We Interrupt This Program

by Randee Dawn

Welcome to Seaview Haven. A delightful village of charming humans, quaint homes – and cozy mysteries! Fortunately, there’s silver-haired author-turned-sleuth Winnie Arrowmaker on hand to solve them all.

But things aren’t exactly as they seem. Seaview Haven is one of the Seelie Court Network’s many invented TROPE towns, and the “mysteries” are scripted and streamed for the entertainment of enchanted creatures across the Veil. Or, rather, they were…

Winnie has a wicked case of writer’s block, moviemaking across the Veil has ground to a halt, and the town is crumbling.

Enter Finch, an SCN intern who might be the worst Unseelie ever. With aid from his reluctant brownie assistant, Finch is assigned to figure out what’s gone wrong in Seaview Haven… so he can dismantle it forever. But after landing in town, Finch soon learns that real lives – and real friends – aren’t so easily canceled.

To keep “The End” from being stamped on Seaview Haven, Winnie and Finch are going to have to tell a Truly Great Tale. Because as they realize, real power lies not in the stories we watch, but in the stories we tell ourselves.

Tropes
👵 older woman solving mysteries
🍄 mixed-up Unseelie gardener
🍞 shortbread magic
❓ disappearing TROPE town residents
💔 fae-human romance on the rocks
👦👩🏿 intrepid young sleuths
👸 goddess gal-cation gone wrong?
🪄🖨️ write a great story... or else!

429 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 3, 2026

About the author

Follow me on Bookbub!

First of all, I'm the proud owner of a first novel, the humorous pop-culture fantasy Tune in Tomorrow (Solaris)!

I'm an entertainment journalist by day and an author at all other times. My tales have been published in a bunch of anthologies, and I'm the co-editor of Across the Universe: Tales of Alternate Beatles as well as the co-author of The Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion.

In my day job, I write for outlets including Today.com, Variety, The Los Angeles Times, and Emmy Magazine.

I live with the love of my life and an adorable West Highland Terrier (who is also quite lovable), in Brooklyn. Be sure to visit me at my web page, and sign up for the newsletter!

Reviews

[Katherine Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun read 💖

Randee Dawn makes you care so much for characters in Seaview Haven and at the SCN! I was about to list my favourites then I realized it was: Winnie, Finch, Siggy, Malvous, on and on and so forth.

This book is a delight and the prose is very fun. The line “gotta see a man who’s a horse” made me burst out laughing.

The novel balances light hearted adventures with the Very Serious Matter of female friendships that stand the test of time.

I had a blast with this one! Thank you to Solaris for the ARC 💖

[Anna Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw Randee Dawn's post that We Interrupt This Program was up on NetGalley, I tell you, I clicked that request button so fast. I loved Tune in Tomorrow, and this is another novel in the same magical universe!

The TROPE town of Seaview Haven is breaking down and Finch, an SCN intern, has wrangled an assignment to figure out what's wrong with it - so that he can prove his Unseelieness by dismantling it forever. But Winnie Arrowmaker, Siggy, and Martin are doing their best to prove to him that the town can still be saved. Can it?

We Interrupt This Program is a wild romp into a fantastical world and - at the same time - an insightful look into what it takes to be creative. At times, it feels a little meta - Winnie Arrowmaker is a writer of mysteries, and the Muses are involved - but as the book blurb says, "Winnie and Finch are going to have to tell a Truly Great Tale. Because, as they realize, real power lies not in the stories we watch, but in the stories we tell ourselves."

In this day and age when the great Threads fight of the day is whether it's ok to use AI for covers and for writing, it's validating to read something that's so honest about the struggles of writing something. (I was going to say "something worth reading", but who's the arbiter of what's worth reading? Everything written by humans is worth being read by someone.) And how it feels when your best work still isn't good enough. Will it ever be good enough?

In that same vein, Finch is also struggling to be good enough any anything. He's so convinced that his one Hideous Deformity makes him an Unseelie, despite all other indications, that he's willing to destroy his life and his friendships to prove it. And yet, he's...not really good at being naturally destructive? Neither is he good at being, well, Seelie.

Behind the hilarity and light-heartedness is a thoughtful exploration of how our perceptions of ourselves - and what we think others think of us - affect our behaviour, whether for good or for bad. And how best friends spur us to be the best of ourselves - but can also bring out the worst. And maybe we're not always just one thing, but many, in all our humanness.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Solaris Nova via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Ulrike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since the Muses have gone on vacation and no longer provide inspiration, the so-called TROPE cities—where human stories are produced for a Fae audience—are beginning to decline. Finch, an Unseelie who has so far been rather unsuccessful in his destructive ambitions, is officially sent to Seaview Haven to evaluate the city. His initial goal is clear: to recommend its full deconstruction. But as he becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of its residents, he begins to question both his mission—and himself.
The novel weaves together intriguing themes, including questions of identity, the growth of a female friendship, and magical complications. However, the frequent shifts in perspective at the beginning made it difficult for me to fully immerse myself in the story. I also struggled for quite some time to grasp the entertainment system surrounding the Seelie Court Network and the TROPE cities, and it took a while before the narrative settled firmly in Seaview Haven.
The development of the main characters is convincingly handled and leads to a satisfying conclusion. Despite the brisk, witty writing style and the originality of the concept, the novel ultimately didn’t fully align with my personal taste.
An inventive and unconventional fantasy novel – but unfortunately not quite my kind of story. 3.5 stars

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This book feels like it walks a line between fantasy and cosy sci-fi. On the one hand there’s a television company that makes programmes about peoples’ lives, on the other it is run by Fae. There’s magical creatures in abundance in this tale, Seelie, Unseelie, Brownies and a whole bunch of muses.

I did feel a bit lost at times with the whole TV company set up and what it’s actually doing. However when I got the the author’s acknowledgments at the end, it looks like this is actually the second book in a series. I didn’t know that going in, so perhaps I would have understood the concept far better if I’d read the books in order.

That said, what I did not struggle to follow was the character experience. There’s a particular, older, female character who has a very poignant, heartfelt role in this story. She underpins the whole thing, allowing for the zanier stories of some of the other characters. But with her, we have something really raw, really personal and riveting to read. I’m being deliberately obtuse to avoid spoilers, but this was the part of the story I enjoyed most, and it is crucial to connecting all of the events and characters.

There’s definitely some cosy elements here, gardens, vegetables, magic. It’s a wholesome setting with its seaside town and quirky characters.

[Beth Gerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

It took me almost 10 full chapters to get my bearings in this book. Having never heard these terms before, I was unclear about what the rules for Seelie/Unseelie actually were and why they mattered. The gods/muses/seelie hierarchy gave me pause, and the relationships between Winnie and others rolled out slower than I would've liked.

Some of the writing struck me as too twee and whimsical, but by the end, I was mostly on board. I don't know that I would read more in this vein or set in this world, but I was left with a certain amount of affection for each of the characters, and was happy with how their stories all wrapped up. It was a feel-good read, just not one that hit all the notes for me personally, which is fine. Just not my bag, as it were.

I received an ARC from NetGalley

[Ria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really good book about friendship and found family. I loved how the fae didnt seem to understand human sayings and kept saying them wrong. I loved the concept as someone who played sims religiously i very much got that vibe from this book.

My biggest issue was that i have no idea what the difference of seelie and unseelie have and how that affects the hierarchy. I felt at times that a hierarchy pyramid was needed with top boss etc just for more context to how that part of the story works.

Thankyou Netgalley for the ARC copy

[Alan]

Rec. by: Previous work, and John Scalzi's blog