Set in southern California in 1996, “Rana Joon and the One & Only Now” is a lyrical coming-of-age story about a teen wanting to honor her dead best friend’s legacy by entering a rap contest. To do so, she must be willing to speak her truth and speak out.
Perfect Iranian girls are straight-A students, always polite, and grow up to marry respectable Iranian boys. But in San Fernando Valley in 1996, Rana Joon is far from perfect — she smokes weed, loves Tupac, and has a big secret: she likes girls.
As if that weren’t enough, her best friend Louie — the one who knew her secret and encouraged her to live in the moment — died almost a year ago, and she’s still having trouble processing her grief. To honor him, Rana enters the rap battle he dreamed of competing in, even though she’s terrified of public speaking.
With the battle getting closer every day, she can’t decide whether to use one of Louie’s pieces or her own poetry. Her family is also coming apart, and she might even be falling in love. To get herself to the stage and fulfill her promise before her senior year ends, Rana will have to learn how to speak her truth and live in the now.
Shideh Etaat is an Iranian-American writer living in Los Angeles. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. “Rana Joon and the One and Only Now” is her first book. Her work has been published in “Tremors: New Fiction by Iranian Americans,” “Day One,” “Foglifter,” “Nowruz Journal” and “My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora.” When she isn’t busy writing, you can find her helping her five-year-old son navigate life.
What do you hope readers get from Rana and her story?
I hope that the anxious/awkward teen (or even grown-up) reading Rana’s story will see that there’s a badass inside of every single one of us. I really wanted to speak to the experience of growing up as a child of immigrants, and the struggle of wanting to preserve one’s culture while also disentangling from the shame that also might be central to that culture. It’s a story about finding your voice, but it’s really about creating your own path where you get to choose to lead with your heart.
What Tupac album would Rana be and why? What would Louie’s equivalent be?
OK, so this is where you realize I’m not as cool as Rana was in high school. Unlike her, I don’t know the distinct flavors of each album BUT I can tell you that if she was a song, it would either be “Dear Mama” or “California Love.” Her relationship with her mom is central to the book — they really learn how to see each other which is such a beautiful thing, and her love for California, specifically L.A., and even more specifically The San Fernando Valley runs deep. Louie was definitely into Tupac but he would for sure be Wu-Tang’s “Enter The Wu-Tang 36 Chambers” because he saw their skill and ability to use language as a weapon as the ultimate work of art.
Why did you decide to write about the Valley in the 90s versus writing about it in the present day? What does this writing choice accomplish for you?
Because the 90s were amazing! But seriously, there’s a reason why 90s fashion is everywhere and all our favorite 90s shows are having a comeback. There’s a sense of purity and innocence that existed before we had the Internet in our pocket at all times, and of course, before social media, when we had no idea who had what for breakfast unless we were having an actual conversation with them. I mean, can you believe that if you liked someone and they got your number they had to actually call your house?! Like they had to go through whatever embarrassing grown-up you lived with to get to you — there’s something so weird and special about that to me. I wanted to capture what it was like being a teenager and not having as many distractions and being so overstimulated all the time. I mean don’t get me wrong we still had our problems and issues, but growing up as a teen right now is a whole other beast I can only understand as an outsider looking in.
Both Rana and you are poets and use poetry to convey emotions. What was the writing process like to write poetry through Rana’s character versus when you write your own poetry?
Such a good question! Poetry was my first love, and it was the doorway in which I found my ability to write fiction. I used to teach high school English and the “What I’m From” poem Rana writes in the book is an assignment I’d do with my students, and it was always the most beautiful work they did – even the students who considered themselves horrible writers would find their voice and their pride at the end made my heart flutter. Rana gave me the chance to tap into my inner poet again so everything flowed quite nicely. However, writing Louie’s raps was definitely a struggle for me. Ultimately, I knew they weren’t that good so I asked help from a family friend of mine Ali Alimi, who’s an incredibly talented hip-hop artist. He knew exactly what to do and gave me a strong backbone to work with for those sections.
What is something about “Rana Joon and the One & Only Now” that you want to emphasize to readers who are unsure about reading your book and those who are eager to?
For those who are unsure I’d love to say — come on silly, just do it! But in all seriousness, if you like a book with a strong lead, if you like a little romance, if you like the 90s, if you like…food, you will probably like this book. And if you’ve ever lost someone who meant the world to you, or have experienced loss in any form, you’ll most likely relate to Rana. And for those eager to read— you are amazing, I love you! I know my book has the longest title ever, but I hope it helps you see how much speaking your truth and being true to yourself really matters.
Thank you so much Shideh for answering my questions! Even though I can’t relate to Rana on a cultural level, I loved reading how you shaped shared experiences in your debut novel. Wishing you much success on the book!
I’d also like to thank Nicole Valez from Simon & Schuster for sending me an ARC of Shideh’s work and giving me this chance to interview another debut author. Looking forward to working with you on more titles. I’d also like to send a shoutout to Kasey Goldenberg from HCNYU for coming back and being my editor for this blog series. So happy to work with you and be friends ever since that first Zoom call when I was scared about transferring to NYU. Get ready for more!