Music as Inspiration and Life

 Music is so incredibly important to me. I know, I know, most people would say, "Of course, I enjoy music. I'm not a heartless robot." And while I agree, most people do love music and find it important in life, I'm not being hyperbolic when I say it is like breathing for me. Singing, dancing, just listening to music can awaken my soul in a way nothing else can, the exception being the sound of my children's laughter. But even their laughter has a musical lilt to it, a rhythm that dives right into my heart, exuding warmth through my entire body. 

I sing all the time. And I mean All. The. Time. Yesterday, I even walked in on my husband and son having a conversation in which they were discussing how much I sing in the house. (I guess I was singing in the shower upstairs and it carried through to the kitchen). But I'm not going to apologize. Because singing makes me happy, and I think my singing can make others happy, too. Not too brag, (okay, maybe a little), but I am vocally trained and I've been singing in front of audiences since I was five, have won multiple talent awards, and have sang everything from country to classical to musical theatre to opera. Okay, enough about me (Just kidding. This blog is about me, so I'll just keep going.) Why do I love singing, dancing, and all things music? The emotion, of course. The ability for a chord, a note, a lyric to direct you to an emotional response, send you into a vivid memory, or ignite the fires of your creative brain. 

When I am writing, I like to drown myself in the music that matches the tone, the time, and the situations of my story. And because I see my novels as movies in my head when I am writing, it only makes sense that I have a movie soundtrack in mind, as well. 

For Another Dance, I curated a Spotify playlist to capture the songs that are mentioned in the story, as well as the ones that inspired my writing and match the piece tonally. Feel free to listen to the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6TE0xzcZjloeObXbKzEI89?si=Qm5c17f8SOai9LxpVE0vFQ&pt=bfdce24aeccdf9c798331d326fe7441c&pi=22gI3_MUT5CSx

While I could talk about music ad nauseam, I will try to keep this brief, but I did want to touch upon some of the songs and their importance to me and my novel. 

OneRepublic is largely featured in the novel because I absolutely adore their music, but also because of my husband's and my shared experience with them. We were huge fans of Songland, the song writing reality show that featured Ryan Tedder as one of the regular producers. (I'm still salty about only getting two seasons). Seeing how talented Tedder is as a producer, writer, and musician as well as seeing how kind and collaborative he is made both of us fall in love with him. We were probably passive fans of OneRepublic before, but graduated to avid fans who sought out Ryan Tedder's projects. That's the main reason I named them as Annie and Jason's favorite musical group. That, and how well the music matched the scenes.  Especially the one scene. (If you know, you know). 

Some songs are included because they are great ballroom dance tracks or because of my own affinity for them: 

• Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" makes me smile because of its message as well as my memory of an eighth grade student doing a lip sync in drama class while directing the lyrics at a large bear 
• "Por Una Cabeza" IS the classic tango song, and I can't help but think about Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger dancing to it in the movie True Lies (which I probably watched while I was way too young)
• Music from Fantasia because some of those scenes are burned into my memory (ballerina hippos and a giant Satan are just a couple of the images I still see when I close my eyes)
• Music from Disney's Zombies because my children and I both love the series, the music is downright catchy, and I developed a totally-appropriate-not-weird-at-all crush on the lead actor which ultimately inspired the character and name for Milo Warner (Don't. Judge. Me). 
• Music from Rent as Milo stars in a production during his and Annie's courtship (And I love Rent and wish I was still young enough to audition and actually have a chance of being cast. Seriously, I would take any of the female characters, but preferably Mimi or Maureen). 

Finally, there are songs that just match the mood of the story, while capturing the same feelings that Annie goes through in the book:

• Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved" depicts the plight of a woman who can't always see through the dark times, or see what is right in front of her
  
• Coldplay's melancholy and haunting tones have definitely been the soundtrack to some of my more somber times in life. (My husband doesn't understand my obsession with sad music...or sad movies...or sad books. Maybe there's a deeper issue there...)
• "Chasing Cars" is a love song that can barely continue the joy we feel when at the stage of relationships where we can make any promise and think we can keep it
• "Dancing With Your Shadows," a song Phillip Phillips wrote for his wife when she suffered from postpartum depression, matches Annie's struggle as she tries to shake free of grief and just needs someone to meet her in the shadows in order to bring her to the light
• Up completely destroys me and every other viewer in the first musical montage, so why not include the theme that perfectly describes the highs and lows of a relationship ending in a partner's death. (It's not a spoiler that Jason is deceased, but the fact that I make readers get to know and love him in flashbacks is just a diabolical twist of the knife)

I could go on and on about my song choices (I told you, I. LOVE. MUSIC.) but I have to go and try to put my kids to bed, even though it's Daylight Savings and they're never going to go to sleep at their regular time. And ironically, they are listening to music on our Alexa and Benson Boone's "Beautiful Things" is on, which I think is a great sign. Music is one of the many beautiful things in life, and I've thoroughly enjoyed this dissection of my playlist pickings. If you've made it this far, I hope this has given you a glimpse into my process when trying to transfer my daydreaming thoughts into a full-length novel, and, if...no, no...when Another Dance gets made into a movie, there's already a start on the soundtrack. (And maybe they'll let me sneak in as a background actor. I'd even take a singing role in Milo's Rent cast...or if the public really wants it, I guess I'd take the lead...)

To me, music is life, and if you read Another Dance, I hope you also take the time to dive into the playlist and let the book come to life for you.