Pink Polka Dot Books: Welcome to the FFBC: Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson + GIVEAWAY!!

Not Now, Not Ever

by Lily Anderson
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: November 21st 2017
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis:

The sequel to The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You, inspired by The Importance of Being Earnest.

Elliot Gabaroche is very clear on what she isn't going to do this summer.

1. She isn't going to stay home in Sacramento, where she'd have to sit through her stepmother's sixth community theater production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

2. She isn't going to mock trial camp at UCLA.

3. And she certainly isn't going to the Air Force summer program on her mother's base in Colorado Springs. As cool as it would be to live-action-role-play Ender's Game, Ellie's seen three generations of her family go through USAF boot camp up close, and she knows that it's much less Luke/Yoda/"feel the force," and much more one hundred push-ups on three days of no sleep. And that just isn't appealing, no matter how many Xenomorphs from Alien she'd be able to defeat afterwards.

What she is going to do is pack up her attitude, her favorite Octavia Butler novels, and her Jordans, and go to summer camp. Specifically, a cutthroat academic-decathlon-like competition for a full scholarship to Rayevich College, the only college with a Science Fiction Literature program. And she's going to start over as Ever Lawrence, on her own terms, without the shadow of all her family’s expectations. Because why do what’s expected of you when you can fight other genius nerds to the death for a shot at the dream you’re sure your family will consider a complete waste of time?

This summer's going to be great.

Hi Lily!! We’re so excited to have your book in our FFBC Tours, and can’t wait to ask you a couple of questions about your new book NOT NOW, NOT EVER!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Favorite Book?
Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

Favorite TV show?
Brooklyn 99

Favorite movie?
The Bodyguard

Favorite Song?
“OPP” by Naughty By Nature

Favorite Food?
Pupusas with extra curtido

Name 3 fictional places you would move to in a heartbeat.
Tortall, Avonlea, Totoro’s forest

What were your favorite books growing up?
The Witches by Roald Dahl, The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman, Fractured Fairy Tales by A.J. Jacobs, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, The Stinky Cheese Man and Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Favorite Quote?
“Make a joyful noise, my soul.” –Bat Boy the musical

What are your fandoms?
BUCKLE UP. Let’s go: Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Buffy, Firefly, Deadpool, Westworld, My Brother My Brother And Me, The Adventure Zone, and most of the musical theater canon.

Name a book you read recently that you would recommend to our YA-ers.
ECHO AFTER ECHO by Amy Rose Capetta has some of the most beautiful prose I’ve ever read.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about NOT NOW, NOT EVER?
NOT NOW, NOT EVER is the story of Elliot Gabaroche, a girl about to enter her senior year of high school with no idea what she’s going to do with her life. Her dad wants her to be a lawyer, like him. Her mom wants her to go into the Air Force, like her. And Elliot wants to study science fiction literature at Rayevich College. So she runs away for the summer to compete for a college scholarship.

What 3 hashtags would you most associate with your book? (Could be a word or phrase or anything that would instantly make you think of NOT NOW, NOT EVER)
#CampOnward #HufflepuffBoys #FlyFightWin

How did you come up with the story? Did you find inspiration in any other story/movie/show and how has this affected your writing?
My editor had requested a companion to THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU and I was sort of at a loss as to where to start until my agent asked, “What about Brandon?” Brandon was a sidekick in THE ONLY THING, a sort of freshman mascot for the lead characters. I really wanted to see how he’d done for himself in the three years since his friends graduated from the Messina Academy. But I’d already written my “genius school is hard” book with THE ONLY THING, so I switched perspectives to Elliot and made Brandon the love interest. I think Pitch Perfect ended up being my closest movie comp—a fish out of water joins a competitive group—and I put both of those movie soundtracks on my writing playlist.

Tell us your favorite quote from NOT NOW, NOT EVER.
“I couldn’t get my swoon on for a guy who didn’t wear socks.”

Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write? Or which part was the most difficult to get through?
There’s a lightsaber duel pretty deep into the story and I absolutely loved writing that! I put Duel Of The Fates on full blast and repeat and wrote the fight of my dreams. (Hello, Lucasfilm, your girl would loooooove to write a Star Wars novel!)

If you had to pick one song to be the Theme Song for NOT NOW, NOT EVER– Which one would you pick?
“All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled

Are there any recommendations you could give your readers to be in the “perfect mood” to read NOT NOW, NOT EVER (specific music, snacks…)?
It’s funny because I think of NOT NOW as such a summer story. It’s full of hot days and mosquitoes. But since it’s coming out Thanksgiving week, I think the perfect place to read it would be in a big library with real musty book smell and a pocket full of snacks you snuck in with you. Bonus points if you can find a table near a science fiction poster.

What’s next for you?
My next book, UNDEAD GIRL GANG, comes out May 8, 2018 from Penguin Razorbill! It’s Veronica Mars meets the Craft in the Wiccan murder mystery of my dreams.

Thanks Lily!!

Okay, I'm having SO many awesome reactions to this interview-- first of, OPP?? YES!!!!! I was obsessed with Naughty by Nature in elementary/middle school!! Also, THE BODYGUARD!!! Great choice for fave movie. Plus, all the fandoms are A+++. I can't wait for UNDEAD GIRL GANG-- it sounds fantastic!!

Lily Anderson is a school librarian and Melvil Dewey fangirl with an ever-growing collection of musical theater tattoos and Harry Potter ephemera. She lives in Northern California, far from her mortal enemy: the snow.