King Cal

by Peter McDade, Thom Bowers (Narrator)

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 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.

“King Cal is a glorious and gripping story of the early days of a musician's that uncertain, chaotic time when a young dreamer begins to transform into an artist. I have never read a more accurate or emotionally affecting portrayal of that transformation. Warmth, humor, sadness, grime, joy, feeling broken, being broke — they’re all in the mix.

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 and at the same time thanking Pete McDade for getting it so right.”

—Dan Wilson, singer (Semisonic), songwriter ("Closing Time," "Not Ready to Make Nice," "Someone Like You"), Grammy-winner

"When I am asked by parents of kids who are considering a life in popular music if I would recommend that path, I say that if their child can even imagine doing anything else with their life, they should do that. But if the kid can't conceive of any future but music, I urge them to offer encouragement. Now I can just tell them to read this book."

—Elliot Easton, lead guitarist for the Cars and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Audible Audio

First published April 16, 2025

About the author

Peter McDade spent fifteen years traveling the highways of America as the drummer in the rock bands Uncle Green and 3 lb. Thrill, releasing a half-dozen albums on various major and independent labels. Raised in New Jersey, he now lives with his family in Atlanta, where he teaches at Clark Atlanta University.

King Cal (coming in April 2025) is his third novel, following The Weight of Sound (2017) and Songs By Honeybird (2022).

Reviews

[Teresa Schahczinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book way more than I expected to like it! You know when it’s a great book when you can actually see the scenes in your head and imagine who would play each character when they make it into a movie. The short time period that the book takes place does not take away from the depth of the character development. Loved this book and I truly look forward to seeing it on the big screen one day.

[Kevin Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can think of a couple of books about young, talented, ambitious, and penniless musicians, but both of those stories take place over months and even years. King Cal is a story about a songwriter, striving to get his music out there, but the striking thing is that McDade has condensed the struggle, drama, musical thought processes, and emotional ups and downs, all in a 24 hour period.
Don't take my word "condensed" the wrong way - believe me, he covers it all! I was right there once myself, so I can vouch for the authenticity - so will almost anyone who's been in a band at one time in their life. This book hit me hard for I could relate to the MC so many ways.
BUT, it's also comfortably easy to grasp for anyone who is not, or has never been a "starving artist." Humorous, bittersweet, melancholy, and even downright funny as all hell. I laughed a lot...but then I even cried once or twice!! Dammit, I don't like to cry at a freaking book, but I did it anyway and don't regret a tear-dappled page of it.
But mostly I became friends and roomies with the many colorful characters, as "normal" as they are. Relatable - I bet every one who reads this will know each character from their own lives, even the stereotypical fast food customers.
For me, it was reliving my own memories, but for the non-musician/songwriter, King Cal will make those memories for you, just like you were there in person.
This is of those stories that Richard Linklater would read and say "Damn, I should make that into a movie." Seriously, if anyone has connections with him, they need to press a copy of this into his hands.
Meticulously detailed without being overly verbose, McDade strikes a a note with every word, a chord with every sentence, a verse this chapter and a chorus the next. By the end, you realize, word for word, you've been part of a beautiful song.

[Jeff Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished King Cal. Loved it. A very well-written and relatable story which should appeal to musicians and songwriters, or those, like main character Calvin, who are aspiring to be.

The claustrophobia of the fast-food day job--a situation Calvin is looking to transcend with musical success, is a compelling plot driver. Artists and creatives of all stripes will relate to this theme. It's also a meditation on friendship, purpose, and commitment to one's creative dreams. And it's a sweet love story.

King Cal is a great read, and in the hands of a savvy director, would make a great film.

[Terri Steffes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine spending 24 hours inside the head of a dreamer, caught between ambition and reality. That’s precisely what Peter McDade gifts us in King Cal, his third novel, which unfolds over a single pivotal day in the life of Calvin (“Cal”)—a fast-food drive-thru worker by day, songwriter by heart. Given that my husband was a musician for the first twenty years of our married life, this was a no-brainer book for me to choose to read.

Beat of the Story
Cal is on the cusp of a breaking point: in just hours, he loses his girlfriend, his band, and his best friend. Suddenly, all the plans he’s poured his life into seem to crumble. Yet through it all, the rhythms of songwriting pulse in his head, as he balances rent, romance, friendship, and an unwavering devotion to music.

I love that the novel's chapter headings are the times within the day when Calvin's life is falling apart. It helps keep the sequence of events clear and shows you that minute by minute, your life can turn on you quickly. It's a theme that runs throughout the book and is quick to catch on to. I'm not good at finding themes, but this one really resonated with me.

What the Critics Say

Novels Alive awarded it five stars, praising its deep respect and insight into the creative life:

“King Cal is a coming‑of‑age novel about a determined young man… told with insight, sensitivity and deep respect for what it takes to make a life in music.” Barnes and Noble

Readers’ Favorite described it as “a captivating narrative… writing so gripping that it's like being in the story,” applauding McDade’s sharp and realistic dialogue

Atlanta Journal‑Constitution highlights the novel’s 24‑hour structure and how Cal’s fast‑food job provides authentic snapshots of everyday life, all while reflecting his musical dreams.

Why King Cal Hits the Right Notes
Authentic Voice
McDade draws on his own 15 years as a touring drummer to bring Cal’s musical passion to life. The story hums with raw honesty. Amazon

Compelling Structure
The story’s day-long timeline—marked by time-stamped chapters—gives it a cinematic feel, incorporating flashbacks that deepen Cal’s backstory.

Emotional Core
At its heart, it’s about sacrifice and the grit behind artistry. Cal’s balancing acts between love, friendship, and survival resonate deeply with most readers.

[Sandy Saucier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter McDade knows about music having spent 15 years traveling as a drummer. This alone cannot possibly be the secret to writing a good novel about a young man trying to find his way into the music industry. Yet McDade has put his experience and his good storytelling together to make a hit coming-of-age novel with King Cal. Expect to be absorbed in a way similar to watching a favorite cult classic film.

See my full review in Novelsalive.com 5/29/2025

[Jeff Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another engaging rock ’n roll novel from McDade, the author of one of the finest rock novels ever penned, The Weight of Sound. As with that earlier novel, King Cal is about young men pursuing their dreams of achieving rock ’n roll stardom. But McDade takes a decidedly different approach here.

Calvin and Grady are childhood friends in Mayo, Florida. They bond over music and learn to play instruments (keyboards for Cal and guitar for Grady). Once they are out of high school they realize small-town Florida is not the place to make a name in the rock music pantheon. So they move to Atlanta, where Cal gets a crappy fast-food job at Burger Buddies to help make ends meet while they work on their music and pursue gigs. They do a few performances as an opening act duo but the gigs are few and far between, leaving them to slave at their minimum wage dead-end jobs and continue to dream.

McDade does a skillful job of fleshing out the two characters, with Cal being the socially anxious introvert to Grady’s personable extrovert. Cal’s driving all-consuming force is songwriting and he gets the reputation around town of being a genius-level composer (think a young Brian Wilson sitting in his room alone writing great songs). But Cal’s social awkwardness holds him back. Grady becomes a gifted frontman singer-guitarist who finds himself in demand by other bands. Grady wants to bring in a drummer and bass player but Cal wants to keep the band a duo. Eventually Grady caves and accepts an offer to go on the road with another band. To make matters worse, Grady’s new band is one Cal has long despised. Cal feels his best friend and bandmate has deserted him. He’s angry and hurt, and decides to record his own music and put it out on the internet under the name of King Cal.

Cal also takes up with Grady’s ex-girlfriend, Melli. McDade paints a very realistic portrait of Cal’s relationship with Melli, with the insecurities, awkwardness, and inexperience clouding the young couple’s love affair. As King Cal’s music begins to be noticed and Grady’s time on the road with the other band lengthens, their lifelong friendship is rattled, coming to an uneasy reckoning.

The story arc takes place over a 24-hour period with much of it about Cal suffering through a greasy shift at Burger Buddies (hilariously introspective) while daydreaming about his music. But McDade masterfully weaves seamless flashbacks into the tapestry of his tale to fully develop the characters and give readers the complete view of Cal and Grady’s lives. The flashback device is not easy to do well, and many lesser skilled writers fumble when employing it.

McDade reminds us that the road to rock stardom is paved with obsessive commitment, poverty, sacrifice, and disappointment, but also with equal measures of humor, friendship, love, and self-fulfillment. King Cal is an authentic look at pursuing the ultimate rock ’n roll fantasy while working demeaning jobs to pay the rent (McDade knows of what he writes ... he spent 15 years as a touring rock drummer and also did hard time at an Atlanta Burger King). I absolutely loved this novel and would give it 10 stars if I could. It is a tender, heartfelt, bittersweet literary gem. Highly recommended.

[Michael Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

King Cal gives us a day in the life of a songwriter – not one who joins others around the water coolers or in the backrooms of Tin Pan Alley or Music Row but one who starts his day with the greasy morning crew at Burger Buddies. He works the breakfast-through-lunch drive-thru window, and while Burger Buddies Calvin swipes credit cards and returns them along with sacks of sausage biscuits, hash browns, drinks, and packets of ketchup to a variety of characters in cars, Real Calvin incorporates his observations about and interactions with these drive-by characters into the song lyrics constantly threading through his songwriting brain. All the while, Calvin busies his mind with memories, relationships, dreams – the stuff of life and songs.

A variety of moment-to-moment experiences at the drive-thru window and beyond mix with Calvin's mostly bad memories of growing up in a patchwork family in Mayo, Florida, his dreams of music success in Atlanta, his concerns over the extended absence of his BFF bandmate Grady (who might be losing the plot on their "Plan"), and his desire to hold on to girlfriend Melli (whose parents are less than thrilled with her Burger-Buddies-songwriter boyfriend choice).

Peter McDade rises to the challenges of telling a novel-sized story in the confines of a single 24-hour period. The language is rich and readable. The dialogue is crisp. The characters are three-dimensional and engaging. Most importantly, perhaps, the pacing is like that of a favorite album you can listen to over and over.

[Matt Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calvin works the opening shift at Burger Buddy drive-through to support himself while he and his friend Grady try to make it in the music business. Calvin’s the songwriter and keyboard player and Grady’s the lead singer and guitar player.

This book resonated with me on so many levels. First, I love how Calvin entertains himself working his mindless job. He goes over song lyrics, makes up names for the people at the drive-thru, jokes with his regulars and generally keeps the line flowing. It’s fun to see his thought process.

Then his personal life. He’s kinda (okay a lot) nerdy and doesn’t have a lot of confidence, but he managed to snag a cool girlfriend who gets the way he thinks and he gets her, and he’s in a band with his best friend Grady who is cooler than them both, but of course troubles come up.

And there’s appreciation for the author’s technical expertise. The book is structured so it starts at the beginning of one shift at Burger Buddy and ends just before the start of his shift the next morning. 24 hours. But so much happens. It’s not an easy framework to stick to but McDade did it seamlessly.

The part I loved the most was his musings about his art. As a writer, it felt so familiar. Knowing you have the seed of something good and wondering if you can pull off a complete product. Knowing you need a hook there or a different word in that line. Thinking it’s good and wishing you didn’t need the opinion of other people to know it’s good but really wanting it and loving it when you get it.

And once again, there’s music to go along. After imagining what Calvin’s songs sounded like we get to hear Peter McDade’s interpretation. And that’s so cool.

[Micheal D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

King Cal is a heartfelt, pitch-perfect exploration of what it means to chase your dream when life keeps changing the tune. Peter McDade captures the pulse of Atlanta’s indie music scene with raw honesty and compassion, delivering a story that hums with rhythm, heartbreak, and quiet resilience.

Calvin is a character readers will root for flawed, hopeful, and deeply human. As he faces the loss of his girlfriend, his band, and his sense of direction, McDade paints a portrait of creative struggle that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable. The prose sings with emotional truth, the dialogue rings authentic, and the atmosphere immerses you in the sweaty, uncertain world of musicians trying to make something meaningful out of noise and chaos.

King Cal is more than a story about music it’s about purpose, endurance, and finding harmony when your whole world goes off-key. A soulful, beautifully written coming-of-age novel that lingers long after the final page.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

KING CAL is Peter McDade's third novel set in the world of music he knows so well, this time focusing on young aspiring songwriter Calvin. While the structure of the novel is intriguing -- it takes place over the course of a single day, with abundant flashbacks broadening and deepening the story -- it's the characters that make this book special. Anyone who has ever tried to create for a living will instantly relate to Cal's see-sawing drift between confidence and anxiety, determination and self-doubt, and all of the hurdles that appear in his path. The narrative arc McDade constructs is compelling, but what really brings the story home is his affection for these characters. Large or small, every person in KING CAL feels fully-realized, three-dimensional, and thoroughly relatable, none moreso than Cal himself, the story's everyman with a dream.

[Mickey Dubrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a single day, Calvin loses his best friend, his girlfriend, and his band. While working the drive thru window at Burger Buddies (love the name), we get to see Calvin’s thought process as he works on new songs. You don’t have to be a musician to appreciate Calvin’s obsession with creating music. He could have just as easily have been an artist, a writer, or an actor. Artists are compelled to create. The trick is to find a way to make a living at it without losing the thing inside you that made you want to do it in the first place. And like most artists, Calvin is sensitive and introspective. We can’t help but root for him. Structuring the story so that it takes place in a single day works really well and McDade does an incredible job of capturing the way young couples speak and interact. Spend the day with King Cal. You’ll be glad you did.

[Christy Hallberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter McDade’s new novel, 'King Cal', is a compelling exploration of friendship, identity, and the healing power of music. Calvin is a shy young man who dreams of finding success as a songwriter with his bandmate and best friend, Grady. But after an explosive argument with Grady, the band’s future is doubtful, and his relationship with his girlfriend may be dissolving. 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.

[Sharondblk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read Peter McDade's other books and I five starred both of them, so I was not expecting to find this one so annoying. The protagonist is a 21 year old who works at a fast-food place, and we get to learn about his working day, as well as what brought him there. what I found difficult in the second half was that his relationship with Melli seemed very thin, and I didn't care about it either way.
the writing was [pretty repetitious - or I could say that it was built up in layers, like a good song.
After I finished it, I just imagined Calvin still working in fast food in 20 years, so frozen with his own brilliance that no one and nothing is good enough for him. Blurg

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 5. This is a fantastic story that is billed as “Mrs. Dalloway meets High Fidelity.” That is surprisingly accurate. I loved the structure that follows Calvin through a single day, with glimpses of his job at a fast food restaurant, his childhood, his friendships, and his musical aspirations. Solid writing, interesting characters, and a compelling story. There were parts that made me laugh out loud but also lots of thoughtful commentary on creating art and growing up.

Thank you Trouser Pants Books and BookSirens for a free copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Not a musician, but former fast food employee and this was relatable). So many pivotal events in this book that you forget it was only a span of a single day. Cal is our MC and favorite fast food drive thru worker in this coming of age story. In those 24 hours, he lost his gf, best friend, and band. And just like other commenters, I would love to see this on screen.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

[Mim · Rating 4 out of 5]

great fun, I saw in the introduction he compared it to Mrs Dalloway and I thought that was kind of a stretch. but it reminded me of when I lived in Philly in my twenties and went out to see live music every night and hung out with a lot of bands and the music was everything and he captured that feeling very well.

[Sheri Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

What’s not to love? It’s got music, it’s got hot fries at the drive-through; it’s written by an actual professional musician, not to mention burger flipper, and it shows. If you’re like me and want to sink deep into an authentic human experience you can’t find elsewhere, get this book.

[Leslie Jensen-link · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third novel written by Mr. McDade, and in my opinion his best. Looking forward to the fourth!