“Five Feet Apart ”Screenwriter Mikki Daughtry Pens a New Love Story in YA Novel “Time After Time” (Exclusive)

1 month ago

Mikki Daughtry and nan screen of 'Time After Time'. Credit :

Kobe Levi; Penguin Random House

NEED TO KNOW

Screenwriter Mikki Daughtry publishes her first solo YA novel, Time After Time, connected May 27
“It conscionable fresh for illustration a glove, penning nan voices and nan kids and their experiences,” Daughtry tells PEOPLE of creating stories for a young audience
The writer will besides co-write nan book for nan A Walk to Remember reboot, based connected Nicholas Sparks' caller of nan aforesaid name, pinch penning partner Tobias Iaconis

Mikki Daughtry has been telling stories onscreen for years.

Alongside penning partner Tobias Iaconis, she's crafted nan screenplay for nan movie Five Feet Apart, starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson, arsenic good arsenic nan Krysten Ritter-led imagination movie Nightbooks. Recently, Deadline announced that Daughtry and Iaconis would co-write nan book to nan anticipated A Walk to Remember reboot, based connected nan 1999 Nicholas Sparks caller of nan aforesaid name.

But Daughtry is turning a caller page pinch her young big caller Time After Time, retired May 27 from G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. The caller follows Libby, a young female who forgoes assemblage to bargain and hole up a Victorian location pinch her inheritance. After moving in, Libby uncovers nan diary of Elizabeth, a female who lived connected nan property a 100 years anterior — and whose emotion communicative mirrors Libby’s successful nan coming day.

Daughtry is nan writer of aggregate books — including nan Five Feet Apart novelization and nan book All This Time, written pinch Rachael Lippincott — but her latest publication is her first solo project.

The screen of 'Time After Time' by Mikki Daughtry.

Penguin Random House

“Every azygous connection connected that page came from my laptop, my typewriter, myself,” Daughtry tells PEOPLE. Also hers were nan novel’s influences — namely, Daughtry’s favourite puerility writers, for illustration F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and nan Brontë sisters.

“They're nan books that affected maine nan most, peculiarly my outlook connected emotion and romance,” nan writer says. She was besides influenced by their humanities context, arsenic Time After Time is simply a dual-timeline communicative that's partially group successful nan 1920s.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly tin you lick it? Play now!

“[Women] were becoming much of our ain persons, alternatively of being nether nan thumbs of our fathers and brothers,” Daughtry explains. “I really wanted to research immoderate of that, but I besides wanted to necktie it to today's civilization … to person a much youthful appeal.”

Writing nan book was besides nan cleanable segue for Daughtry, who co-wrote nan screenplay for scary movie The Curse of La Llorona before jumping into nan young big genre.

Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis.

Kobe Levi

“It conscionable fresh for illustration a glove, penning nan voices and nan kids and their experiences,” Daughtry says. “I'm still specified a kid myself successful galore ways. I consciousness for illustration I person a batch to learn.”

Trying caller things is partially why Daughtry is truthful excited astir penning nan reboot for A Walk to Remember, which will people her first adjustment of Sparks' work.

“You conscionable don't get overmuch amended erstwhile it comes to emotion stories than a Sparks book,” she says. “It's a gentle story, and it's sewage truthful overmuch religion and caller emotion and aged emotion … We'll person immoderate modern things successful there, and we'll person our imprint connected it arsenic well.”

Never miss a communicative — motion up for PEOPLE's free regular newsletter to enactment up-to-date connected nan champion of what PEOPLE has to offer, from personage news to compelling quality liking stories.

Even so, Daughtry notes that nan page and nan surface are 2 different beasts. Pivoting to a prose-focused mindset was nan astir challenging portion of bringing Time After Time to life, though nan writer says it besides had its perks.

Mikki Daughtry.

Kobe Levi

“It does lend a much cinematic value to my caller writing, because I americium trained to spot successful images, for illustration what is this going to look like? How do we make this image? How do we get this crossed successful arsenic fewer words arsenic possible?”

“It became truthful overmuch much to maine arsenic I was penning it,” Daughtry adds of nan story. “The taxable revealed itself, that 2nd chances are very often based connected forgiveness. And if you don't study really to forgive and really to judge forgiveness, it's a difficult road.”

The PEOPLE App is now disposable successful nan Apple App Store! Download it now for nan astir binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!

And though nan publication of Time After Time still feels "a small dizzying," Daughtry besides says that she’s looking guardant to jumping into wherever her activity whitethorn return her next.

“I emotion being a emotion communicative girl, which I americium astatine my heart,” she says. “But a emotion communicative tin beryllium told successful immoderate genre. There is nary genre that doesn't request nan emotion communicative to thrust nan thought … I conscionable want to do each of it.”

Time After Time is now available, wherever books are sold.