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WORK TITLE: Time after Time
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CITY: Los Angeles
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COUNTRY: United States
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PERSONAL
Female.
EDUCATION:Graduated from Brenau Universitry in 2001.
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CAREER
WRITINGS
Cowriter, with Tobias Iaconis, of the screenplay The Curse of La Llorona, a horror film directed by Michael Chaves and released by Warner Bros. in 2019. Daughtry teamed up with Iaconis and J. A. White to write the screenplay for Nightbooks, directed by David Yarovesky and released by Netflix in 2021.
Five Feet Apart was originally written as a screenplay by Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. The film, directed by Justin Baldoni, was released by CBS Films in 2019. The novelization of the movie was written by Rachael Lippincott and based on Daughtry and Iaconis’s screenplay and published in 2018.
SIDELIGHTS
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Mikki Daughtry is a screenwriter and author based in Los Angeles, California. She was a theater major at Brenau University, where she graduated in 2001. Her interests shifted to film, and she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in screenwriting. She established a writing partnership with Tobias Iaconis, and they had three screenplays produced from 2019 to 2021.
One of those, Five Feet Apart, was turned into a young adult novel by Rachael Lippincott, which was published in 2018 before the movie was released, although it was based on the screenplay written by Daughtry and Iaconis, who received cowriting credits. For Daughtry’s next novel, All This Time, she partnered with Lippincott.
With Time after Time, Daughtry finally wrote a novel by herself. In an interview with Fresh Fiction, she discussed how that was a new experience: “I’d say the main thing I learned while writing this book is how to write a book!” She contrasted novel writing with screenwriting, pointing out how novels can take much more time than a movie can. With Time after Time, she said, “I didn’t have to rush . . . I had as much time as I needed or wanted to let a moment play. Once that clicked, I was all good.”
The story is about Libby and Tish, two young women who end up working together on an old Victorian home. Libby fell in love with the home and used an inheritance to buy it, but it needs a lot of work, which is where Tish, who can fix anything, comes in. When Libby discovers a century-old journal, she notices a lot of similarities between its author and herself, and between Tish and a maid who features prominently in the diary. This lesbian romance explores the themes of everlasting love, forgiveness, and taking chances.
Critics enjoyed Daughtry’s solo debut. A reviewer in Publishers Weekly wrote, “Sweet sapphic romances progress in parallel a century apart in this slow-burn epic.” They highlighted the novel’s “vivacious banter and delightful found family narratives.” A contributor in Kirkus Reviews called it a “page-turning story about the power of love.” They wrote that Daughtry “deeply conveys the intensity of the romances in both timelines.”
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2020, review of All This Time; March 1, 2025, review of Time after Time.
Publishers Weekly, February 17, 2025, review of Time after Time, p. 50.
School Library Journal, July, 2020, Abby Hargreaves, review of All This Time, pp. 64+.
Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 2019, Jennifer Coventry, review of Five Feet Apart, p. 60.
ONLINE
Fresh Fiction, https://blog.freshfiction.com/ (May 30, 2025), author interview.
Nerd Daily, https://thenerddaily.com/ (May 28, 2025), Elise Dumpleton, author interview.
People, https://people.com/ (August 21, 2024), Carly Tagen-Dye, “Five Feet Apart Author and Screenwriter Mikki Daughtry to Publish New Sapphic YA Romance.”
Writer’s Digest, https://www.writersdigest.com/ (October 2, 2020), Robert Lee Brewer, author interview.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mikki Daughtry is an American screenwriter and young adult fiction author. She is best known for writing, along with writing partner Tobias Iaconis, the films The Curse of La Llorona (2019), Five Feet Apart (2019) and Nightbooks (2021).
Biography
Daughtry is from Georgia.[1] She studied theater arts at Brenau University, where she graduated in 2001.[2][3]
She has written three screenplays that have been produced: Five Feet Apart, The Curse Of La Llorona, and Nightbooks, all of which she and her screenwriting partner Tobias Iaconis co-wrote.[2] The first two films were released in 2019, and Nightbooks was released in 2021.[4][5] She and Iaconis had been working together for nearly a decade when Five Feet Apart came out.[1]
A 2018 novelization of Five Feet Apart, written by Rachael Lippincott with Daughtry and Iaconis, was a New York Times bestseller.[2][6][7]
Daughtry subsequently wrote the young adult novel All This Time with Lippincott, published in 2020.[2][6] Her next young adult novel, the century-spanning lesbian romance Time After Time, is forthcoming in 2025.[8][9]
Q&A: Mikki Daughtry, Author of ‘Time After Time’
Elise Dumpleton·Author InterviewsWriters Corner·May 28, 2025·2 min read
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We chat with author Mikki Daughtry about Time After Time, which is an unforgettable sapphic romance featuring two love stories, one hundred years apart.
Hi, Mikki! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a screenwriter and novelist living in Los Angeles. My day job, I guess you’d say, is writing movies. I do love a good novel writing binge, though. It allows me to go more deeply into the characters.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t love stories – hearing them or telling them or imagining them. I’ve been a daydreamer all my life. It was only a matter of time before I made it my profession.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
The first book you ever remember reading: A Dog Called Kitty by Bill Wallace.
The one that made you want to become an author: No one particular book made me want to write. The books I love are books I could never live up to, nor would I ever compare myself to. They’re too good. I write because I have stories that want to be told.
The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I will never be able to stop thinking about Wuthering Heights or One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Your latest novel, Time After Time, is out May 27th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
A sapphic, second-chance romance. Does the hyphenated word count as one or two?
What can readers expect?
A lot of love. Some mystery, some heartache. A little bit of fate. A dash of magic. And romance. Romance romance romance.
Where did the inspiration for Time After Time come from?
The idea just landed in my body one night. My ideas come from somewhere outside myself. Or maybe it’s somewhere inside myself. I can’t honestly tell you. They just show up when they’re ready to be told. And I try to tell them the best I can, and hope the whole time that I’m doing them justice.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Besides my main characters, Honey Harper was the most fun for me. She’s such an asshole.
See also
Farah Naz Rishi Author Interview
Q&A: Farah Naz Rishi, Author of ‘I Hope You Get This Message’
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Ha. Every damned day. I’m a screenwriter by trade and we are trained to cut any excess fat. Writing a novel is the exact opposite. Deep dives into character and thoughts are what novels are meant for, so there are always speedbumps when I go back and forth. It’s a special kind of hell for me when I’m working on a novel and a screenplay at the same time. I end up overwriting one and underwriting the other.
What’s next for you?
A movie! Right now I’m writing the screenplay for the remake of A WALK TO REMEMBER. I’m ridiculously excited about this project. I’ve always loved both the novel and the movie. It’s my first time adapting a Nicholas Sparks book, which, for a love story fanatic like myself, is kinda the ultimate dream come true.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
Not sure yet. I’ve been so focused on getting my own book out that I haven’t caught up with what’s out there. I can’t wait, though. I’d love to find a new favorite!
Will you be picking up Time After Time? Tell us in the comments below!
Q&A: Mikki Daughtry & Rachael Lippincott, Authors of ‘All This Time’
Sarah Campsall·Writers Corner·September 27, 2020·9 min read
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From the authors behind Five Feet Apart, a #1 New York Times bestseller and hit movie, comes a gripping new romance, perfect for fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Fault in Our Stars
We spoke with screenwriter Mikki Daughtry and YA author Rachael Lippincott, the talent behind the book and movie, Five Feet Apart. In this interview, they chat about their upcoming novel, All This Time (September 29th 2020), along with discussing writing, collaborating, and the stories and songs that get the tears flowing.
Hi Mikki and Rachael! Can you tell us a little about yourselves?
MIKKI: I’m Mikki. Screenwriter, novelist, dreamer. I’d like to say “storyteller,” but when I think of the real storytellers, I think of Sigrid Undset, Gabriel García Márquez, Paulo Coelho, Margaret Atwood, Kazuo Ishiguro. And if these are storytellers, I dare not pretend to play in their sandbox. Maybe one day. Maybe. For now, I’m just a girl from a small Georgia town who’s living in Los Angeles, working to make her dreams come true.
RACHAEL: For sure! I’m Rachael, a Y.A. author, originally from outside of Philly, but currently based in Pittsburgh. I fell in love with the city after going to school out here, and ended up sticking around long past my graduation date.
What would you say inspired All This Time, and is there anything that sets it apart from similar books in its genre?
MIKKI: All This Time was inspired by Marley and Kyle. My stories all stem from the same place. I’ll get a nudge, a hint, or a whisper from a character trying to get my attention. So I listen, always, and I let myself disappear from this world and I go to my other world, the world that lives inside me. Then the characters will kind of… walk in, and they live their moment, or their scene, this thing they want me to see. I then build a story around that moment. The inspiration, I believe, is my characters’ gift to me. Crafting a fully realized story from that moment is my gift to them. For this story in particular, it was Kyle’s whisper I heard. But then he introduced me to Marley, and I realized that although this was Kyle’s story, it was about Marley. I hesitate to say what sets it apart from similar books because I don’t want to give anything away. But I will say… if Five Feet Apart had a sister book, this one is it. These stories are very much sprouted from the same soil.
I see that there are already plans for the film adaptation! Are you able to share anything about the upcoming film or perhaps any hopes you may have?
MIKKI: I’ll be working with Lionsgate again! They were involved with FIVE FEET APART (the movie), and they’re the studio behind the DIRTY DANCING sequel I’m working on. I love, respect, and trust everyone there. But unlike FFA, the All This Time novel is being released before we shoot the film, LOL. This will be a more traditional book-to-screen adaptation. Hopefully it will strike the right chord with the viewers who loved FFA. That’s what I always hope for: a film that is well-loved by the audience for whom I’m writing.
RACHAEL: This one is all Mikki! I’m just super excited to see another story I was fortunate to work on being brought to the big screen.
Can you explain a bit about your writing process?
MIKKI: It starts with that whisper from my inner world. I don’t outline. I don’t plot out too much in advance. I find that a detailed outline severely restricts me creatively. I’m unable to flow, unable to break away from ‘the plan,’ and then my story has no magic; it has no surprise, because I didn’t allow myself the freedom to be surprised in the writing of it. I need to be able to feel, to listen, to pivot, to completely change direction if need be. I need to be able to follow the whisper, wherever it leads me. I have signposts, for sure, scenes I know must happen, and then, if I’m open and connected, and if the story is meant to be told by me, it just flows. Probably the most tangible thing I do as part of my process is make a music playlist. I spend hours listening to music, compiling songs that make me feel the way the story makes me feel. The synergy between music and storytelling is vital to me. It’s like hot chocolate on a rainy day, or a snow cone at the beach. They just go together.
RACHAEL: I’m a big planner when it comes to writing. When I get a spark of an idea, I kind of sit back and let myself experience it for a while, being completely immersed in it. I’ll listen to music, or play out different scenarios in my head, and try to come at it from different angles, just writing out small scenes or lines that come to me, trying to let the characters show me who they are and the world they live in. Then, I’ll sit down and write the first couple chapters, before outlining the rest of the story. I’m ALL about outlining. For me, it’s the difference maker between an idea being an idea, and a fully completed book. You can’t edit an empty page!
What advice would you give to someone looking to collaborate to write a book as a team?
MIKKI: Well, I have a full-time writing partner, Tobias Iaconis, with whom I’ve worked for nearly a decade. Working with Rachael was a completely different process. I met Rachael when she was brought in by Simon & Schuster to adapt my screenplay for Five Feet Apart into a novel. The film was already prepping to go into production when Rachael started the adaptation. It was crazy and wild and fun. I’d literally be making changes on set as scenes were being filmed and I’d call Rachael and send her the new pages. It was like she was adapting in real time. It was a rollercoaster, for sure. Stressful as hell, but definitely worth it.
We worked so well together, using this process, that All This Time was a no brainer. I had the screenplay written, the story was told, and I handed it to Rachael. Since we weren’t trying to concurrently film the movie, I was able to be really hands-on, do some writing myself, and totally freaking micromanage everything. Poor Rachael. I’m sure she woke up screaming more than once. But she’s the best. It’s kind of scary, if I’m honest, because the further we got into the writing of this one, the more she was able to just intuit what I would want before she even had to ask me. Now that was cool.
RACHAEL: I think a huge thing in this particular collaboration, and from my experience of working as a “team” with Mikki, is trust. When Mikki hands me her screenplays, THE STORY, to adapt into a book, it takes a lot of trust, and I definitely don’t take that lightly. I think it’s necessary for this entire process to work, and if a collaborative process DOES NOT have it, it simply isn’t going to be a successful one.
Mikki noted this, but I think it really grew to a point that we understood each other between mediums in a really cool and intuitive way. I think it was more than just having previously worked together on Five Feet Apart. There was just a deep level of understanding. Working on the same wavelength.
Why do you think audiences like to watch films and read about love stories? What do you think makes a love story special?
MIKKI: I can only speak for myself, but I think the world is such a hard place to live in sometimes. Love gives me hope that there is a softness waiting to insulate me from the sharp edges of life. It is that thing that pulls me from the brink when I most need it, and usually, when I least expect it. Love is a universal language and I’ll take it in any form: movie, play, book, poetry, music, art – bring on the love!
RACHAEL: It’s the magic of existing, isn’t it? The fact that we can meet another person and connect in a deep and powerful way. A way that can change your life, and leave a stamp on your soul. It’s at the core of everything.
I’ve seen your previous work, Five Feet Apart, described as tearjerking and tragic, but sometimes it’s nice to have a good cry! Are there any films, books, or songs that get the tears flowing?
MIKKI: LAST OF THE MOHICANS kills me every time. That’s probably, for me, the most swoon-worthy movie ever. “Stay alive. I will find you.” Just pick me up off the floor, because I’m dead. PONETTE is a start to finish cry-fest for me. I’m talking snot-sucking, ugly-face sobs. The end of THE ORPHANAGE breaks my soul. “It’s Laura!” Omigod. Just stop. I cry at least once every time I read a Kazuo Ishiguro book. Never Let Me Go still hasn’t let me go. Liane Moriarity usually gets me at least once or twice in every book she writes. As for music… there are too many songs to list. When I’m getting my melancholy on, I listen to Sleeping At Last, Cigarettes After Sex, and Novo Amor.
See also
Q&A: Sara Ackerman, Author of ‘Radar Girls’
RACHAEL: Are there ever! How many can I name? Coco, The Farewell, A Walk to Remember. The “Life Is a Cabaret” episode of Schitt’s Creek, and Emily Hampshire’s insane acting. Mikki recommended Saturn by Sleeping At Last to me, which is VERY All This Time, and sure to leave you in a puddle of your tears.
Is there any particular message you’d like readers to take away from All This Time?
MIKKI: I hope the story of Kyle and Marley encourages all the dreamers out there to dream with a capital D and decide for themselves what love is, what they want it to be, and what it can be.
RACHAEL: Just a belief that love can do some pretty extraordinary things.
Mikki – we just have to ask about the Dirty Dancing sequel that you’ve signed on to write alongside Tobias Iaconis. Is there anything you can share or tease?
MIKKI: Listen, I feel like I’ve stepped outside my body and this happened to someone else. DIRTY DANCING was a seminal movie experience for me, and just the thought of it kind of makes me lightheaded. Every time Tobias and I work on the script, I have to pinch myself. Unfortunately, I can’t tease anything. I’d like to keep my head attached to my body, thank you very much. Even more importantly, though, I’d like to keep my job. LOL.
Is there any book or film you wish you could have the experience of experiencing for the first time again?
RACHAEL: First thing that popped into my head was Shutter Island. I think I’m in so deep with my favorite books and movies that I’d hate to have them wiped from my brain. Part of my love for them is the existing experience.
MIKKI: I’m with Rachael here. Every time I rewatch or re-read something I love, it’s like the first time, but the knowledge of it, the “existing experience,” as Rachael said, just heightens my enjoyment.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
MIKKI: I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho at least once every two or three years. I love The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro destroyed me. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn will always be one of my favorite books. One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez is an epic that I can’t get enough of. And Agamemnon (the play) by Aeschylus. This is probably my favorite story of all time. Agamemnon is everything.
RACHAEL: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour is a book I probably talk about more than my own books. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reed, A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namery, Here the Whole Time by Vitor Martins, which is coming to the US all the way from Brazil in November. Just a few, but I’m very fond of all of them!
Five Feet Apart Author and Screenwriter Mikki Daughtry to Publish New Sapphic YA Romance (Exclusive)
Daughtry’s second young adult novel, ‘Time After Time,’ will hit shelves next year
By Carly Tagen-Dye Published on August 21, 2024 12:00PM EDT
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Mikki Daughtry and the cover of 'Time After Time'.
Credit : MPR; Penguin Teen
A new young adult novel from Mikki Daughtry will hit bookstores soon.
PEOPLE can exclusively share the cover of the Five Feet Apart author and screenwriter's new YA novel, Time After Time. The book will be published next summer through Penguin Teen.
Described as an “epic YA sapphic romance” by its publisher, Time After Time tells the story of Libby, an 18-year-old who has always been drawn to an old Victorian house nearby. When the house is put up for sale, Libby uses money from an inheritance to buy the place, with the hopes of fixing it up.
Mikki Daughtry book
'Time After Time' by Mikki Daughtry.
Penguin Teen
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After moving in, Libby finds an old journal written by Elizabeth Post, a woman who lived in the house nearly 100 years earlier, and who Libby learns was deeply in love with her maid, Patricia.
If You Loved The Sunbearer Trials, Get Ready for Celestial Monsters: Read an Excerpt Here! (Exclusive)
Soon, Libby meets Tish, a fellow college student who moves into the house in exchange for helping Libby with her renovations. As Libby and Tish begin to fall for each other, they begin to see many similarities between their lives and Elizabeth and Patricia’s, and wonder how much their stories are truly intertwined.
Mikki Daughtry book
Mikki Daughtry.
MPR
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Daughtry, along with writing partner Tobias Iaconis, has written the screenplays for various films, including 2019’s Five Feet Apart, directed by Justin Baldoni and starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson. Daughtry co-wrote wrote the novel with Rachael Lippincott in 2018, and published the YA romance All This Time with Lippincott in 2020.
Beloved YA Books That Have Been Adapted Into Films
Speaking with Writer's Digest, Daughtry said that All This Time would make a great read for fans of her other work.
"The story of Kyle and Marley has been with me for years and years, so when I was rooting around my collection of tales for a good follow-up to Five Feet Apart, this one immediately jumped out at me," the author said. "I think it’s the perfect companion piece. A story of impossible love, with impossible odds."
Time After Time will hit shelves on May 20, 2025 and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.
Mikki Daughtry | A super romantic, slow-burn love story about two young women
May 30, 2025
1–What is the title of your latest release?
TIME AFTER TIME
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
It’s a super romantic, slow-burn love story about two young women, an old Victorian house, a green glass stone buried in the front sidewalk, and a mysterious past that unites them all. It’s told in two timelines, a hundred years apart, with dual POVs (Libby and Tish), and a third-person POV that tells the story of Elizabeth and Patricia from the past. It’s a story for anyone who loves romance, for anyone who believes in everlasting love, found family, forgiveness, and taking chances.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
The story is set in a fictional Northeastern town. I needed a small town that could be close enough to drive to the city but still be its own separate place, and a setting that would have autumn weather in late September and snow on New Year’s Eve.
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Yes! I love Libby and Tish! They are younger than I am, though, so they’d probably shoo me off. Ideally, I’d be hanging with Joe at his junkyard, or with Hasina and Paps at their house. I have a soul-deep affinity for the elderly and for children. We all start life as one and (if we’re lucky) we become the other.
So as much as I love teenagers and young adults, in real life you will usually find me hanging with the babies and the old folks. There’s something so vulnerable about people who are at the beginning of their lives, or at the end. I’m a natural protector, a real mother-bear, so I’m always drawn to the most vulnerable among us.
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
The story is a bit of a two-hander between both Libby and Tish. Libby is courageous, impulsive, and determined. Tish is loyal, steadfast, and brave (although it takes her a while to realize it).
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I’d say the main thing I learned while writing this book is how to write a book! There was a learning curve, I’m not gonna lie. I knew I could do it, that wasn’t the issue. Stories and characters and plot come fairly easily to me, but my brain is trained, as a screenwriter, to avoid any superfluous action, prose, or dialogue. My other books, Five Feet Apart and All This Time, were based on my screenplays, adapted into novel form (it’s usually vice versa). In screenplays, we try to keep it tight. Every page costs a lot of money to shoot, so there’s not much time to linger on things that might be interesting but don’t move the story forward. Books are a whole ‘nother animal. The linger is real. I was always reminding myself (or being reminded) that I didn’t have to rush, that I had as much time as I needed or wanted to let a moment play. Once that clicked, I was all good.
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Oh, boy. Not only do I edit as I go, but I re-read from page one every day, editing all the way (again and again), so by the time I get to where I left off, I’m able to flow and the new pages come. It doesn’t take as long as you might imagine because in the constant re-reading and editing, I’m thinking ahead, putting together pieces of what’s to come and tinkering with things I may have missed. The time I would have spent staring at my cursor and waiting for the next page to come is instead spent working, and in the work, my mind is free to scout ahead to find where the story goes next. Once I get to those new pages, they’re already half-formed in my mind, so they practically write themselves. By the time my first draft is turned in, my editor is looking at a draft that’s been edited dozens and dozens of times by me. I don’t deny it’s a bit obsessive, but the pages have to be exactly the way I want them to be, or I can’t sleep. Literally. And every morning, I start over again.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
The ‘good’ me says a sumptuous lobster bisque with crusty French bread. The ‘real’ me says that gross squeeze cheese from a can. “Made with real cheese” my ass. It’s all chemicals and thoroughly disgusting so I almost never let myself have it. But I want it ALL the time.
9–Describe your writing space/office.
I write wherever I happen to land. Sometimes I’ll start at my kitchen table, then I’ll go out onto the back porch and work some there, then I might come back to the table, or move to the sofa in the den. Never, though, do actually I write in my office. Funny, that.
10–Who is an author you admire?
See #11 and add to those the Brontë sisters. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is one of my all-time favorite books, still to this day. You’ll see its influence all over Time After Time. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë are close runners-up. And for someone more current, Kazuo Ishiguro. The word brilliant doesn’t do him justice. His insight into humanity is profound. Everyone should read Never Let Me Go.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I don’t know if it was because I was raised by a depression-era grandmother who knew too well the hardships of that time, but that book settled somewhere deep inside of me and it still sits there, always reminding me to be thankful for every blessing I have in this life. Another touchstone book for me is The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo. I read it, without fail, every two years and every single time I feel like I’m reading a different book. The story seems to grow as I grow. It reveals new secrets and lessons right when I need them; never too early, never too late. Probably the most impactful, though, was One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. It’s an absolute masterpiece and it showed me that magical realism isn’t only for fairy tales. I would also include his Love In The Time of Cholera and Chronicle of a Death Foretold. If it were up to me, there would be a statue of Márquez in every library in the world. Full stop. No question.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
When I got the call that Putnam/Penguin wanted to publish Time After Time, I was over the moon. I couldn’t ask for a better team, for a better editor, for a better experience. I have never had so much freedom as a writer. It’s been exhilarating, for sure.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
I don’t have a favorite genre. It’s all about the characters for me. Who are they? Do I care what happens to them? Do I want to go on a British airplane full of kids trying to escape the ravages of WWII that ends up shot down and crashed on a deserted island? Will I choose to spend my time trapped in the backseat of a broken-down Ford Pinto with my young son with no food or water or way to communicate, boiling in the summer heat while a rabid St. Bernard prowls the outside, foaming at the mouth and waiting to attack? Or will I decide to follow the story of a young woman who knows she will never have children or grow old, who knows that her body only exists to provide donor organs, one at a time, until she dies as a result? These are all equally compelling stories to me. If the characters are there, I don’t care where they take me. I’ll go anywhere, anytime, in any genre.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
I have several, all to fit my different moods and tastes. THE NOTEBOOK obviously, one of the best bookto-movie adaptations ever. HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS (another brilliant adaptation). LA CONFIDENTIAL (yet another adaptation). EX-MACHINA (finally, an original IP!), and NOCTURAL ANIMALS (adaptation). Put MOULIN ROUGE and THE ORPHANAGE in there, too. MATILDA, the 1996 version; another adaptation. I just love it. And a 1996 movie called PONETTE. It’s a French film about a five-year-old girl who loses her mother in a car crash and learns to come to terms with the fact that she’ll never see her again. It’s one of those movies that makes me wish with everything inside me that magic could be real, that we could force reality to bend to our will, just for a moment, just to feel the embrace of a lost loved one. That movie breaks me open every time.
15–What is your favorite season?
Autumn is easily my favorite season. Sweaters. Scarves. Boots. Colorful falling leaves and Thanksgiving.
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Small, small, small. I don’t love big parties unless they’re for someone else. I tend to make a lot of separate birthday plans over my birthday month, with small two-or-three person groups. I want to spend time real quality time with everyone, and I find that I just can’t do that if too many of my friends are all together at the same time. It short-circuits my settings until I’m a stress ball, stuck in the kitchen because I don’t know what else to do with myself except get out of the way. It stresses me out just thinking about it.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Everyone’s probably already seen it, but Baby Reindeer was so wrenching. My podcast recs would likely bore you to tears. I listen to NPR. Pod Save America. Jon Stewart. Industry insider podcasts like The Ankler Podcast and Retake with John Horn.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Seafood (see lobster bisque) and Indian. A good aloo gobi, medium spicy, is one of my favorite comfort foods in the all the world. Right up there with chicken and dumplings.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
When I have what?
20–What can readers expect from you next?
What you can expect next from me is a movie! Right now, I’m busy writing the screenplay for the remake to A WALK TO REMEMBER, based on the Nicholas Sparks novel and the 1997 movie of the same name.
I’m also kicking around some new book ideas, so stay tuned. They’re coming!
TIME AFTER TIME by Mikki Daughtry
Mikki Daughtry: Dreams Are Worth Fighting For
Bestselling novelist Mikki Daughtry shares why dreams (whether related to writing or love) are worth fighting for, what the writing process for Five Feet Apart was like, how that differed from her latest novel All This Time, and more!
Robert Lee Brewer
Published Oct 2, 2020 9:00 PM EDT
Mikki Daughtry graduated from Brenau University, where she studied Theatre Arts. She is a screenwriter and novelist currently living in Los Angeles and is one of the authors of the New York Times #1 bestseller Five Feet Apart. Her next book, All This Time, was released on September, 29, 2020.
Mikki Daughtry
(21 Authors Share One Piece of Advice for Writers.)
Her existing films include Five Feet Apart for CBS Films, and The Curse Of La Llorona for New Line, which she wrote with her screenwriting partner Tobias Iaconis. Their next project, Nightbooks, is currently in production for Netflix, and the pair has recently been tapped to write a new Dirty Dancing film for Lionsgate, starring Jennifer Grey, who will also executive produce. When Mikki’s not writing, she is watching old black and white movies, listening to 1940s era music, or reading ancient Greek plays.
In this post, Daughtry shares why dreams (whether related to writing or love) are worth fighting for, what the writing process for Five Feet Apart was like, how that differed from her latest novel All This Time, and more!
*****
If you love to write and have a story you want to tell, the only thing that can stand between you and the success you’re seeking isn’t craft, or a good agent, or enough Facebook friends and Twitter followers, but fear. Fear that you aren’t good enough, or fear the market is too crowded, or fear no one wants to hear from you. Fortunately, you can’t write while being in the flow and be afraid simultaneously. The question is whether you will write fearlessly!
Click to continue.
*****
Name: Mikki Daughtry
Literary agent: Liz Parker
Title: All This Time
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Teen
Release date: September 29, 2020
Genre: Young Adult/Romance
Previous titles: Five Feet Apart
Elevator pitch for the book: After Kyle's girlfriend is killed in a tragic accident, he learns to heal and finds love again—the kind of love he never imagined—with a new girl, Marley. But when a sudden twist of fate tears them apart, Kyle must fight for the girl of his dreams...or lose her forever.
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What prompted you to write this book?
The story of Kyle and Marley has been with me for years and years, so when I was rooting around my collection of tales for a good follow-up to Five Feet Apart, this one immediately jumped out at me. I think it’s the perfect companion piece. A story of impossible love, with impossible odds. Those are my favorite kind!
How long did it take to go from idea to publication?
Since the story has been with me for so long, the plot, the characters, their arcs, and most of the actions were already formed. There were a few changes made, such as putting Kyle and Marley in their teens, and focusing on the beginning of their adult lives and their dreams of the future, to better suit a YA audience.
Were there any surprises in the publishing process for this title?
There are always learning curves to be had and adjustments to be made, aren’t there? With the last book, Five Feet Apart, I wrote the screenplay that Rachael Lippincott then adapted into novel form. Most books come before their movie counterparts, but this was a rare occasion when it was the other way around.
(20 Screenwriting Myths.)
While Rachael was adapting my screenplay into a novel, I was on the movie set as Five Feet Apart was being filmed. So, when on-set changes were made to dialogue and/or scenes, I was able to adjust the screenplay in real time and immediately send those pages to Rachael, so she could make the changes in the novel almost as it was happening. Everything was moving very quickly, which made it exciting, but I wasn’t really able to appreciate the publishing process because I was primarily stuck in screenwriting mode, telling the story in that format.
Because this worked so well for Five Feet Apart, Rachael and I used a similar process for All This Time. But this time, I was able to be much more hands-on as the creator of Kyle’s and Marley’s world. It was a joy, really, to finally get to see so much of the publishing process up close.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope readers will close this book believing that love is worth fighting for. Never give up on true love. Never.
If you could share one piece of advice with other authors, what would it be?
I would say the same thing I say about true love: Never give up. Dreams are worth fighting for. It’s something I know from experience.
4Q * 5P * J * S Lippincott, Rachael, with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. Five Feet Apart. Simon & Schuster, November 2018. 288p. $18.99. 978-1534437333.
Stella should be heading off with her classmates on a senior trip to Cabo, but instead she is back in the hospital--again. Stella has cystic fibrosis (CF), a life-threatening disorder causing damage to the lungs. She has adapted remarkably well to her condition and even has created an app that tracks her medications and treatments. Stella's careful life of routine and lists is turned upside down when she meets Will, the rebellious boy (and fellow CFer) in room 315. Through Will, she learns to let go and find out what it means to truly live when you are dying.
The details of someone living with CF are handled accurately and with sensitivity while being true to the life of a teenager. It features complex and likeable characters and a romance that any teen can root for. The movie adaptation of Five Feet Apart is set to be released in March 2019 with trailers creating an early buzz. Much like other successful book-to-film adaptations of teens fighting against the odds of their illness The Fault in Our Stars (Penguin, 2014) and Everything, Everything (Ember, 2017), Five Feet Apart is sure to be a hit as well. Hopeful and heartbreaking, this book earns its place among the powerhouse titles featuring similar stories. --Jennifer Coventry.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
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Coventry, Jennifer. "Lippincott, Rachael, with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. Five Feet Apart." Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 41, no. 6, Feb. 2019, p. 60. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A580887181/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9ecfd4fb. Accessed 14 Aug. 2025.
Daughtry, Mikki ALL THIS TIME Simon & Schuster (Teen None) $18.99 9, 29 ISBN: 978-1-5344-6634-0
A modern-day fairy tale about two teenagers suffering from loss who find healing in one another.
Despite the ups and downs in their relationship, Kyle and Kimberly have always made up, and Kyle looks forward to attending college together after graduation. But on the night they should be celebrating, Kimberly confesses that she has committed to a different college and breaks up with him. As they argue, their car crashes, and Kyle later wakes up in the hospital and learns that Kimberly is dead. In his grief, Kyle blames himself for her death. He struggles to leave his bed most days, ignores calls from his and Kimberly’s best friend, Sam, and has visions of Kimberly and life before the accident. One day, while visiting Kimberly’s grave, he meets Marley, a girl who likes telling stories and is mourning the death of her twin sister. Predictably, their natural affinity for one another evolves into romance. It is unfortunate that Kyle essentially moves from one romantic relationship to another on his journey to better understanding himself and his co-dependence on those closest to him, although his gradual development into a more considerate person redeems him. The pacing remains even until the critical plot disruption, resulting in the rest of the story feeling disjointed and rushed. All characters are White.
For readers in need of a happy ending but not much else. (Fiction. 12-16)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Daughtry, Mikki: ALL THIS TIME." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A630892230/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=28dcf97b. Accessed 14 Aug. 2025.
DAUGHTRY, Mikki & Rachael Lippincott. All This Time. 336p. S. & S. Sept. 2020. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9781534466340.
Gr 7 Up--At his high school graduation party, Kyle's eager about what comes next: college with his girlfriend and a long future together afterwards. But when a car crash takes all of that away, Kyle must find out who he is without Kimberly. When Marley enters Kyle's life, he's not sure he's ready to move on, but eventually the idea of a relationship with her feels too right to resist. This book drops a number of curveballs, particularly in the latter half of the story, which is structured like a fairy tale. This mix of contemporary realism with fairy-tale elements doesn't always mesh well, sowing an awkward atmosphere that struggles to create meaningful depth. While themes such as identity, independence, and grief are familiar and universal, the lack of effective character depth and the cumbersome narrative leave the exploration of these themes feeling superficial. Chemistry between the love interests is similarly incomplete, making it difficult to enthusiastically root for the relationship's success. Meanwhile, a series of twists toward the end contribute to an overall sense of insincerity. VERDICT Fans of the authors' Five Feet Apart and Sandy Hall's Signs Point to Yes will likely be interested, but may find the novel unfulfilling and mediocre. An additional purchase.--Abby Hargreaves, DiC P.L.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Hargreaves, Abby. "DAUGHTRY, Mikki & Rachael Lippincott. All This Time." School Library Journal, vol. 66, no. 7, July 2020, pp. 64+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A629053937/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=383109cc. Accessed 14 Aug. 2025.
Time After Time
Mikki Daughtry. Putnam, $19.99 (368p)
ISBN 978-0-593-53382-6
Sweet sapphic romances progress in parallel a century apart in this slow-burn epic from Daughtry (All This Time). Shunned by her parents after using an inheritance to purchase a ramshackle Victorian house rather than funding college, 19-yearold Libby Monroe moves into the property, which has long fascinated her. Also drawn to the residence is student Tish O'Connell, whose frugality and fix-it skills make the house into a home. As sparks fly between the two teens, Libby learns more about the house's former occupant, Elizabeth Post, through a diary she left behind. A privileged 19-year-old in 1925, Elizabeth falls in love with her similarly aged maid Patricia, a recent arrival from Ireland. Though readers learn early on that Elizabeth dies elderly, alone, and sad, the mystery surrounding Patricia's fate ramps up the suspense as the present-day timeline similarly teeters on the edge of heartbreak. While some subplots aren't satisfactorily resolved, vivacious banter and delightful found family narratives contribute to a fully realized cast. The characters in the 1925 timeline are predominantly white and closeted; the present, by contrast, features intersectionally diverse, openly queer protagonists. Ages 12-up. Agent: Liz Parker, Verve Talent & Literary. (May)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Time After Time." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 7, 17 Feb. 2025, p. 50. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A829933426/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7fadb50f. Accessed 14 Aug. 2025.
Daughtry, Mikki TIME AFTER TIME Putnam (Teen None) $19.99 5, 27 ISBN: 9780593533826
Two pairs of girls living a century apart have an otherworldly connection.
Elizabeth and Patricia met in 1925, when Patricia came to work as a kitchen girl in 19-year-old Elizabeth's family home on Mulberry Lane. The young women dove headfirst into a blissful romance, despite their class difference and the widespread prejudice against Irish people like Patricia. In 2025, 19-year-old Libby, who's cued white, feels destined to fix up the dilapidated Victorian house on Mulberry Lane, so she buys it with an inheritance from her grandmother. Her reckless purchase--she's solidly middle class, and the money was intended for college--enrages her parents, and her controlling father kicks her out. In a set design class, Libby meets Irish American Tish, who's good with construction and unhappily living in an overcrowded apartment. Tish first noticed the Mulberry Lane house when a green glass stone embedded in the sidewalk sent a shock up her leg; she quickly agrees to help restore it and eventually moves in with Libby. The girls grow closer as they work on the house, and the journals that Elizabeth, who reads white, left behind help Libby unravel the mysteries binding all four girls together. Daughtry introduces multiple timelines, perspectives, and characters from the outset, but the initial investment for readers in keeping these elements straight is well worth it for the enjoyable saga that follows. The author deeply conveys the intensity of the romances in both timelines.
A page-turning story about the power of love.(Romance. 13-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Daughtry, Mikki: TIME AFTER TIME." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A828785159/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4085d171. Accessed 14 Aug. 2025.