Rock is Lit: Punk, Art, and London Calling in the ‘80s: Suzanne Mattaboni On Her Debut Novel, ‘Once in a Lifetime’

In this final episode in the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Suzanne Mattaboni discusses her debut novel, ‘Once in a Lifetime’, and shares excerpts from the story.

Set in 1984, where punk reigns and Andy Warhol rules, 20-year-old art student Jessica longs for a life beyond her reach. Dreaming of an avant-garde study program in London, she’s stuck waitressing and navigating drama with her boyfriend Drew, who wants to date others. Life takes a turn when she meets Whit, a magnetic guitarist, and dives into a post-punk scene full of quirky characters—cheating waiters, mystics, a military drag queen, and a Svengali bouncer—all while grappling with the specter of AIDS. Jessica must decide if chasing her dreams is worth risking heartbreak and self-discovery.

With a smart, edgy ’80s vibe, ‘Once in a Lifetime’ is a coming-of-age story exploring friendship, love, and ambition.

Suzanne Mattaboni is a former Newsday reporter and a Pushcart Prize-nominated author of women's fiction, horror, and pop culture essays. She's also a retro podcaster and a past winner of Seventeen magazine’s Art and Fiction Contest. Her work has also appeared in The Huffington Post, Chicken Soup For The Soul, Mysterious Ways, Guideposts.com, Seventeen, Child, Parents, Motherwell, Dark Dossier, Turtle, Humpty Dumpty’s, Long Island Weddings, and LA Parent. She's had pieces featured in anthologies including Pizza Parties and Poltergeist (horror stories set in the 1980s), Writes of Passage, The Little Demon Digest, and The Running Wild Anthology of Stories.

MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:

• Rock is Lit theme music
• [Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
• “Once in a Lifetime” by the Talking Heads
• “Catch Me I’m Falling” by Real Life
• “Purple Rain” by Prince
• “Sweet Dreams” by The Eurythmics
• “Once in a Lifetime” by the Talking Heads
• Rock is Lit theme music

LINKS:

Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451

Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350

Suzanne’s websites: https://www.suzannemattaboni.com/ and onceinalifetimenovel.com

Suzanne on Facebook: facebook.com/suzanne.mattaboni

Suzanne on X: @suzmattaboni

Suzanne on Instagram: @suzannemattaboni80s

Suzanne on TikTok: suzannemattabonibook

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Spotify playlist

Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislit

Christy Alexander Hallberg on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg

Rock is Lit on Instagram: @rockislitpodcast

Rock is Lit on Bluesky: @rockislitpodcast.bsky.social

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