I’m a Brooklyn-based author and journalist focusing on speculative fiction across the categories (science-fiction, fantasy and horror) at night, while writing entertainment and lifestyle stories during the day for publications including Today.com, NBCNews.com, Variety, The Los Angeles Times and Emmy Magazine.

You may have seen my name in other publications over the years, including Soap Opera Digest and The Boston Phoenix, E! Online, New Musical Express and Mojo. I contributed to a French book about American television, Les Series Tele and co-authored (with Susan Green) The Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion.

I’ve got a fair amount of short fiction in anthologies, and authored the short story/poetry compilation Home for the Holidays. I’m current represented by Bridget Smith at JABberwocky Literary Agency, and I frequently appear at conventions and workshops on panels and to give readings.

My first novel, Tune In Tomorrow, will be out from Solaris/Rebellion in 2022.

My degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University is occasionally useful, though I’m pleased to have a paralegal certificate from New York University.

Currently, I reside with the love of my life and an adorable West Highland Terrier (who is also quite lovable).

Find Randee on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, BookBub, Goodreads, and her website RandeeDawn.com.

A funny, thrilling and mysterious adventure into the world of alternate reality television… Perfect for fans of Jasper Fforde and Christopher Moore. 

She’s just a small town girl, with big mythic dreams.

Starr Weatherby came to New York to become… well, a star. But after ten years and no luck, she’s offered a big role – on a show no one has ever heard of. And there’s a reason for that. It’s a ‘reality’ show beyond the Veil, human drama, performed for the entertainment of the Fae.

But as Starr shifts from astounded newcomer to rising fan favourite, she learns about the show’s dark underbelly – and mysterious disappearance of her predecessor. She’ll do whatever it takes to keep her dream job – though she might just bring down the show in the process.

Q&A!

Tell us what Tune in Tomorrow is all about?

There’s the story part of the book, which is about a reality TV show run by mythical creatures, for mythical creatures … but starring humans! They just find our antics as charming and hilarious and intriguing as we do theirs: We make movies and TV shows about castles and dragons and quests and fauns; well, they love hearing about our mundane things like clipping the hedges or embezzlement or adultery or changing light bulbs! But in a bigger sense it’s also about what it might mean to be immortal, and how “reality” might mean different things to different people. And it’s about finding your inner Starr/star!

You typically write non-fiction – what inspired you to write this story and take on a whole new genre?

: I have always wanted to write a novel. I actually had written several other books about fantasy and fey creatures, but they tended to be very serious – and didn’t sell to publishers. My brilliant agent gently suggested, “Maybe you should try something different.” Humour is tough, and I had no idea if I could write it successfully, if not write it all. But once I dove into Starr’s world and heard her in my head, the silliness came naturally.

Reality TV and soap operas aren’t often considered “prestige” TV – is this a mistaken perception? What are your thoughts on that, as a pop-culture writer?

Most all of the entertainment business is goofy and strange. But it is also an endeavour people take seriously – soaps and reality shows are no different. They are their own art form, and require hard work. And, time has shown that people continue to love them!

What do you hope readers will walk away with after reading Tune in Tomorrow?

Early on, Starr gives herself a pep talk by recalling a particularly strange improv routine she had to do once: pretend to be a singing mango. It was in that strange circumstance that she was “discovered,” and also where she truly fell in love with acting. So she tells herself throughout the book, whenever she needs an extra dose of courage: Be the mango. Sometimes, being the mango isn’t sufficient to save her, but I hope that amid all the pratfalling and puns and general shenanigans that people come away feeling that they, too, have an inner mango. And all they have to do is tap into it to get that extra push to make their dreams come true.

Out of all the fruits, why a mango?

Because it is the most delicious of all, and I am somewhat obsessed. Also, it has a delightful name that’s just fun to say!

How do you get inside your character’s heads during the writing process?

: I have the whole movie of what my stories are about in my head as I’m writing, and though I don’t think about this consciously, if I need to be in a character’s head, I just start seeing the world through their eyes, as if I’ve put on virtual reality goggles. That really helps. Also, if I do write something that doesn’t seem right for a particular character to do or say, it will just feel wrong. That’s when I know I have to go back and make it true to the person.

How did your background as a national pop-culture journalist influence the way you wrote Tune in Tomorrow?

Often, authors are told “write what you know,” which is how we as a society end up with a lot of 20-year-olds writing memoirs. Which is fine! But limiting. When you have no other expertise, you write about yourself. It took me years in the entertainment business, and years removed from covering the soap opera world, to feel ready to use that as my backdrop. And yes, it’s true: Tune in Tomorrow has its roots in soap opera. Because that’s what reality shows are, anyway! Soaps are wonderful ways to tell story, and even if they look like Keeping Up with the Kardashians or Selling Sunset or Grey’s Anatomy today, all of those formats have their roots in the greats, like General Hospital, Days of Our Lives or The Young and the Restless. I wrote what I know!

What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book?

Be in it for the long haul. Don’t expect that your first draft will be the final draft, or even the thing that you first publish. The first draft is you telling yourself the story – I heard that a long time ago, and it’s incredibly true. After that, it’s about making it into a story that’s ready for the world to read, and that can take a lot longer than you’d expect.

What is next for you? Is there another instalment in Tune in Tomorrow, or what can readers expect?

A lot depends on how Tune in Tomorrow fares. If it sells well, I’ve got part of a sequel planned that takes place in some of the other TV shows and movies that mythics have been cooking up. But there’s always a chance I’ll go back to a novel I finished during the pandemic lockdown and get it smartened up to show to my agent – about a world where all the superheroes are women.

Book links!

Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository / B&N / Waterstones