Many authors listen to music while they write, and I’m no exception. In fact, I’ve just received permission from three singers (no names yet!) to include a snippet each of one of their songs as a sort of introduction to three of the stories in my upcoming short story collection!

Which brings me to the title of this blog entry: music and fiction. I’ve listened to various artists and songs and I’ve crafted everything I’ve written. If I’m writing something set in a certain period in the past, I will usually try to listen to music from that period. For Small Things, that meant music pre-1975. For Leap Year, (not yet published) because the start of the novel is set in 1959, that meant the likes of Elvis Presley, Paul Anka, The Platters, Bobby Darin, and Ritchie Valens.

But I don’t always immerse myself in the music of the time period in which I’m writing. A lot of the time, I listen to such modern artists as The Wreckers, Katie Herzig, Phillip Phillips, John Gorka, Sarah McLachlan, Brent Bourgeois, Katy Perry, Christina Peri, Suzanne Vega, Billy Joel, and Ingrid Michaelson.

How about you? If you’re a writer, what music inspires you to write? And if you’re not, what sort of music (if any) do you like to listen to while reading? I want to know.

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From Joe's writing

Colin sat in the living room of his and Natsumi’s tiny apartment, looking up flight information to Quincy, Illinois on his laptop. He had barely been able to contain himself as he drove himself and Natsumi from University, thoughts flying though his head a mile a minute. He felt like an enormous, stultifying weight had been lifted from his shoulders, a weight he hadn’t fully realized was there until this morning.

— A Pattern of Shadows, chapter 20