Hi, guys!
So, we all know music is awesome, and lots of writers like to listen to music when they write or edit. It isn’t exactly rare for songs to inspire stories or complete novels.
I’m certainly not an exception to these rules/happenings.
One of my short stories (Vivification, currently on submission for an anthology) was inspired by a song by Phaeleh. The Regonia Chronicles was inspired by a conversation with my husband and the song “Turtle Ship” by Ghasper. “Various Storms and Saints” by Florence and the Machine inspired the rewrite of Salt and Silver (soon to go into another round of edits, then be sent to beta readers).
Not to mention the new story idea I got a couple days ago, thanks to a song called “BFF” by Leah Kate, not that I know when I’ll get to actually write that one. Lol. Too many irons in the fire.
Anyway…
I almost always have music on when I write. Each story gets its own playlist, full of songs handpicked from the 100+ gb of music on my phone. (I’m one of those people that gets every single penny (and then some) of the monthly subscription for Google play music. Lol.)
I hop genres often, typically just putting stuff on shuffle, and seeing what comes up. There’s just too much music out there to limit yourself to one or two genres.
Plus, you never know what genre will resonate with a character or a scene. Some of my characters like blues metal, and others prefer electronic. Some like classical, others like grungy folk.
And sometimes you stumble across a song that just fits a certain ambiance. I have a playlist on my phone comprised of songs that are perfect for a 90’s vampire nightclub. The beats are slower than your average club song, more trance-inducing and sensual than beat-your-brains-out-with-your-eardrums. The vocals are almost…bored. Like, if the singer could be somewhere else, they would be. But they have to be there, so they may as well do the song. And there’s just enough of an industrial feel to make it seem a little dangerous, because, lets face it, vampires were more dangerous back then. Lol.
(I have a scene in my head for that playlist, and eventually I’ll write it, but that’s a journey for another day.)
Sometimes, thanks to my OCD and the luck of finding the perfect song, I put a single song on repeat for the duration of a scene. Whether it takes me thirty minutes to write it or an hour and a half, it doesn’t matter. Then, every time I hear the song, I’m taken right back to that book, that scene.
And I love that.
So, today, I thought I’d share my playlist for Soul Bearer with you all. Not all of them seem fitting for a fantasy romance, but each one fits a character or a scene.
And each song comes with my wholehearted recommendation that you listen to it, because, well, they’re all awesome. Lol.
First and foremost, my MCs’ songs:
Aurisye’s theme song, of sorts, is “Gold” by SHELLS. She’s always felt kind of…out of place. Showing her true colors has never really worked out for her, and she wants to just be seen as normal. More than that, she wants to be loved.
Rafnor’s theme is “Simple” by The Moth and The Flame. Rafnor wants a simple life. He wants a wife who loves him and a huge family. But, getting a simple life is difficult with the return of…dun dun dun…dragons. Lmao.
The rest of these are in the order that I found them, and thought, “This would be perfect for Soul Bearer!”
“Say it” by Blue October
“Tell me lies” by Deorro (feat. Lesley Roy)…Btw, her voice sounds like the vocal equivalent of a pan flute. Just saying.
“100 years” by Serj Tankian (feat. a lot of people with really long names, and lets be honest here, its 2:00am and I’m tired. Lol. By the way, this one is perfect for scenes showcasing utter devastation.)
“Lover, Please Stay” (Live) by Nothing But Thieves
“Outside” (Explicit) by The Weeknd (I told you not all of them seemed appropriate for the genre. Lol. But it fit a scene, very well.)
“Fingertips” by OneRepublic
“Hear Me” by Kelly Clarkson
“Should be Higher” by Depeche Mode
“Shiva” (Live at La Finca Venado Volando) by The Human Experience
“Another Word for Beautiful” by Sundara Karma
“Cherry” by Lana Del Rey
“Notions” by Lovedrug
“Light” by Sleeping At Last
“Kettering” by The Antlers (This one is good for romance scenes, and leads very well into the next one…)
“Wolf Like Howls from the Bathhouse” by Sonny Smith (Excellent for scenes of sexual tension.)
“Nothing” by Vessbroz (feat. Kyle Davis)
“Can You Hold Me” by NF (feat. Britt Nicole) (The scene this one is associated with…Oh my god…I cried when I wrote it, and every time I edited it. Lol. Good luck, guys.)
“Clouds” by BØRNS
“You’re Special” by NF
“Do You Feel It?” by Chaos Chaos
“Round” by The Moth and The Flame
“The Flood” by Cyrus Reynolds and Gregg Lehrman (There’s a drop in this one that is amazing.)
“Synthetic Love” by Sarah Jaffe (This one is also in my Regonia playlist, and is very strongly associated with a scene in the first book.)
“Lux” by Cyrus Reynolds and Gregg Lehrman
“Can You Feel My Heart” by Bring Me The Horizon
“My Neighborhood” by Lovedrug
“You’ll Be Fine” by Alex Clare
“Angel” by Tokio Meyers (Breathtaking song.)
“The Warden” by Chelsea Wolfe (Perfect for magic/casting scenes)
“Running For Your Life” by UNSECRET
“Nobody Else Will Be There” by The National (Another good one for romantic tension.)
“Sour Breath” by The Devil Wears Prada
“Riverside” by Agnes Obel
“Archibald MacDonald of Keppoch” by Alasdair Fraser
(This one…oh my god…the scene it goes with…it hurts.)
“Healing” (Original mix) by Phaeleh
“Burn the Witch” by Shawn James
“A Different Time” by Phaeleh
“Víðbláinn” by Peter Gundry
“Can’t Help Falling in Love” (DARK) By Tommee Proffitt (feat. brooke) (Super intense build up, good for gathering courage and slaying dragons…)
“Onward and Upward” by Tommee Proffitt (feat. Fleurie) (Another excellent build up song. Think fire and smoke everywhere, with the roars of a massive beast vibrating your chest as you run, sword aloft, into battle…)
“Finale” by Michael Abels
Whether you’re excited for Soul Bearer (which I hope you are) or whether you just want music recommendations, this is a pretty good list, in my opinion.
Update time! I got all my formatting done this week! It was a mind-numbing, infuriating, blur of tedium, and I’m not quite looking forward to doing that again. Lol.
Now, I’m on to copyright stuff and ISBNs and uploading and swag and proof copies and ARC readers. But first, I’m beta reading a friend’s novel.
For the time being, though, I think I’m going to sign off.
Keep reading. Keep writing.
Happy listening.
Later.
Note…I don’t have rights to these songs, and I’m not being paid by them or Google play (though wouldn’t that be nice?) to promote them. I just really like music. Lol.