is going to look very different to someone else. And also, do you remember talking to your friends when you were younger and someone would be like, “Did you make it to first base?” And then it would lead to this discussion of, “Wait, what’s first base? Is it kissing? Is it making out? So, then what’s second base? And third?” And I wanted readers to understand that this is YOUR baseball game, you know? You define those boundaries for what your relationship and experiences look like, because it’s different for everyone.

What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned as a writer between your debut and this release?

Oh, great question! Stepping away from the laptop, for sure. Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed I’ll go on a walk or talk to a friend or schedule a therapy session instead of going into spiral mode, which I found I did more often in my debut year just because everything is so new and intimidating, and you’re trying to navigate it to the best of your ability. There’s so much you can’t control in publishing, so I’ve also learned it’s important to celebrate the small victories along the way.

What’s next for you?

I’ve been saying the quick pitch is YA Kate and Leopold meets Back to the Future—so I’m still writing young adult contemporary but with a speculative twist. It follows a people pleasing girl named Delaney who thinks she’s going to have a very normal senior year at an east coast boarding school, but somehow winds up accidentally bringing an 18-year-old British nobleman from 1859 into her present-day reality. And she’s forced to work alongside her brother’s best friend—this math-loving gamer boy who’s scorned her in the past—to figure out how the hell this happened.

So it’s a little bonkers. And funny, because what do you mean a hot Victorian guy isn’t in the right timeline?? But at its emotional core, it’s my book tackling grief. My dad died when I was 26, and I wanted to explore loss and the way we remember people and memory specifically, all the ways we savor our time with each other. How we live on this strange and beautiful and weird planet in a galaxy we’re still trying to understand.

Lastly, are there any book releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?

I’m so glad you asked! I’m reading A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal currently, but I’m looking forward to reading Past Present and Future by Rachel Lynn Solomon, Shadows of Perl by J.Elle, The New Camelot by Robyn Schneider, Another First Chance by Robbie Couch, Medici Heist by Caitlin Schneiderhan, and I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang. There are so many more. SO many! I could go on. I won’t, but I could.

Will you be picking up Cancelled? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Farrah Penn, Author of ‘Cancelled’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.