Funny story. Or at least “mildly amusing.” My dad read The Chronicles of Narnia to me when I was a child, so for Christmas, he bought me the complete set to read to my daughter now that she’s 7. Except, as I understand it, there’s some debate as to which order these books should be read in—the order they were published, or the order the story happens chronologically. My dad took the liberty of rearranging the books in the box set so that I could read them in the “correct” order.
Cut to three months later, I had a few of my writer friends over, and I told them about this. They demanded (not really, but they were pretty worked up, haha) to see what my dad had done and immediately put things back the way the publisher had intended. So which way is “right”? Because I still don’t know…
As for the Fandom Collection, I didn’t set out originally to write a series, which was likely to my detriment, but it is what it is. Front Row was supposed to be a one-and-done, but then I realized I had more, unrelated fan stories I wanted to tell. Thus came three standalone stories, which you could read in any order. One character does appear in all three books, but that’s an Easter egg I’ll leave up to you to find.
Here are a couple logical options:
Chronologically by story
- Track Two on Repeat
- Front Row
- Lyfers
In this scenario, start with Track Two on Repeat, in which the characters are in high school in 2001 at the height of boy bands and the birth of emo. Then, move onto Front Row, where college kids discover a love for smaller, more accessible bands. Finish with Lyfers, set closer to present time, with adults treating themselves to a boy band reunion cruise.
Chronologically by publication
- Front Row
- Lyfers
- Track Two on Repeat
Front Row was my first book baby, and maybe you could argue that it shows. But I love it, warts and all. From there, I took on the daunting task of multiple POVs in Lyfers without letting up on the fandom hysteria in my characters. Finally, I pumped the brakes and went back to my music-loving roots with Track Two on Repeat, to show how a music fanatic is born.
You could also start with Lyfers! Why not? That’s what some of my coworkers did when I all but declared it as mandatory reading to be on a team with me. (I kid, of course.)
There are three weeks to go until I randomly choose a winner for the autographed paperbacks of all three books! You can still share on Twitter or comment on Facebook for extra entries.