Making Soundtracks for Your Books Is Fun

So, I’m currently between books. What this means is that I am in the small lull between finishing typing the first draft of WIP #5, and actually printing it out to read it, but I am also waiting for the paperback release (April 3rd) of The Summer of Firsts and Lasts AND the release (May 1st, people) of my newest book, Being Friends with Boys.

Which means, I miss my projects. Sure, it’s great to have a little time now to do things like, oh, I don’t know, have lunch with a friend, or read a few books, or experiment with new recipes, but after a few days of not being in the world of one or another of my characters, I start to miss them.

So it’s awesome that I made soundtracks for each of my books when they got released.

Now, whenever I miss the mood of, say, Camille in After the Kiss, or Brynn in The Summer of Firsts and Lasts, all I have to do is go to my iTunes, pull up whichever playlist I’m into, and can bop (or drift, as the case may be) to the appropriate tunes.

Here’s what the soundtrack for The Summer of Firsts and Lasts looks like:

INTRO:  Voicedude’s Summertime Suite
CALLA AND VIOLET SEE DUNCAN AND JAMES ON ARRIVAL: I Think I’m In Love With You, Jessica Simpson
WHAT VIOLET DOESN’T WANT TO ADMIT: Teenage Dream, Katy Perry
STATING THE OBVIOUS: My Sister, Juliana Hatfield Three
“GOT TO BE SOMEONE WE CAN TRUST OUT HERE AMONG US”: Three Marlenas, The Wallflowers
DAISY’S PEACE: Running To Stand Still, U2
VIOLET & CALLA AT THE LAKESIDE: You and Me of the 10,000 Wars, Indigo Girls
ODE TO BRYNN, IN TRUTH: Nightswimming, R.E.M.
ODE TO BRYNN IN TRUTH, AND IN ACTING COOL: Me and Bobby McGee,  Janis Joplin
DAISY LEARNS SOMETHING IMPORTANT: You Never Can Tell,  Chuck Berry
WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH VIOLET’S HEAD THAT NIGHT: All the Way, Ladytron
THE SONG DUNCAN WILL FEEL TOO MUCH TO, YEARS LATER: Summer Skin, Death Cab For Cutie
ALL CALLA CAN THINK: You Don’t Love Me,  Matthew Sweet
EVEN MONTGOMERY IS IN THIS SONG: What It Feels Like For A Girl, Madonna
WHAT A WICKED COVER: Ice Cream Man, Tom Waits
JAMES HEARS THIS SONG AND SMILES: Summer Girls, LFO

I’m already working on the soundtrack now for Being Friends with Boys, and I can tell you that The National is featured heavily, since they’re whom I listened to the most while I was writing.

I’ll be printing out the draft of WIP #5 before too long, and then my head will turn to other thoughts, but for now I’m having fun reminiscing, and hope this is an idea that might be fun for you to try, too!

Songs in my Head Upon Waking in the Past Week:
“Angel in Snow,” A-Ha; “Down By the Water,” the Drums; “Dynamite Pressure,” DJ Tripp; “Bad Romance,” Lady Gaga; “No Son of Mine,” Genesis; “Say You Love Me,” Beyonce; “I’m No Good,” Amy Winehouse