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Sarah's Bookshelves Live

Ep. 139: Brendan Slocumb (Author of Symphony of Secrets) + Book Recommendations

Sarah's Bookshelves Live

Sarah Dickinson

Bookrecommendations, Bookpodcasts, Sarahsbookshelvespodcast, Sarahsbookshelveslivepodcast, Sarahsbookshelveslive, Bookpodcast, Literarypodcast, Whatshouldiread, Arts, Bookreviewpodcast, Reading, Readingpodcast, Books, Sarahsbookshelves

4.9732 Ratings

🗓️ 3 May 2023

⏱️ 36 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In Episode 139, Brendan Slocumb talks about his sophomore novel, Symphony of Secrets, and the inspiration behind it. He shares a fascinating look into musical history of the 1920’s, his unique approach to writing musical thrillers, and how he balances musical detail with readability. He also delves into the exploitation of musicians in the industry and how many are simply lost to history. Plus, stick around to hear Brendan’s book recommendations.

This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

Highlights

  • The story behind Symphony of Secrets and the composer who partially inspired it.
  • Brendan’s unique approach to writing and his goal to become the “Stephen King of musical thrillers.”
  • The pressure of writing a second book so soon after such a successful debut (The Violin Conspiracy).
  • How Brendan blends musical analysis and character development without overwhelming the reader while staying true to the story.
  • The exploitation and appropriation of musicians and their work in the music industry.
  • Why he chose to make a main character neurodivergent and his experience with teaching neurodivergent music students.
  • His inspiration for the badass character Eboni.
  • The title changes for both of his books, including the original title for Symphony of Secrets.
  • A bit about his upcoming third book and a potential fourth book in the future.

Brendan’s Book Recommendations [28:38]

Two OLD Books He Loves

Two NEW Books He Loves

One NEW RELEASE He’s Excited About

Last 5-Star Book Brendan Read

Other Books Mentioned

Other Links

About Brendan Slocumb

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok

Brendan Slocumb was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and holds a degree in music education (with concentrations in violin and viola) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. For more than twenty years he has been a public and private school music educator and has performed with orchestras throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. 

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live. I'm Sarah of Sarah's Bookshelves. Each week, I talk with a bookish

0:15.6

guest about two old books they love, two new books they love, one book they do not love,

0:21.9

and one new release they're excited about.

0:23.6

We're going to get real and sometimes a bit snarky about all things books.

0:27.7

If you like the show, I'd love it if you follow the show in your podcast player, spread

0:32.2

the word to your reader friends, post about it on your social media, or support the show on Patreon at patreon.com slash Sarah's

0:42.0

bookshelves. Supporting the show on Patreon gets you access to bonus podcast episodes and lots of other

0:47.6

goodies. There's also a link in the show notes and in my Instagram bio. Let's get rolling.

0:53.5

I shared my full thoughts about Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocum on the spring preview

0:58.2

that aired a couple weeks ago.

1:00.0

Just one year after his super successful debut novel, The Violin Conspiracy, he's back with

1:05.3

another winner.

1:06.3

Symphony of Secrets features two extremely memorable female characters and addresses a

1:10.7

disappointing pattern in the

1:11.9

music world back in the 1920s. So I am thrilled to have Brendan with me today. He was raised in

1:18.1

Fayetteville, North Carolina, and holds a degree in music education with concentrations in violin and viola from

1:24.1

UNC Greensboro. And for more than 20 years, he has been a public and private school

1:29.1

music educator and has performed with orchestras throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland, and

1:34.0

Washington, D.C. Welcome, Brendan. Thank you so much. I'm happy to be here. I'm thrilled to have you,

1:39.6

and I have to admit that I would have loved to have you on last year for the violin conspiracy,

1:46.4

but my dear friends over at the Currently Reading podcast got to you first.

1:53.4

And Katie over there did a fantastic interview with Brendan, y'all.

...

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