HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: The writer world is divided, relentlessly and immutably, into two camps. Not the first person/third person camp. Not the outline/no outline camp. Not even the prologue/no prologue camp.
I mean the music/no
music camp.
Those writers who listen to music are fanatics about it.
They make playlists, they compile musical emotional journeys, they pick and
choose songs and orchestrations that propel them into inspired wordsmithery.
There are others (raising my hand here) who cannot do it.
I love music, of course, all kinds, and as you
all know, I was vice-president of the Midwest chapter of the National Beatles
Fan Club. (It doesn’t get better than that,
unless you were Debbie Snively, who was president.) I can work perfectly in a boisterous chaotic newsroom all
good, but if I listen to music while writing my books, I get distracted. If
there are words to the music, forget about it. Those are the only words my
brain will handle.
But for the amazing J.D. Allen, (the chair of the Bouchercon
board) this wasn’t even a choice. For her, music not only propels her, it
inspires her. And reading her essay? She’s
even got me singing.
WORDS AND MUSIC
Music is a huge part of life. I love music and can
appreciate almost any genre, pop, country, rock, classical, etc.. Except the
one my husband blasts. The Brit, as I call him, loves the liquid metal. Or
Death metal as I call it. The killing bunnies and screaming your head off kind
of metal.
Having such musical differences is usually not an issue. He
listens to his. I listen to mine. All is good in the world until we travel.
Then we typically settle on audio books. Because, you know, books. We both love
books.
But on those long road trips, we have to resort back to
music occasionally, and we switch off. I have to listen to xxx for a little
while, and on my turn, we settle on classic rock. He can tolerate that with
only a few muttered 'bloody awfuls' under his breath.
Music usually has a spot in or an influence on my writing.
Sometimes a song can inspire an entire book or a character. 19 SOULS was one of
those stories. My villain, Sophie Ryan Evers, was born of a song. An old Cher
song. As I was plotting the book, someone posted the 1960’s video of it on
Facebook. The pain in her voice nailed how Sophie had taken her pain and
twisted it into an obsession.
Nancy Sinatra first recorded Bang Bang in 1966. It’s the
tale of a young girl in love with an older teenage boy who just isn't that into
her. We’ve all been there. Infatuated with someone who doesn’t return our
affection. Happens every day.
In this case, it’s an adolescent girl who thinks there’s
more of a relationship than the boy does. And she doesn’t get over it when he
moves on, as high school boys are apt to do. In the song, Cher relives playing
good guy-bad guy. In the end, Cher used the metaphor of the good guy shooting
her down as the loss of his love. A love
she hasn’t gotten over.
Bang. Bang. My Baby shot me down.
In 19 SOULS, Sophie relives that hurt and desertion every
day of her life. Churning in her head, creating an alternate reality. Holding
onto the hope that her man will come back and she spends her life figuring out
how to make that happen—by any means necessary.
Cher rerecorded the song a second time in 1979 with a modern
update and continues to include it on the playlists for her live shows. I
played the two versions over and over as I worked on the villain of this book.
After all, it would take a crafty villain to outsmart a smart PI Like Jim Bean.
HANK: SO how about you, reds and readers? Do you crave a
soundtrack for your activities? Do you make a soundtrack? What do you listen
to? And why?
And a copy of 19 SOULS to one lucky commenter!
Private Investigator Jim Bean is a straightforward,
to-the-point man. He likes his cases to follow suit. But when his latest client
asks him to find her missing brother Daniel, Jim has no idea how complicated
his life is about to become.
As he falls deep into a manipulative game of cat and mouse,
Jim uncovers the horrible truth about his client. Now he must set things right
before her plans leads to the loss of innocent souls…even more than it already
has.
About J.D. Allen
J.D Allen’s a Mystery Writers of America Freddie
Award-winner. Her Sin City Investigations series launches with 19 Souls February 8th. She has a short story, in the ANTHONY AWARD WINNING anthology,
Murder under the Oaks as well as Carolina Crimes. She’s the chair of the Bouchercon
National Board, a member of MWA, PI Writer’s of America, and president of her
local Sisters in Crime chapter. She’s an Ohio State Univ. Alum with a degree in
forensic anthropology and a creative writing minor.
Buy Links
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/19-Souls-Sin-City-Investigation/dp/073875403X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516313047&sr=1-1&keywords=19+souls
Midnight Ink:
https://www.midnightinkbooks.com/cart.php?action=add&ean=9780738754031&qty=1&submit=Add+to+Cart
