Shannon Messenger: Trust Your Story

Shannon Messenger graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she learned—among other things—that she liked watching movies much better than making them. She studied art, screenwriting, and television production but realized her real passion was writing for kids and teens. She’s the internationally, New York Times, and USA Today bestselling author of the award-winning middle-grade series Keeper of the Lost Cities, as well as the Sky Fall young adult series. Her books have been featured on multiple state reading lists, published in numerous countries, and translated into many languages. She lives in Southern California with her family and an embarrassing number of cats. Find her online at shannonmessenger.com and follower her on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.

In this interview, Shannon discusses writing an in-between book with her new middle-grade novel, Unraveled, her hope for readers, and more.

Name: Shannon Messenger
Literary agent: Laura Rennert
Book title: Unraveled
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
Release date: December 3, 2024
Genre/category: Children’s/Middle Grade/Fantasy
Previous titles: Keeper of the Lost Cities series
Elevator pitch: Unraveled is the eagerly anticipated next installment in Shannon Messenger’s award-winning New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Keeper of the Lost Cities series, and is the first book from fan-favorite character Keefe! With over 7 million copies sold in over twenty territories worldwide, Messenger’s blockbuster series continues to delight more and more readers. Warner Bros. has landed the movie rights to the series franchise with Emma Watts (The Martian, The Kingsman, Maze Runner, Deadpool) attached as producer.

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What prompted you to write this book?

All the books in the Keeper series are told from the point of view of my main character Sophie Foster. But this piece of the story covers something Sophie wasn’t there to experience—and it’s a very important piece. I kept trying to find a way to fit it into book 9 and it wouldn’t work, so I tried to add it to my book 10 outline, and it didn’t fit there either. I finally realized I needed to tell this part of the story through a different character, so I added this extra book to the series. Unraveled is book 9.5, since you need to read it after book 9 and before book 10, and it covers all the important things Keefe was doing while he was hiding in the human world. I can’t wait for readers to see all the huge reveals when it goes on sale December 3, 2024.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

Honestly, this particular book was a bit of a whirlwind. I realized I needed to add it to the series in January of this year (2024), and when I ran it by my publisher they basically said, “Great—let’s do it! But we want it to come out this fall.” So, I was on a very tight deadline. Fortunately, the story was super clear in my head after wrestling with it for so long, so it wrote fairly quickly.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

It’s definitely an adventure launching a book that’s a “.5” in the series. I’ve spent a lot of time explaining why it’s not just called, “Book 10.” And I get it—I’m doing something a little different than readers are used to. Fortunately, my fans are awesome and seem to be willing to trust me when I say, “I promise, this is the best way to tell this story!” I can’t wait for them to be able to read for themselves.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I hadn’t realized how little dialogue there would be in the early chapters. I probably should have figured that’d be the case, since the character doesn’t really have anyone to talk to in the beginning. But it definitely caught me by surprise and became a fun challenge, trying to make Keefe as lively and funny as he always is, even when he’s not cracking jokes and bantering with everyone. The trick was to really think about what he’d feel while he’s all alone in a strange world and let that play out on the page. It was so much fun watching him react to things that are normal to readers, like time zones and room service and Cheetos.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope they’ll get to some of the reveals and think, Whoa—I did not see that coming! And I hope they love watching one of their favorite characters explore our world. I had so much fun figuring out what cities to have him visit and which foods to have him try. There are so many sneaky little nods to current pop culture.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Trust your story. It’s so easy to think you have to follow a certain set of rules—whether they’re the rules of the genre you’re writing or the rules you set for your own series. But if your story is telling you it’s time to break free and do your own thing, trust it. The best scenes and moments always happen when you let go and allow the story to truly come to life. (And hey, sometimes they even turn into an entire book with a .5 in the title.) 😉