My high school art teacher believed music helps us create. She once said you can’t paint sunshine and daffodils while listening to metal, but you needed those angry sounds to paint thunderclouds. And those words have burrowed in my heart.

I need music to set the scene while I write. I find it impossible to write a romantic scene to battle music (except if it has to end in an argument) and I can’t write a death scene to the fluffy, romantic stuff. For this reason, I include a lot of sounds, from drumming beats to soothing guitar, piano, and violin, so that I have a variety of moods to choose from when I write.

Beyond that, I need music with moody, epic melodies and meaningful lyrics. I naturally gravitate towards alternative or folk, and according to my Spotify account, I’m a vampire. I also have ADHD, which means I often have one song on repeat for days, and that song tends to become a certain character’s theme.

For example, There’s a Ghost by Fleurie or Monsters by Thelma Plum are pretty much Cara’s theme songs in A Study of Ash & Smoke, while I see Lance when I listen to Run Baby Run by The Rigs.

Helvegen by Wardruna shows me every Dvaran ritual and I associate Seven Devils by Florence + the Machine with a specific spoiler-filled scene in A Trial of Sparks & Kindling. IMO, the overall theme song for ATOSAK is In the Shadows by Amy Stroup.

I created the playlists for ASOAAS and ATOSAK after publishing them, but I’ve tackled ACOVAS differently, and I’ve been setting up the playlist as I go. It’s twice as long as the other two, but I’m glad I’ve collected the songs that set the scenes as I wrote. It’s almost like a map of progress, a memento of my journey.

If you’d like to listen, check out the playlist for A Study of Ash & Smoke here, and the playlist for A Trial of Sparks & Kindling here.

Since the writing is ongoing (though I’m making good progress), I don’t want to share the playlist for ACOVAS yet. That said, some of the songs that stand out to me are Who We Are by Hozier (honestly, anything by Hozier), Bird by Billie Martin (and anything by Billie Martin, too), you should see me in a crown by Billie Eilish, Kvitravn by Wardruna, Lion and the Beggar by Parisian, and Revolution by The Score.

Sometimes, I need music without words. Lowfi is my go-to for those moments when I just crave a beat to type to. Lowfi Beats by Noisy Tape Music is a good playlist for those moments.

If you have any good music recommendations, I’m all ears. Seriously, though, pathetic jokes aside, I’d love your music recs. What inspires your writing?

Finally, thanks to the artists out there for making music that inspires us. You’re awesome!

Until next time.

Yolandie