Riders, she's here! Anne Stuart, diva of divas! Anne has written some of the darkest and most delectable heroes imaginable. ICE STORM, her third "Ice" book, hit the ground running last week. Take the link to Amazon for an excerpt. Hard-edged and mysterious Serafin can take a ride in our back seat anytime. But first, make room for the amazing Anne Stuart....I love music. It’s always been a part of my life – my father was a jazz drummer when he wasn’t trying to be responsible, my bedtime lullaby was “Pennies from Heaven,” and music infuses my every moment.
So of course I need soundtracks. Every book has a different one, and I gotta say iTunes certainly makes life easier. Back in the old days I’d haul out the LPs and tape different cuts onto a cassette tape, play the tape over and over again until it died. (I wish to god I could still find the tape I made for Night of the Phantom – it was a killer). Nowadays I can just make an iTunes playlist to upload to my iPod or play right off my computer while I work.
Just one danger with that. If you’re writing a powerful scene and you’ve got Richard Thompson howling in your ear you can think it’s your words that are causing that emotional effect, not Richard Thompson’s. But in general soundtracks can get you right where you need to go, fast, like one of those magic words when you get hypnotized. Say “lightbulb” and you’ll squawk like a chicken. Listen to Chrissie Hynde and you’ll immediately be inside the head of your angry heroine.
My first contemporary (CHAIN OF LOVE, God help me) was written to Fleetwood Mac, and every time I hear “Say You Love Me” I think of my characters (whose names are long forgotten). NIGHT OF THE PHANTOM had Phantom of the Opera, of course, but also Stevie Nicks singing “Beauty and the Beast” (“where is my beast?”) and some other over-the- top, emotional songs.
I wrote PRINCE OF MAGIC (one of my lost Zebra historicals) to “INTO THE WOODS” (the Sondheim cast album) and the George Winston FOREST cd. LADY FORTUNE, a medieval, to Loreena McKinnett.
number one best soundtrack for writing is Last of the Mohicans, but then, I’m prejudiced. For writing medievals I have the soundtracks for Lion in Winter,The two best sources for soundtracks are new age music and, literally, soundtracks. I listen to a lot of Pacific Moon cds (Samurai, Healing Garden, etc.) plus George Winston, Celtic new age with penny whistles and fiddles. The Robin of Sherwood (Clannad --- sigh), First Knight (yeah, I know it’s ridiculous cheese but I love it) etc.
Sometimes one song can sum up an entire book, give you the key to what’s going on with your characters. Sometimes it’s a certain musician (the aforementioned Richard Thompson, cynic, brilliant guitarist, former member of Fairport Convention almost always does it for me).
And sometimes I just listen to whoosh-whoosh music which either affects my brain waves or, at the very least, provides white noise. (My favorite is Kelly Howell – HIGH FOCUS – I’ve written thousands and thousands of pages very quickly with that in my head). But the best books of all are the ones with the clear soundtracks.ICE STORM was a piece of cake – my heroine was a gypsy flower child in her young womanhood (and the book has parallel stories – when the main
characters first met and when they meet up again). For the past we had Stevie Nicks – the ultimate gypsy child. In the present we had a cross between the Pretenders – Chrissie Hynde full of rage and passion, and Sarah MacLachlan with grief and regret (“Fallen”). For Killian the mercenary we had Warren Zevon – Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, Lawyers Guns and Money, Mutineer, Desperadoes under the Eaves. Plus the scenes with Reno had 
J-rock and Dragon Ash singing “Life Goes On.”Finding a soundtrack for your life can also be handy. As you can probably tell I have a weakness for Celtic influenced music (along with J-rock). The problem with Celtic music is that it can be quite mournful. Many years ago I was dealing with infertility (we eventually adopted two fabulous children) and my doctor was 70 miles. Twice a month I would drive that long distance, listening to Celtic music and sobbing. Finally I decided this was not productive, and sat down a made a happy tape. Starting with the Beach Boys and “Wouldn’t it Be Nice?” and filling it with other songs that made me sing along and smile, and I played it over and over again during those long drives. Occasionally I’d still cry, but mostly I soothed myself with the power of music.
Those of you who are writers – what have you used for soundtracks? And for those of you who don’t write – do you have a song that can immediately put you in a certain mood? (Give me Marvin Gaye singing “Sexual Healing” and my husband is toast).
