“Once in a Lifetime” 1980s Rock Novel by Suzanne Mattaboni

 

The future classic, “Once in a Lifetime” by Suzanne Mattaboni is finding its place in the sun, especially with lovers of 1980s music. The novel, with chapters named after 1980s favorites like “Melt With You” or “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” follows emerging artist Jessica artist impatiently biding her time waiting tables along the Delaware Canal, is set loose in a world where women were finally told they could “have it all.” Her journey includes romance with a steamy new wave guitarist that threatens to derail her dream as an artist. She and her three avant-garde, postpunk college girl friends look for love, adventures, and tuition money during a wild, 1980s summer.

“Once in a Lifetime” takes place mainly in New Hope, PA, a progressive town that hosts punk boutiques, frantic restaurant kitchens, moody bars, buzzing late-night sidewalks, and volatile club performers, as well as out of towners from New York City!

It’s a story in which the characters define themselves by either loving or despising Madonna! There’s lots of pop-culture, from MTV videos, rubber jelly shoes, and slam dancers, to the looming fear of AIDS, and—of course—mohawk hairstyles!

“Once in a Lifetime” has won awards:  The London Book Festival (Runner’s Up, General Fiction), The Paris Book Festival (Honorable Mention, General Fiction), The Pencraft Awards (Runner-up, Women’s Fiction) and the BookFest Awards (Second Place, Romantic Comedy). Kirkus Reviews called “Once in a Lifetime” an “ebullient and engaging story of youthful longing and independence” and a “starry-eyed coming-of-age tale.”

Born in Long Island, attending college at the University of Pittsburgh, Suzanne Mattaboni was named one of the Lehigh Valley Business Journal’s “2022 Women of Influence.”  She’s a Pushcart Prize-nominated fiction writer, Newsweek Expert Forum contributor, blogger, essayist, and corporate PR consultant. A former community service reporter for Newsday, her work has been published in Seventeen, Parents, Child, The Huffington Post, Mysterious Ways, Guideposts, and the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series. She is also a host of The Banzai Retro Club podcasts, focusing on pop-culture of the 1970s, ‘80s, & ‘90s. Suzanne is available for interviews, articles, guest posts, Q&As, and commentary.

“Once in a Lifetime” is available on Amazon in print and e-book versions.

 

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