Music is a huge inspiration to me. I couldn’t work without it. Not only do certain songs help me dig down deep when I need to write a particularly emotional scene, but my favorite way to unwind is to turn up my iPod and drown out the world. This is usually when my ideas come to me, sometimes a new storyline, sometimes a breakthrough for a current one.
I had a lot of fun writing Brian’s story because he likes my kind of music. So I thought I’d run down a list of tunes that either appear in his book, or inspired his character.
“Deep” by Nine Inch Nails — The video is playing when Candace goes to Brian for her first tattoo. The lyrics, along with the toxic dyes in the video… hotness.
“My Curse” by Killswitch Engage — One particular line in this song inspired a whole scene.
“This Love” by Pantera — Dark, ominous, angry, kind of scary. If you’re a metal fan in Texas, you have to love Pantera. It’s required.
“Freak on a Leash” by Korn — Song is about how Jonathan Davis feels in the music industry, but it’s also how Brian feels when he’s dealing with family issues. There’s also a scene at a Korn concert. Since they’re my favorite band, and inspire me on a whole other level, I had to give them a shout-out.
“Dead Memories” by Slipknot — I meant to include this in a scene in which Brian is reminiscing about a past girlfriend (Candace’s cousin), because it sums up his feelings about it quite well. I never put it in, but it still makes the cut here. Maybe I’ll edit it in later.
“Two Weeks” by All That Remains — Mainly because I really, really like it. And because the story happens over a course of roughly two weeks, and it’s a rollercoaster. This is the song that’s actually playing in the reminiscing scene mentioned above.
“Bliss” by Syntax — Because Candace likes it. She thinks it’s sexy. ;)
“Cuts You Up” by Static-X — He’s pretty cut up and pissed off about it when this is playing…
“Oblivion” by Mastodon — Because sometimes I would hear a song and simply think, “He would love this.”
“Twilight Zone” by Golden Earring — Mainly for a fun, blowing-off steam scene I eventually deleted. It’s still a guilty pleasure!
“You’re Going Down” by Sick Puppies — Another I never mentioned in the book, but makes me think of a certain face-off that occurs…
So, there’s a general idea of what my soundtrack was like for this book. I must say, I’m really having withdrawals after finishing it! I miss seeing it open on my desktop. I have no plans to write Brian and Evan’s sister’s story at the moment, but I might have to someday, just to revisit these characters.