About the Book:
Eliza and Charlie Chamberlain were best friends until he decided to abandon her and become the most popular (i.e., worst) guy in school. Now he can’t be within a five-meter radius of Eliza without taking the piss out of her Vampire Falls obsession. A TV show that he used to watch with her. Religiously.
But Eliza can rejoice in her happy place: the annual Vampire Falls convention where she and superfan bestie, Roxy, can enjoy a weekend of guest Q&As and cosplay, safe from the judgement of others who just don’t understand their passion.
Or that’s what she thinks, until guess-who shows up chaperoning his little sister. Not only that, but Eliza finds herself pitted against Charlie Chamberlain’s team in a once in a lifetime opportunity. Eliza and Roxy join forces with a feisty pensioner and a mysterious (possibly hot) guy in a werewolf costume to win the ultimate prize: an all-expenses paid trip to San Diego Comic Con.
But with the stress of uni looming and the past rearing its ugly head, Eliza finds her sanctuary crumbling at every scheduled panel and themed party. Will Charlie Chamberlain ruin the one weekend Eliza lives for, or is that bubbling feeling in the pit of her stomach not actually hatred after all?
Find on Goodreads. Find on Bookshop.org UK (affiliate link).
About the Author:
Way, way more comfortable with fictional characters than real people, Georgia Bowers pledged her allegiance to Melvil Dewey (the Fairy Godfather of librarians) over twenty years ago so she could hang out with books exclusively.
Georgia co-hosts the Delete My Browser History podcast with TikTok famous author Cynthia Murphy where they chat with authors about warm and fuzzy research topics such as leeches, death by escalator, and taxidermy.
She is the same height as Sarah Michelle Gellar, and went viral for having hair shaped like Darth Vader’s helmet.
Interview:
Pitch your book in 10 words!
A con-rom-con about fandoms, second chances, and friends for life.
(Can con-rom-com be one word?!)
FOES AND CONS is a love letter to fandom and how they come together at conventions. What’s your favourite part of attending cons?
Eliza talks about how much she loves arriving at a convention, and that’s my favourite part too. Spotting people you’ve seen over the years, seeing people trundle in with their cosplays, wigs, and weapons, and friends reuniting since the last time they were all together. I love it.
While being a romance, this is also a book about the friendships formed through fandom, showcasing the wide range of people fandom brings together. How did you choose which characters and types of fans Eliza would interact with? Did these characters ever change?
The beauty of conventions is that they bring people from different backgrounds and experiences together through a shared interest (or obsession!) , so I hope the book reflects that with all the different characters Eliza chats to (or rants at) while she’s queuing or sitting in Q&As. Even though the book is YA, I knew I wanted to have an older character quite central to the story just to show you don’t have to outgrow your favourite thing, so Dorothy was there from the beginning. The scene where Eliza is arguing with Charlie Chamberlain while they’re queuing was originally a lot longer, so I had to trim down some of the characters who chime in there, but they might make an appearance in something else.
Eliza is so clearly obsessed with Charlie – and thinks it’s because she hates him. It’s a really nice parallel to her obsessive love for Vampire Falls. What makes the love/obsession line such an interesting one to explore?
I think there’s so much potential for comedy when someone isn’t fully in control of their emotions or behaviour because they’re a little too much into a person or subject. Walking away from a situation thinking “did I really say that out loud?” because you’re overwhelmed is something we can probably all relate to. As Eliza says, we’ve all been there.
This is a rom-com. What advice do you have for writers trying to bring comedy moments to life?
Be as natural as you can and try not to force it as I think readers can tell when you’re trying too hard. I wrote a lot of FOES AND CONS on my notes app on my phone which I think took the pressure of writing away, as it felt like I was texting a friend a funny story instead of staring at a scary blank screen. Sometimes you just need to write without worrying too much about beats or structures, and the funny will come.
There is both a platonic and romantic enemies-to-lovers/friends dynamic in this book. Why did you want to explore both? How do you ensure that a reader buys into the enemies part of the dynamic?
I love reading about blossoming friendships as much as romantic relationships, when people really show up just at the right moment, like Eliza and Fake McKinley. I truly believe that soul mates aren’t just found in romantic love interests but platonic friendships as well.
It was important that what Charlie Chamberlain did to hurt Eliza enough that she would spiral, but not something there was no coming back from as I wanted the reader to be able to forgive him as much as Eliza. The reader needs to root for those enemies to become lovers, so there are a few breadcrumbs of their past scattered in their interactions and Eliza’s recollections, so there’s a little light at the end (and start) of their tunnel.
The book is littered with references to the show. How much of the TV show’s plot did you have to work out? How did you approach the balancing act of making the show – and thus in jokes and references – feel real while also not losing the reader (who physically cannot watch the show)?
Way, WAY more than was really necessary! I have seven seasons of Vampire Falls scribbled in notebooks, with Big Bads, season arcs, and episode titles. Making up the show’s characters, plots, demons and monsters was a lovely creative exercise inbetween writing the story, especially if I was feeling a bit stuck. When you’ve enjoyed a TV show or film multiple times, you always quote from it with fellow fans, so I knew Eliza and Roxy would both know the dialogue (and songs!) off by heart. Hopefully anyone who’s watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer or enjoyed a cult TV show will be able to tune into the Vampire Falls world without having actually watched it.
Would you ever write a Vampire Falls book?
I would LOVE to. I think it would be a really fun graphic novel.
Please recommend a UKYA book you think readers will love.
EXIT STAGE DEATH* by Ava Eldred is the perfect read for summer with theatre kids solving a murder at summer camp.
Thank you!
*Affiliate link
#UKYASpotlight 
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