I listen to music when I write. It helps set the mood for certain scenes, helps me to get my mind and soul into the moments I’m creating. It’s my own version of method acting, I suppose. I have a playlist for each book from the series* which you can find on Apple Music.

Some of the songs that particularly inspired these books are below. If you don’t know of them, you need to. They are epic and breathtaking and a story unto themselves.

Inspiration

There are many songs that inspired me while writing these books, but these are a few that really stood out.

Saturn // Sleeping at Last

God, where do I even start with this one? This is probably one of the most impacting songs I’ve ever heard in my life, and that’s saying something. The lyrics, that cello, the movement, the rhapsodic melody… But to me, this song is for Ferryl. It’s the story of his journey and the realization that Providence transcends all fear, and his magic lives on.

So Will I // United

When I wrote the scene on the mountain where Ferryl encounters Providence for the first time (The Purloined Prophecy), I listened to this song on repeat. Whenever I need a reminder of the magnitude of God and purpose as his creation, I listen to this song on repeat. When I need a reminder of why I’m writing these books, I listen to this song on repeat. In other words, I listen to this song a lot.

Love Live On // Rhodes

I discovered Rhodes by accident a few years ago. I have been obsessed with him ever since. But this song is Ferryl and Lizybet’s love story, in a nutshell. And I dare you to listen to his voice and not fall in love.

Make Believe // Cohen

Cohen is a husband/wife group who are friends of my friends. I’ve never met them, but I know many people who know them. They are some of the most talented people on the planet, if you ask me. But this song is Elizabeth’s song. It’s her heart. It’s her story. Her færytale. When I first started writing The Promised One years ago, I had the serendipitous fortune of finding this song thanks to my friends. It became the anthem for that book.

 

I could go on about all of the songs on these playlists and their meaning to me. But I don’t figure you’d want to read synopses of hundreds of songs. Instead, I’ll just share links to the playlists. Feel free to DM if you ever want to know the meaning behind any of the songs.

*The Parallax doesn’t have its own playlist because, if you remember from the acknowledgments, it was originally one book with The War and the Petrichor, which I split up for printing purposes. So the playlist for The War and the Petrichor was on repeat while writing both books.