In the Lime Light with Elizabeth Gillman

Sep 24

September 24th, 2026

This week on the Limelight, debut author Elizabeth Gillman joins Jenna and Cait to talk about her novel, Maybe, Maybe Not. Annie has learned to live well with her OCD, but travel has always been off the table, and she has never left her little Gulf Coast community. When her boss offers to sell her the boutique she has worked in since she was a teenager, Annie finally decides to face travel with her fearless best friend Kat by her side. Then Kat dies unexpectedly, leaving behind a list of offbeat places to scatter her ashes and a surly little brother to help get it done. It is funny, it is tender, and it is full of road trip energy. We get into why OCD is not the antagonist of this story, the deeply personal reason Elizabeth wrote it, the octopus hiding on her gorgeous cover, and her ten-year road to publication.

Her OCD is an octopus. Her best friend's last wishes are a road trip. If you love Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and The Road to Tender Hearts, this one is for you.

In This Episode

(00:00) How long Elizabeth has been working on this book, and meeting Cait at the Alexandria retreat
(00:48) ARC reader reception and trying (and failing) not to read reviews
(02:09) The pitch, the premise, and the comp titles
(04:41) Why OCD is not the antagonist
(05:59) The heart of the story: writing hope for her daughter and for the parents who love kids with OCD
(10:19) The cover journey, letting the designer take the wheel, and the octopus you can't unsee
(14:37) Elizabeth's ten-year publishing journey, from a 134,000-word first draft to finding her first critique partner
(21:25) Writing this one for her daughter, setting a querying deadline, and choosing to go indie
(23:40) Building a publishing team, from dev editor to audiobook narrator
(25:05) Wrapping up

If you liked these, you'll like Maybe, Maybe Not:

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
After Annie by Anna Quindlen

Get the book

Maybe, Maybe Not comes out September 26 from 20 Knots Press and is available for preorder now. Keep an eye out for two more books from Elizabeth coming soon.