I received this email while I was in the middle of typing my last blog post. I thought I'd go ahead and answer it as it's pretty straight forward and thought it might be good to throw a little fan service out there into the universe.
Hi, I have been reading your blog for a while now and wanted to ask a question. You have said that you use music to inspire your characters and stories. Can you give me some examples? Just finished your book btw. Liked it, hated Mack but I think everyone does. What in the world were you listening to when he popped up? - S. (withheld by request)
Good questions S. To answer, I'll give you some examples from each book, both current and upcoming.
Bounce::
Mack believe it or not actually wasn't inspired by any particular music other than "You Get What You Need" by the Rolling Stones and that was more of a rip on the original character model. A lot of the other characters were, however.
Examples:
The Unnamed Girl at the Halloween Party: "Bad Medicine" by Bon Jovi
Zombie Girl: "Talk Dirty To Me" remake by Children of Bodom
Samantha: "You Shook Me All Night Long" ACDC
Martin: "Tube of Wonderful" by Dave Pirner
Willetts: "Jungle Love" by Morris Day and the Time (yes there's a story there)
Cassandra: "Any Way You Want It" by Journey
Scene with Mack's sister Lina: "Here's to Us" by Halestorm
By Design
So we don't spoil anything prematurely, here's a list of a few songs that helped with this story.
"Full of Grace" by Sarah McLachlan
"Since You've Been Gone" by Theory of a Deadman
"I'll Be" by Edwin McCain
"Learn to Fly" by Foo Fighters
"Dare You To Move" by Switchfoot
"I Can't Go There" by Kenny Chesney
"Whiskey Girl" by Toby Keith
"Ignition Remix" by R.Kelly
"Broken" by Seether ft. Amy Lee
Hurricane Carolina
Since I'm still in the process of writing this one, here's a selection from my playlist.
"Hurricane" by Theory of a Deadman
"Innocence" by Halestorm (inspired initial short story)
"All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" remake by Halestorm
"Bet You Wish You Had Me Back" by Halestorm
"Private Parts" by Halestorm
"Bound to Violence" by Hatebreed
"Take it Off" by The Donnas
"Paradise City" by Guns N Roses
"Bad Company" remake by Five Finger Death Punch
""Toes" by Zac Brown Band
"That How They Do It In Dixie" by Gretchen Wilson, Big N Rich, Hank Jr., etc.
"Stricken" by Disturbed
"Possession" by Sarah McLachlan
"A Cross and a Girl Named Blessed" by Evans Blue
"Better Sorry Than Safe" by Halestorm
"Kiss My Country Ass" by Rhett Atkins
"Angel Eyes" by Jeff Healey Band
One thing you have to remember when you use music for inspiration is that you're using it to trigger a memory or an emotion. For example, "Full of Grace" is associated with the end (at that time) of a powerful relationship in my life. That feeling of loss and regret was very real and palpable, so playing that song over and over while writing the scene I used it for in By Design kept me in touch with what my characters should be feeling and it became one of the most gut wrenching scenes I've ever written. (On a side note, I found out about a year after I'd written it that Joss Whedon had used it to score a brutally tough scene in a Buffy episode to, in my opinion, similar effect.) Another example is Disturbed's "Stricken." That song was literally part of the soundtrack to one of the wilder nights of my life. It fit perfectly in Hurricane Carolina.
Hope that answers your question. Thanks for writing in!
No comments:
Post a Comment