Welcome Wednesdays – The Sound of Music (part 2)

Welcome Wednesdays – The Sound of Music (part 2)

Welcome to this week’s edition of Welcome Wednesdays!  I hope y’all are finding new authors to read, and new readers for your books with these weekly questions.

We’re talking about music again today, but this time in the context of a specific book.  Tell us how music is a part of your book.  Whether it’s referencing artists and songs to evoke a particular mood, place or time period; choosing the music a character listens to to help define them; or however else you use music within a book, let us know all about it!  And be sure to leave a link and dexcription for the book you’re talking about!

I’ll begin!  My first book, Dream Student, takes place in 1989-90, and in the first draft of the book, I used song lyrics from (mostly) 80’s songs for my chapter titles (until I was warned by a good friend that doing so might get me sued!).  Here are the original chapter titles:

Chapter 1 – “My mind’s in knots, my stomach reels” (“Rhyme & Reason”, Dave Matthews Band)

In the book, this chapter became “Trading Places” (because Sara and Beth switch roles, when Sara freaks out thanks to the nightmares and Beth has to take care of her for a change)

Chapter 2 – “She could dance all night, shake the paint off the walls.” (“And We Danced”, The Hooters)

In the book, this became “Footloose”.  It gets the same point across.

Chapter 3 – “Well, I’ve seen sex and I think it’s OK” (“Creatures of Love”, Talking Heads)

In the book, this ended up being “Casual Sex?” which, again, makes the same point.

Chapter 4 – “I read the news today, oh boy.” (“Sunday Papers”, Joe Jackson)

In the book, this chapter is titled “Running Scared”, reflecting Sara’s horror when she picks up the newspaper and sees the girl from her nightmares on the front page as a murder victim.

Chapter 5 – “I try to make some sense of it all, but I can see it makes no sense at all.” (“Stuck in the Middle With You”, Stealer’s Wheel)

In the book, this chapter became “Scanners” – referencing the sleep study Sara undergoes to try and figure out what’s going on with her dreams.

Chapter 6 – “Tell me all your secrets, and I’ll tell you most of mine.” (“The Final Frontier”, Don Was – theme song for the TV series “Mad About You”)

In the book, this chapter is “Innerspace”, because Sara delves more deeply into her – and other people’s dreams, learning secrets she doesn’t want to know.

Chapter 9 – “Our house, in the middle of our street” (“Our House”, Madness)

In the draft, this was chapter 7.  But I added two chapters of new material in the re-writing, so it ended up being chapter 9 in the final version.  And it’s called “Family Ties” – Sara’s homecoming during Christmas vacation.

Chapter 10 – “All I want for Christmas is you” (“All I Want for Christmas is You”, Mariah Carey)

As above, this was chapter 8 in the earlier draft before more material was added.  In the final book, titled “A Christmas Story” – saying much the same thing.

EbookDreamStudent

And now it’s your turn!

(when you’re done here, please stop by Exquisite Quills, where there are daily memes just like this one and plenty of fantastic authors you can discover!)

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7 Replies to “Welcome Wednesdays – The Sound of Music (part 2)”

  1. Music is a big part of my emotional life. When I’m writing it’s no different. I have started creating soundtracks to my books. Whenever I hear songs that relate to one of my characters or the theme of my story, it gets Pinned. In my second book, BEONGING, my MC, Shelly, also listens to music as an outlet of her feelings. Here is one scene:

    “Before she got busy with the paint, Shelly put in a CD and turned the volume up loud. Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 came blaring out of the speakers. Tchaikovsky was one of her favorite composers. Shelly had always loved how one piece of classical music could hold a whole range of emotions. That’s how Shelly felt at this moment. Several different emotions all vied for her attention. There was sadness, anger, depression, and she was still in unbelief that she would never again talk to her dad. The physical act of painting would help her release some of those emotions and bring them under control, at least a little.
    All of a sudden she was overcome with emotion. Anger over took her and tears streamed down her cheeks. She threw the only thing she had in her hand to throw; the paint roller. It left a large splotch on the wall. Releasing that anger felt good. She then picked up a paint brush, sloppily dunked it in the paint can and flung paint across the walls. Paint dripped all over the floors, but she didn’t care. She needed an outlet.”

    Want to read more? You can download a copy here -http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LA8KK9M

  2. Hong Kong Treasure: an international romance with mystery & intrigue

    Deshi Han, a martial arts actor and director, thinks a serious relationship would hamper his career. On a charity trip to the Philippines he agrees to take a young American woman back to Hong Kong to rest and regain her memory.
    Once back in Hong Kong, Deshi reluctantly allows the young woman, whom he names Annie, to accompany him on the movie sets and on his trips across China. Despite his attempts to remain aloof with Annie, a romance develops between them.
    Meanwhile, Annie is troubled by nightmares which allude to a danger lurking from her past and someone on Deshi’s crew is trying to sabotage their budding romance. As Deshi is forced repeatedly to disrupt his work schedule to protect Annie, it serves to confirm his belief that careers and relationships don’t mix.
    But when it looks like Deshi will lose Annie, and he risks everything to save her, will it be too late?

    Read an excerpt at http://romancebyddominikwickles.wordpress.com

  3. I love putting together playlists for my books! They’re usually a combination of songs I listen to while I write and songs that fit the characters, setting, or events of the novels.

    I think some of the most entertaining playlists I’ve put together have been for my vampire novels–a combination of obvious songs (“Moon Over Bourbon Street” by Sting) and less obvious ones (“King of Brooklyn” by Devil Doll). These are two playlists for Legally Undead:

    https://open.spotify.com/user/12121922418/playlist/1z5nGt7lw5mgU7Wy55W08i

    https://open.spotify.com/user/12121922418/playlist/3GFuijX4CyPbRaHKhHdSM0

    Legally Undead:

    A reluctant vampire hunter, stalking New York City as only a scorned bride can.

    Elle Dupree has her life all figured out: first a wedding, then her Ph.D., then swank faculty parties where she’ll serve wine and cheese and introduce people to her husband the lawyer.

    But those plans disintegrate when she walks in on a vampire draining the blood from her fiancé Greg. Horrified, she screams and runs–not away from the vampire, but toward it, brandishing a wooden letter opener.

    As she slams the improvised stake into the vampire’s heart, a team of black-clad men bursts into the apartment. Turning around to face them, Elle discovers that Greg’s body is gone—and her perfect life falls apart.

    Buy Links:

    World Weaver Press: http://www.worldweaverpress.com/store/p19/Legally_Undead_%28Vampirarchy%2C_1%29.html

    Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Legally-Undead-Vampirarchy-Margo-Collins-ebook/dp/B00KKV44BK/

  4. Your friends and mine are both wary of this, James! I try to avoid it now all I can. Not so easy sometimes, but it was easy with my newest book, DRUID WARRIOR’S HEART, since it was set in a kind of 16th century setting. Any music my hero.heroine hears is usually live and more on the order of Gaelic harp music, or songs like Carolan’s Dream or She moved through the Fair. If I can fudge up the timeline (which is the greatest thing about fantasy, isn’t it? ;)) I’d envision my heroine knowing Wayfaring Stranger.

    Want to check Druid Warrior’s Heart out? it’s available worldwide Amazon: http://hyperurl.co/0a7q1b

  5. Music is a huge part of my life. It moves me more than anything else. When I’m in church, it’s the worship that I long to be a part of. The sermons are great, but, again, it’s all about the music for me.

    Now when I’m writing I need to have it quiet, but song lyrics and the beats/rhythms of various music inspire me in what I do end up writing.

    In my debut novel, Growing Up Neighbors, references to the music the main characters like are made, as well as musical instruments are played. In this book you will embark on a journey with two young neighbors coming of age and trying to find love. Growing Up Neighbors is available here: http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Up-Neighbors-Frances-Hoelsema-ebook/dp/B00PJGYW40/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1447285996&sr=8-1

  6. Writing fantasy makes this question interesting! As a writer, I mostly listen to fantasy themed soundtracks while I’m working. My favorite is the World of Warcraft soundtrack. It’s instrumental with an otherworldly sound that makes it easy for me to dream up new scenes and settings. I used it a lot in my Light Series and also in the Wanderer Series.

    In To Light the Path, my favorite character, Aiden, starts singing a ridiculous song when he’s bored in the middle of a long journey. I wrote the lyrics and they still make me giggle. You can find his story here: http://www.amazon.com/To-Light-Path-The-Book-ebook/dp/B00K9YMOVA/

    In the Wanderer Series, music is an important part of the story. One of the main characters, Jaron, can hear and reply to the song of the star stones. His special talent is only discovered in the midst of his dangerous quest through a portal into another world. There is an original song in that book as well. I chose Carin Gilfry, international opera actress, to record the audio version of that book and she composed original music to accompany the book. You can find that series on Audible through Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Seen-Wanderer-Book-Heather-Sutherlin-ebook/dp/B00K5B6D82/

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