ALU Summer Book Club: Intro to I Think We’ve Been Here Before

I Think We’ve Been Here Before begins with an intriguing premise: what if you knew the end of the world was imminent? In Suzy Krause’s hands, this question opens the door to a tender and thought-provoking story that weaves together the idea of fate, missed connections, and the small mysteries that shape our lives. But this is more than a clever hook—it’s a heartfelt, gently humorous novel about the power of human connection, the possibility of second chances, and what it all means, in the end.

Buy your own copy here on All Lit Up for 15% off (or find a copy from your local indie using our Shop Local finder).

Read on for our interview with Publisher Debra Bell of Radiant Press.

All Lit Up: Tell us a bit about how you came to publish Suzy Krause’s novel I Think We’ve Been Here Before. Was there a particular element a voice, a theme, a feeling—that made you know this was a Radiant Press book?

Debra Bell: Suzy Krause lives in the same city where we operate Radiant Press. We were aware of Suzy and her previous books because she had launched them at a nearby stationary store that we both love. We were attracted to the strong characters in the book, and how Suzy would eventually answer the question of how ordinary people might react to the end of the world. Those characters pulled us in and endeared themselves to us and the readers. Suzy has a unique writing style and the story takes place on a farm and small town on the prairies and we knew many readers would relate. Plus we love an interesting apocalyptic story that combines gamma rays, prairie farms and déjà vu.

ALU: What was the editorial process like? Did the story shift much through the editing process, or was it fairly close to what Suzy originally submitted?

DB: This book came to us as a fully edited novel, Suzy had a contract with Lake Union Publishing to publish in the US, and the Canadian rights were offered to us via her agent. Lake Union edited and proofread the book; all we had to do was design our own cover and interior. I know that Suzy combined a few plots into one narrative that were not originally part of the main storyline.

ALU: How does I Think We’ve Been Here Before reflect or expand Radiant Press’s vision for the kinds of stories you want to champion?

DB: This book is exactly the type of story we want to publish; we have a particular attraction to speculative fiction and unique plots that are masterfully written. Suzy’s description of the book appealed to our predilection for publishing books that surprise us, with a story we haven’t heard before and one that would attract a wide demographic of readers. It has everything you want in a book, a love story, humans attempting to survive in the face of certain death, families that want to spend their last minutes on earth together, pinball machines, Christmas, and characters who believe both art and life are meaningful and precious.

ALU: Let’s talk about the gorgeous cover by Tania Wolk. How did that design come together? Was there a particular concept or mood you were aiming for?

DB: Suzy chose the art based on the work of a collage artist we had used for a previous book titled Jawbone and it fit the desolate mood but also the bright and perfect ending. If you look closely on the left side, there are two people walking together along some train tracks looking toward a giant grey cloud from an explosion. The artwork contained all the elements that encapsulated the mood of the book and Tania’s font and title positioning brought it all together.

ALU: Without spoilers, what can readers look forward to in I Think We’ve Been Here Before? What do you find most compelling about the novel?

DB: I can tell you that everyone on Earth is going to die in two months because you will know this in the first chapter. I think readers will look forward to the trajectory of all the complex yet relatable characters, and how each one reacts uniquely, and sometimes unexpectedly, to the imminent arrival of killer gamma rays.

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Thanks to Debra for answering our questions! Get I Think We’ve Been Here Before here on All Lit Up for 15% off (discount code INTHECLUB2025), all summer long.

Keep on top of all summer book club happenings here.