The exotic dancers and employees of the Queen of Clubs walk a fine line, with only wits, beauty, and market savvy to keep them from toppling into the shark pit. Ride shotgun through lapdances, romance, and sexual awakenings. Don't worry, these girls won't ask what your hands are doing under the tip rail. Cora, an adventurous student, finds herself auditioning for a stripping gig...and it comes with more than the asking price, including a very attractive DJ. Queen of Clubs contains adult content, and is intended for mature readers. Each Queen of Clubs title is a standalone novella length work.
Fun Fact: Queen of Clubs is tied around a different person or couple each story, but they weave in and out of each other's stories. Cora and Kirk appear in multiple other stories before their continuation in Season 2. Season 2 will see them exploring how their connection has matured with age, and changed with outside pressures.
Another fun fact: Good strip club DJ's (Or dancers who pick their own music) will vary the songs in a set to produce a certain feel and provide somewhat of a narrative to the performance. Cora's two-song set is Goapele Play followed by Janelle Monae's Downtime, for a very slow and steamy set largely focused around sexy baselines. No wonder Kirk can't keep his eyes off her. But if it was at a club where three song sets are common, those two would be preceded by a faster song, such as Tinashe's 2 On. If it was at a club where four song sets were common- which is less common nowadays, since no dancer wants to waste a full 15-20 minutes onstage when she could be hustling, and most clubs don't want them away from selling more expensive dances that long- the first two songs would be faster. Maybe add Melanie Fiona's Give It To Me Right (Or Don't Give It To Me At All) to that setlist.
To make the pacing smooth, feature performers with longer stage sets or performers at clubs with long stage sets wear costumes with drastically more pieces, to give them more dramatic build to the act of taking them off. We're not talking burlesque gloves or fur coats here, but multiple cuts of underwear or bikini bottoms, a bikini bottom and a skirt, a shirt and a bra, those kinds of layering. Like the world's most exhibitionistic dressing room shoplifter. Because no one likes drunk patrons screaming “Take it off already” for $1 per song, the average required/encouraged/common law rule tipping amount. And if you only have a top and bottom, you'll be hearing that out-of-tune refrain all night. You lucky performer, you. Private party dancers do similar, to keep the audience engaged for much longer periods than a 6-10 minute 2-3 song set.
For extremely long sets, like a feature dancer might have in some parts of the US or Canada, they might kill time with games like having customers toss change into jars between their legs, or with props and exaggerated themes. Most unique set I ever saw was at Dante's Sinferno in Portland, a cabaret/burlesque/variety show featuring strippers and other performers. Had a dancer come onstage in a headwrap (if I recall), sit down with a bag of McDonalds, seductively eat it to David Bowie's I'm Afraid Of Americans, and then strip out of her coverings to reveal American flag patterned bikini, while doing difficult poledancing tricks. Think that same dancer also stripped out of a bloody clown costume to Insane Clown Posse's Boogie Woogie Woo. I tip my hat to you, Satori. Those two performances left an indelible impression on me. And also a fear of clowns and McDonalds. Though that last one probably has more to be with me being an avowed vegetarian.
Another fun fact: Good strip club DJ's (Or dancers who pick their own music) will vary the songs in a set to produce a certain feel and provide somewhat of a narrative to the performance. Cora's two-song set is Goapele Play followed by Janelle Monae's Downtime, for a very slow and steamy set largely focused around sexy baselines. No wonder Kirk can't keep his eyes off her. But if it was at a club where three song sets are common, those two would be preceded by a faster song, such as Tinashe's 2 On. If it was at a club where four song sets were common- which is less common nowadays, since no dancer wants to waste a full 15-20 minutes onstage when she could be hustling, and most clubs don't want them away from selling more expensive dances that long- the first two songs would be faster. Maybe add Melanie Fiona's Give It To Me Right (Or Don't Give It To Me At All) to that setlist.
To make the pacing smooth, feature performers with longer stage sets or performers at clubs with long stage sets wear costumes with drastically more pieces, to give them more dramatic build to the act of taking them off. We're not talking burlesque gloves or fur coats here, but multiple cuts of underwear or bikini bottoms, a bikini bottom and a skirt, a shirt and a bra, those kinds of layering. Like the world's most exhibitionistic dressing room shoplifter. Because no one likes drunk patrons screaming “Take it off already” for $1 per song, the average required/encouraged/common law rule tipping amount. And if you only have a top and bottom, you'll be hearing that out-of-tune refrain all night. You lucky performer, you. Private party dancers do similar, to keep the audience engaged for much longer periods than a 6-10 minute 2-3 song set.
For extremely long sets, like a feature dancer might have in some parts of the US or Canada, they might kill time with games like having customers toss change into jars between their legs, or with props and exaggerated themes. Most unique set I ever saw was at Dante's Sinferno in Portland, a cabaret/burlesque/variety show featuring strippers and other performers. Had a dancer come onstage in a headwrap (if I recall), sit down with a bag of McDonalds, seductively eat it to David Bowie's I'm Afraid Of Americans, and then strip out of her coverings to reveal American flag patterned bikini, while doing difficult poledancing tricks. Think that same dancer also stripped out of a bloody clown costume to Insane Clown Posse's Boogie Woogie Woo. I tip my hat to you, Satori. Those two performances left an indelible impression on me. And also a fear of clowns and McDonalds. Though that last one probably has more to be with me being an avowed vegetarian.
I steeled myself, and tapped his shoulder. He jumped, his elbow knocking me back against the wall as he tumbled off the stool into me. In my platforms, I barely kept my footing. I had practiced walking in them for two hours after I bought them, and I had to guess that practice was the only reason I was still on my feet.
“Shit, shit, sorry. Are you okay?” He looked up at me as he got his feet back under him, and prepared to stand. His head was entirely too close to my hips in the tiny space, and I chuckled, imagining him as a giant spider preparing to tie me up. I loved awkward guys. Guys with rough edges, who were interesting to look at not because they were beautiful, but because they were unique. Under other circumstances, Kirk would have been right up my alley. Maybe literally in an alley.
“Shit, shit, sorry. Are you okay?” He looked up at me as he got his feet back under him, and prepared to stand. His head was entirely too close to my hips in the tiny space, and I chuckled, imagining him as a giant spider preparing to tie me up. I loved awkward guys. Guys with rough edges, who were interesting to look at not because they were beautiful, but because they were unique. Under other circumstances, Kirk would have been right up my alley. Maybe literally in an alley.
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting me! I'll be hanging out throughout the day.
ReplyDeleteLove and lapdances
-Katie
interesting covers
ReplyDeleteThanks, BN!
DeleteI love the blurb. Sounds like a great book
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