Authors hand their finished manuscripts in a good nine months or so before they actually get released. While waiting for The Weight of Sound to come out I sat around, well, waiting. I had simultaneously always dreamed of publishing a novel and never imagined I would actually publish a novel, and I didn’t know what to do next, besides count the days until it actually happened.
What a writer should do with all that time is start another book. I didn’t start work on book number two until after Weight was released, and regretted not starting earlier. King Cal has been out of my hands for many months, and I am happy to say that I have already started the next one. Working: No Musicians. 30,000 words into it, there is not a musician in sight! There is another book within the novel, though—okay, so not a soundtrack, but still a fictional creation within my fictional world. It turns out that inventing these meta-fictions is a key tool I use to figure out who the characters are. The people in my books tend to be people who try to appreciate and understand the world by making some kind of art, and/or ingesting art other people make.1 Writing parts of this nested novel is helping me make sense of the rest of the story.
Those who fully experienced the last book & soundtrack combo pack will remember that one of the songs had two version. “Don’t Go, Darlene” was recorded with just piano and vocals, and then the soundtrack ended with a full band version.2 I didn’t know how important the song was when I began writing the book—in fact, as I have confessed elsewhere, I didn’t think there would be a soundtrack at all. Writing the book led me to the song, and then the song shaped the book in crucial ways.
Something similar happened with King Cal. Oh, I knew there would be a soundtrack this time, but I didn’t know there would be three versions of the same song. Two appear on the album with slightly different arrangements and lyrics, for reasons that I hope make sense when you actually read the book.3 The third version will only be heard on the audiobook, but it came out so well that I’m posting it here, as a special sneak preview. Paul Melançon sings, Bill Shaouy plays piano, and Kris Hauch wrote the music. Each version has a different role in the larger story, but I also think each stands on its own quite nicely, thanks to all my talented friends.
1 Unseen narrative voice: And this is a revelation?
2 Music by Jeff Jensen! You can hear both versions here: https://wampusretrospectives.bandcamp.com/album/songs-by-honeybird-original-soundtrack
3 Music by Kris Hauch! You can hear both versions here: https://kingcalsoundtrack.bandcamp.com/album/king-cal-soundtrack
King Cal follows aspiring musician Calvin, who loses his girlfriend, band, and best friend in one day. As he struggles to balance art and survival, this coming-of-age story explores the devotion, creativity, and sacrifice required to build a life in music.
Learn moreConversation with Michael Amos Cody, moderated by Zach Steele.
As drummer for the rock band Uncle Green, Peter McDade spent fifteen years traveling the highways of America in a series of Ford vans. While the band searched for fame and a safe place to eat before a gig, he began writing short stories and novels. Uncle Green went into semi-retirement after four labels, seven records, and one name change; Peter went to Georgia State University and majored in History and English, eventually earning an MA in History. He teaches history to college undergrads, records with Paul Melançon and Eytan Mirsky, and lives in Atlanta with his family.
