When I saw Jo Lambert’s blog posts about five songs which are important to the writer, I was eager to join in as music and writing have always gone hand in hand for me. When I was a teenager writing my first attempts at novels (which I now know were really more like fan fiction since Pacey Witter featured heavily), I always had a favourite CD on in the background. A lot of the time there was more listening than writing going on, but I’m sure I absorbed the experience of learning the lyrics and feeling the emotional pull of the music and it sparked the desire to replicate it in the stories I was trying to write.
Now I’m writing novels as an adult, I love putting together playlists on Spotify. It’s one of the first things I do when I sit down to write. I start with a few songs that I think suit the mood – fun or dark – as it helps me instantly get into the flow at the end of the day, when the kids are finally in bed and I can concentrate. I expand on the lists as my draft progresses and often find some artists in particular have the right voice to suit one of my characters as I get to know them better. The book I’m writing at the moment has a bit of a Sam Smith feel!
I created a public playlist for my debut romantic comedy novel A Mistletoe Miracle http://bit.ly/AMistletoeMiracle
and have put together a huge one for The Devil’s Bride, my historical paranormal romance novel which releases tomorrow! http://bit.ly/TheDevilsBride They’re very different genres so need very different soundtracks to help me get in the right mindset! As soon as I’ve cherry-picked my favourite songs from The Devil’s Bride list, I’ll make it public – but for now, it’s time to choose my five for Jo:
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You by Van Morrison. https://youtu.be/J789GId1kaY
Both my parents are big music lovers and between them we would listen to all kinds of music from David Bowie to Doris Day to Otis Redding. On evenings when my mum would go to the gym and my big sister was at Girl Guides, Dad and I would listen to music together and I loved this song. We’d dance around the living to it and I know that Dad thinks of me too when he hears it. As soon as it came on at my sister’s wedding, we found each other to dance to it again.
You Oughta Know by Alanis Morrisette https://youtu.be/NPcyTyilmYY
I mentioned that I liked to listen to albums in my bedroom as a teenager, didn’t I? Well, Jagged Little Pill was one I would play over and over and over and I could have picked any of the songs from it as important. This one blew my mind the most though. Here was this angsty, vibrant music, with a young woman’s voice telling everyone how angry she was…it was simply perfect for expressing those teenage difficulties – my poor family must’ve wanted to plug their ears to all my screeching but they never said anything and I don’t regret it for a minute!
Free Your Mind by En Vogue https://youtu.be/i7iQbBbMAFE
Another one where the album had so many amazing tracks on it, but I picked this one because it’s such an important message. When my sister got her first car, we would drive to Lakeside and Bluewater shopping centre for lovely girly evenings, buying clothes with the money from our weekend jobs or going to the cinema. And we’d always have a soundtrack to sing along to one the way. This was one of those songs we’d bellow at full volume in the car.
The Climb by Miley Cyrus https://youtu.be/NG2zyeVRcbs
Being a writer can be a hard slog, littered with rejections and self-doubt and it’s helpful to build in some rituals to help you out when you’re feeling low and like giving up. One thing I do is write in a journal about the trials and tribulations – basically I have a good moan for my eyes only – another is to note down positive feedback I might receive in a notebook and read it through when I’ve convinced myself everything I write is awful, and finally I like to listen to this song a few times as it always gives me chills and makes me feel that necessary determination again.
Shut up and Dance by Walk the Moon https://youtu.be/6JCLY0Rlx6Q
When I signed my publishing contract for A Mistletoe Miracle, I had a book party with my two daughters (they’re seven and three). We blew up balloons, baked a chocolate cake, got out lots of books, dressed up and danced to music. My eldest asked for this song and when we put it on, jumping up and down and laughing together it was perfect. Not just because it’s so uplifting, but because it suited my book totally too. It’s on the playlist for it now and I’ll never hear it without think of that wonderful celebratory afternoon when my dream to become a writer had finally come true.
Author Biography
Author of the Best Selling A MISTLETOE MIRACLE, published in 2019 by Orion Dash, Emma has been a devoted bookworm and secret-story-scribbler since she was 6 years old. When she’s not running around after her two daughters and trying to complete her current work-in-progress, Emma loves to read, bake, catch up on binge-watching TV programmes with her partner and plan lots of craft projects that will inevitably end up unfinished. Her next romantic comedy, SUMMER IN THE CITY, is due for release in June 2020.
Emma also writes historical and speculative romantic fiction as Emma S Jackson. THE DEVIL’S BRIDE will be published by DarkStroke on 5th February as an ebook and paperback.
The Devil’s Bride:
No one goes near Edburton Manor – not since the night in 1668, when demons rose from the ground to drag Lord Bookham’s new bride to a fiery death. Or so the locals say.
That’s what makes it the perfect hideout for the gang of highwaymen Jamie Lorde runs with.
Ghost stories have never frightened her. The living are a far more dangerous prospect, particularly to a woman in disguise as a man. A woman who can see spirits in a time when witches are hanged and who is working hard to gain the trust of the most ruthless, vicious man she has ever known because she intends to ruin and kill him.
But when the gang discovers Matthew, Lord Bookham’s illegitimate brother, who has been trapped by a curse at the Manor ever since the doomed wedding, all Jamie’s carefully laid plans are sent spiralling out of control.
You can find out news about Emma via her website http://www.esjackson.co.uk or on:
Twitter @ESJackson1
Facebook @EmmaJacksonAuthor
Instagram @emma_s_jackson
IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO COME ALONG AND CHAT ABOUT MUSIC THAT INSPIRES THEIR WORK, PLEASE MESSAGE ME ON EITHER FACEBOOK OR TWITTER
TWITTER: @jolambertwriter
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JO LAMBERT 