Tune in Tomorrow
by Randee Dawn
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 favorite, 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.
Raves for the book:
"I thought I’d seen everything in the galaxy of reality TV, until Randee's book!" – Andy Cohen, Host / Executive Producer, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and New York Times bestselling author
"Randee Dawn has single-handedly created a glittering new genre: the Backstage Comedy Fantasy Romance — and I want more!" – Ellen Kushner, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Thomas the Rhymer and Swordspoint
"Randee Dawn's Tune in Tomorrow is a wild ride through the world of reality TV, Faerie style. It’s a satire and a romance (of a sort) and a fairytale and a mystery, full of characters I loved (and loved to hate) and situations that had me biting my nails. It’s also hilariously funny." – World Fantasy Award nominee Delia Sherman, author of The Porcelain Dove and The Evil Wizard Smallbone
"Tune in Tomorrow is a joyride. It takes you on a journey into the make believe world of a soap opera. It dives in and out of what could possibly be fantasy or in fact is reality. As with the sands of time, as you Search for Tomorrow, or you are feeling Young and Restless, get lost in the adventures of Starr and be taken over by all that is Tune in Tomorrow." – Emmy-nominated actor Gregory Zarian
"Dawn's Tune in Tomorrow is a ton of fun with a lot of heart, charming characters, and devilish foes. And it's funny as hell." – Zin E. Rocklyn, author of Flowers for the Sea
"Few authors can open the door to another world as easily as you might turn on the TV, but Randee Dawn has the key and the remote control firmly in her hand. Flip through the fae and the grindylows, let her be your TV guide and psychopomp. You will find yourself howling at the gate for a rerun." – Meg Elison, author of Number One Fan
"This book is a BOUNCY CASTLE! This book is like a candy store and a screwball comedy had a fling in fairyland and the result was a mythic soap opera! There was no predicting it, there was only riding this dragon all the way to its rollicking rollercoaster conclusion. How dear and joyous it is, how satisfying, and how worthy of praise!" – World Fantasy Award-winning author of Saint Death's Daughter C.S.E. Cooney
"Dawn balances over-the-top drama and comedy with genuine intrigue to create a fun story with plenty of heart. Fans of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett will want to snatch this up." – Publishers Weekly
"Tune in Tomorrow is a hilariously well-constructed story with surprising complexity, and one that uses its reality TV premise not as a destination, but as a jumping off point to create something uniquely interesting that stays entertaining the entire way through." – Lightspeed Magazine
"Dawn’s witty take on society’s fascination with peering at life through a camera lens spotlights the sometimes-blurred intersection between fantasy and reality, all captured on video. Her playful narrative propels readers into the realm of alternate possibilities while questioning what is real and what is make-believe, and if we can even tell the difference." – BookTrib
Excerpt
They
twisted and turned so much Starr lost track of where she was, and
Jason's strange mixture of delight and nervousness was starting to make
her feel anxious. At last, she came to a hard halt in the middle of a
hallway.
Jason tilted his head.
"Look, I get it. You're like a big VFX warehouse or something. I'm guessing Tune in Tomorrow is some kind of space opera on the web. But your showing me every nook and cranny and door hinge doesn't give me a clue about what's going on. What is this place?"
Jason took a dramatic pause and his green eyes lit up, "Tune in Tomorrow is many things to so many mythics. We are the longest-running, most-viewed reality TV show ever made in any dimension. We are made by mythics, for mythics—but starring humans."
"Reality?" Starr twitched. "With dragon puppets and robots?"
Jason
started to speak, took a breath and paced up and down. Raised a finger,
lowered it, then stopped in front of her. Cleared his throat. "It's
been some time since I had to explain this to a human. Bear with me." He
pushed open another door and gestured inside.
Starr planted her feet in the doorway. "Jason, this is a toilet."
"Yes, well, needs must. I don't have any other handy water."
He was speaking in riddles—and disappearing into a bathroom with a near-stranger was awkward at best, creepy at worst. Still, she didn't sense Jason was up to no good. He practically vibrated with excitement, or nerves, or both. Swallowing, Starr took the risk and stepped inside. The bathroom door swung closed behind them.
Jason
turned on all four sinks in the room. Water cascaded from three;
butterflies burst from the fourth. Starr gaped. Jason quickly shut that
one off with a sheepish grin and turned his back on the sink. The
butterflies disintegrated.
Starr blinked.
"You
see," he raised his sing-song voice over the noise of the remaining
water, "we adore human to'ings and fro'ings. We are the original fans of
stories-without-end. Some hundreds of years ago when the Seelie came up
with the idea of telling stories to mythics, they were known as Stories
Of All Purpose, or for short –"
"SOAP," Starr realized. The room was
starting to heat up and the mirrors fogged; Jason had apparently turned
on only the hot water. She wondered where he was going with all this;
the fantastical elements of his story were fanciful and charming, but
silly. Maybe he was just being very method about the show. "You're
making a soap opera?"
Website-Facebook-X Randee Dawn is an author, journalist, and lucky denizen of Brooklyn. Her first novel, the humorous pop-culture fantasy Tune in Tomorrow, published in August 2022 (Solaris/Rebellion).
Randee's short fiction has appeared in publications and podcasts including 3AM Magazine ("The View of My Brother's Profile in the Rear-View Mirror," 2001; "Warm, In Your Coat," 2004) and Well-Told Tales ("Home for the Holidays," 2015; "Can't Keep a Dead Man Down," 2017).
Dawn's stories have appeared in anthologies including Where We May Wag ("The Last Dog," Writing Piazza Press, 2018), Children of a Different Sky ("Can't Find My Way Home," Kos Books, 2018), Magic for Beginners ("Queen Zoe and the Spinning Game," Fantasia Divinity, 2019), Dim Shores Presents ("Rough Beast, Slouching," 2021), Another World: Stories of Portal Fantasy ("The Way Is Clear," SummerStorm Press, 2021), and Horror for the Throne: One-Sitting Reads ("Cat Person").
She has a short collection of dark speculative fiction short stories, "Home for the Holidays" (2014) and co-authored "The Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion" (BenBella Books, 2009). She co-edited the speculative fiction anthology of "what if" stories about The Beatles, "Across the Universe: Tales of Alternative Beatles" (Fantastic Books, 2019).
When not making stuff up, Randee publishes entertainment profiles, reviews, and think pieces regularly in outlets including Variety, The Los Angeles Times, Today.com and Emmy Magazine, and writes trivia for BigBrain.
She can be found at RandeeDawn.com and @RandeeDawn (on Twitter).
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This looks like a very enjoyable read. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Sounds like a good read.
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