Presentation and Signing – King Cal by Peter McDade

The $5 event ticket reserves your seat. You will receive a $5 coupon upon arrival at the store that you can use for a purchase that night!
Walk-ins to this event are welcome but space is limited.

Hope to see you in the shop!

Many novels set in the world of rock music depict stardom, debauchery and deceit. KING CAL instead focuses on the creative process, the devotion required to choose an uncertain life in music, the inspiration for songwriting and the challenge of making the rent while making art.
In the course of one ordinary day, Atlanta fast food worker Calvin loses his girlfriend, his band and his best friend. Suddenly, everything he had planned to spend the rest of his life doing seems to have flown away.
Told with insight, sensitivity and deep respect for what it really takes to make a life in music, King Cal is a coming-of-age novel about a determined young man who starts with little, aims to earn a little more and has to decide whether success, or even clinging to his dream, is worth the sacrifice.

Praise for KING CAL:

“Having lived through my own musical coming-of-age, I’m often dismayed by just how wrong most music-themed books get it. Not King Cal. This is one of the few novels about music that has felt utterly real to me. As the book wound its way to a deeply moving end, I was both desperately hoping that it would all work out for Calvin, our unlikely hero; and at the same time thanking Pete McDade for getting it so right.”
—Dan Wilson, Grammy-winning singer (Semisonic) and songwriter (“Closing Time”)

“Peter McDade’s new novel is a compelling exploration of friendship, identity and the healing power of music. Inspired by Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, McDade’s masterful novel follows Calvin through the course of a single day as he struggles to find the courage to face his fears and redefine his world and goals or lose everything he holds dear.”
—Christy Alexander Hallberg, author of Searching for Jimmy Page, host of Rock Is Lit podcast

“King Cal perfectly captures the life of a young musician navigating the challenges of relationships and pursuing his dreams. It’s engaging, funny and highly relatable, offering authentic glimpses into the mind of a songwriter.”
—Lindsay Murray (recording artist Gretchen’s Wheel)