“Hotel California” by Eagles

I was sitting on the computer trying to do my duty as a beta reader to give my opinions and thoughts on the rough draft of your novel. I tried my best to stay objective while reading. I tried to prevent myself from becoming too attached to the characters or too drawn into the story. I wanted my critique to be the best that I could possibly give and I didn’t want any emotional attachment to the story or characters cloud my judgement. But of course, I failed to remain entirely objective because of two main reasons: I have no self control and your story is too intriguing.

The scene that stayed with me the most was when two of your characters slow danced to “Hotel California”. At first I laughed. Can people really slow dance to this song?

I contemplated this as I turned on the song and listened. I tried to picture the scene as much as I could.

I had listened to this song numerous times on drives with my dad. He would play his music and sing to it as he drove. He always took the scenic route and was content in simply cruising. My mind was already decided: this song is meant for driving, not for dancing.

I tried to recall my own experiences with slow dances in order to justify my opinion: that awkward time I grabbed a stranger’s hand and attempted to slow dance at a ball (I failed. None of us knew what we were doing) and that time I stood stiffly as my friend, Nathan, shyly tried to teach me to dance as our friend awkwardly watched us (yeah what a mess).

So, seeing as I wasn’t the slow-dance expert, I asked you outright: “Do you think people can slow dance to this song?”

And you answered: “Yes.”

A while later I picked up Camille at Oakland airport. While driving back I saw in the corner of my eye the California Hotel. I quickly pointed to it and sang, “What a lovely place,” and paused pointing at Camille’s head and continued to sing, “What a lovely face.”

She brushed it off and I laughed. While I continued to drive my thoughts went back to your characters and that slow dance (which I really shouldn’t have been thinking of because I was driving but… I was in traffic, you can’t blame me). Your story flooded my brain along with the other random conversations we had. I was seeing inside jokes, your videos, ideas, etc.

And that’s when I realized that this song has somehow changed within my mind. It was no longer just a song for cruising.

It reminds me of you.