Uptempo, Down: Round Two

I've got this group of friends and readers whom I like to refer to as my Bonus Book Club. In the past, I've had my Regular Readers go through my stuff and offer feedback. The Regular Readers have read just about everything I've written, but the Bonus Book Club hasn't. Because of this, it's especially interesting to learn their thoughts regarding my books.

In the spring (I think it was in the spring...), my Regular Readers met to discuss Uptempo, Down. Overwhelmingly, they weren't in love with it. Who knows the reason for this? It could be any number of things.

Because I was pretty confident that Uptempo, Down actually WAS a good novel, I developed a second book club comprised of newer readers (my Bonus Book Club) to offer feedback... and they really enjoyed Uptempo, Down! I walked away from last Wednesday's meeting with so much good feedback! In fact, I was so excited to dive back into the manuscript that I made edits the day after.

For those who are interested, Uptempo, Down is another novel starring the band Flannel Lobster. Instead of a setting of Lake Caywood, however, this one takes place in Moonglow, North Carolina (where Jonny Rockford is from in The Way Back). The boys are down there to perform at the Moonglow Music Festival, but something happens in the first chapter that throws a major wrench into their plans.

Phil and Lindsay planned their outfits. See? Flannel Lobster!

In addition to Bas, Bert, and Lucy, Finn Gregory (Flannel Lobster's bass guitarist) and Edna McCloud (a "cupcake witch" who owns a bakery in downtown Moonglow) are major characters. The storylines intersect in an interesting plot line that my Bonus Book Clubbers like to call "Uptempo, Down." I was in the bathroom when this conversation happened, but Mary drew a picture of the plot line and explained it to me. It's very clever; I think Nicole was the one who came up with it.

All in all, I really like this fresh group of readers because they view the literature through a viewpoint of each band-related book being a standalone. Huge thanks to Mary, Darren, Kathy, Lindsay, Brecia, Nicole, and Phil for joining me on Wednesday to discuss the novel they spent the past couple weeks reading.

Want to know the menu? It was bangin'! I served shrimp salad wraps (because that's what Flip's is known for), crab-artichoke dip, some little Greek kabobs that I made up at the last minute, veggies and hummus, and... CUPCAKES! I intentionally kept the dinner portion of the meal a bit lighter than usual so folks would save room for dessert.

See my lobster napkins? Those were intentional.

Chocolate with peanut butter frosting, lemon with lemon-cream cheese frosting, vanilla-blackberry with chamomile-cream cheese frosting, and my personal favorite... espresso-chocolate with espresso-cream cheese frosting.

As usual, we played the label game -- which is when participants bring a bottle of wine or some beer that has a label relating to the novel. This can relate via theme, character, a motif, setting, a specific scene, etc. Nicole won, even though Lindsay was a very close second. The winner took away an original piece of Hannah Rae art that I forgot to take a picture of, but it's similar to what the novel's cover will be: a sunset on the beach.

Here's Phil giving you a sneak peek of what Uptempo, Down will probably look like when it's released in the spring.