soundtrack sunday

January 5, 2020 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

Soundtrack Sunday – “Black Sunday Afternoon”

Happy New Year! jk, everything’s fucking awful, I know. If you’d like to help out in Australia, here’s a list of places that need your donation pennies and here are instructions for needed pouches for orphaned joeys.

I’ve been working the last few weeks (or was–I have to go back and retool some things) on the first Waverly Jones novel, The Killing Beach–well, sorta first. There’s also a prequel I’ve had in progress off and on because that’s very much where Waverly’s journey begins.

She’s seventeen when the murders start in her small hometown–a brutal serial killer who takes three lives in an area before disappearing for months at a time. Along with him comes Detective-Sergeant Sebastian Kyle, who has tried–and failed–to capture the elusive killer.

Since the prequel will likely be for Patreon subscribers and the jacket copy for The Killing Beach is already out there, I can tell you that Waverly’s younger sister is the last victim before the killer goes dormant–for good. At the same time, Sebastian–who Waverly is entirely infatuated with–disappears.

The Killing Beach picks up eleven years later. Waverly is a PI with modern cases to contend with, but she’s still haunted by her sister’s murder, the missing detective, and the killer who was never caught.

So “Black Sunday Afternoon” by Anna Ternheim belongs on the prequel’s soundtrack most of all, but I still have it on my general Waverly playlist.

I have a memory–a recent one!–of reading about that song and how it was written about a murdered (or missing?) girl. Of course, I cannot find that reference now and I’m not sure if I imagined it, confused this song with another, or mistakenly read an incorrect interpretation. (If anyone knows the truth, let me know!)

(Also check this acoustic version, which I prefer.)

They gather up, something's wrong
They ask around, no one knows
Well, have you been where the rivers cross
by the water in the moss?
Nothing really moves on black Sunday afternoons

Even if my memory is quite mistaken and I’m confusing things, it certainly fits lyrically. It’s a very haunting song that always makes me think of Waverly in the moments when she knows something’s happened but doesn’t have the full picture yet.

December 29, 2019 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

Soundtrack Sunday – “Revolution”

We’re going waaaay back this week.

I first wrote Bloodlines around 2004. A character strolled up, tapped me on the shoulder, and told me her name was Zara Lain. If you’ve read that book, you know precisely why I then had to start writing and not stop until that first book was done: she bloody well wouldn’t shut up.

Zara was, in many ways, my savior. She had strength, power, and independence when I didn’t. Really, my own relationship with her mirrors that of her human counterpart Ana.

It was a little before that time that the old show Birds of Prey was out (was it still the WB back then, or already CW? I don’t remember!) and the song “Revolution” was everywhere for a time. (The Aimee Allen album it was due to be on was dropped but leaked on the internet back them–if you hunt around, you can find some of the songs from it released separately on iTunes.)

That was how Zara Lain first introduced herself to me: with I’d start a revolution/if I could get up in the morning blaring from my computer speakers. It’s that kind of walk-dramatically-at-night-with-kickass-boots-and-no-fucks-to-give sort of song that I hear Zara in every time.

Today is also a twofer, though, because there was another song on of hers that ended up on the Bloodlines soundtrack.

“Too Fucked Up For Love” really described Zara for Bloodlines.

ETA: It’s no longer available, I cannot find it anywhere, but google around in case you have better luck than me.

I'm afraid you're holding on to something that's too far gone

She’s come pretty far from that place, I think–she’s grown a lot, inching toward no longer being too fucked up for love.

Compared to Bloodlines, it’s a very different Zara Lain that’s in next month’s Counterpoint: Always Kill a Boy on the First Date. It’s been about eight years of story time between them and she’s been through an apocalypse so while I wouldn’t quite say she’s softened, she’s got a different perspective than she used to have.

But even then, she’s still that badass in great clothes strolling down the street in the middle of the night with no fucks to give.

December 22, 2019 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

Soundtrack Sunday – “Little Sparrow”

Typically Soundtrack Sunday posts have included the entire playlist for a book, but then that means I usually only post a couple a year. A friend has been posting individual songs and talking in more detail, though, and I thought I’d maybe start doing that to keep up with blogging more. I usually only have a sentence or two about a particular song on a playlist when, often times, I could write a lot more.

Today* is for an unreleased book, and it just recently wove its way onto the playlist.

I’ve heard “Little Sparrow” a bunch of times and always liked it, but this was an example of something hitting at the precise right moment last week. Before I write, I build a basic playlist that grows and changes as the book does, but at least gives me a starting off point; other times I hear something and it gives me an entire entry point into a character or scene.

If you’ve read the jacket copy for Yampellec’s Idol or the first chapter in the back of Shiva’s Bow (or what was included with Emaleth’s Cat a few weeks ago), you of course know Livi’s mother at long last makes an appearance in the main series after several vague mentions of abandoning the Talbot family when Livi was about five.

I love Marta Talbot. She is deeply complex, with a system of values and morals that can be seen one way by other characters (and the reader) but that make entire sense to her. Entire scenes play completely different ways to her than they do to Livi, and it’s fascinating to be in her head even though her POV is not shared with the reader.

“Little Sparrow”, though, is what really gave me her as a character. Partially lyrically, but also in terms of the mood and tone of the song. I can see her singing it to Livi in warning, notes of bitterness and a righteous anger. Sometimes a character chooses a song and whispers in my ear, “This–this one is mine”–that was the case here, even if I haven’t uncovered all the details yet.

Beyond that, I’ll leave to you to discover when (eventually) you get to read the book.

All ye maidens heed my warning
Never trust the hearts of men
They will crush you like a sparrow
Leaving you to never mend

*Thankfully I had already written this post last week and just had to hit “Publish”; my remaining elderly cat hasn’t been doing well since Friday and fretting over him is about all I have mental bandwidth for right now. Fingers crossed I don’t lose him on Christmas, but… *gestures at 2019*

August 25, 2019 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

Soundtrack Sunday – SHIVA’S BOW Edition

I first wrote the book in 2014 so there’s a mix of older songs and more recent ones from when I was revising it. Trying to leave off repeats but check the other soundtracks for more Livi & West tunes (Civil Wars – Poison & Wine was another big one for this book again).

Pearl Jam – “Just Breathe“
Second and third chapters.
“Stay with me// Let’s just breathe” and “Did I say that I need you?//Did I say that I want you?//What if I did and I’m a fool you see“

Troels Brun Folmann – “Nepal Theme“
Misc nepali trekking and lodge stops.

Cary Brothers – “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You“
“If you were anyone else, Olivia, I would have.”

Screaming Trees – “Look at You”
Look, it’s a good song for banter and sudden kissing, okay? (It’s also very West POV for me)
Her ghost hides/ In my mind/ In the night/ In a way she’s haunting me/I’m wanting her still and When I look at you I’ve got a second chance/ Really need to take it now

Colbie Caillat – “Killing Me Softly“
Whenever Livi’s feeling a bit betrayed or confused.

Jason Graves – “The Descent“
Snaaaakes (around 1:30).

The Wind and the Wave – “Chasing Cars” (Cover)
Second scene in ch 23. “Don’t leap,” he breathed against my skin, sending a shiver through me. Because I couldn’t promise that, I didn’t reply.
I don’t quite know // How to say // How I feel // Those three words // Are said too much // They’re not enough // If I lay here // If I just lay here // Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Jason Graves – “Scaling the Ziggurat“
Livi climbs to the top of a temple interior.

Rachel Platten – “Fight Song”
I have this one on a loop in a lot of Livi’s books, particularly writing the first four books. I stuck it with this soundtrack because I there’s a scene where she jumps out of a helicopter and very specifically saw that moment at the 2:50-ish point in the song where it gets quiet and the chorus kicks in again.
I might only have one match//But I can make an explosion

Colin O’Malley / Troels Brun Folmann – “Croft Manor Catacombs”
Exploring the temple.

Troels Brun Folmann – “Lost City Suite”
Final temple/battle scenes.

Alex Hobbs – “Something I Need” (cover)
As I’ve said a bunch of times, “Something I Need” is very much the Livi/West series theme song, so I listen to a bunch of variations and covers during writing certain scenes. This was the during the second kiss scene before the epilogue.
This line, though: With broken words I try to say/Honey don’t you be afraid/if you’ve got nothing you’ve got us. was exactly what went through my head in the second chapter when he holds her hand at the hospital.

Survivor – “Eye of the Tiger“
You’ll see…

Lana Del Rey – “Ride“
Yeah this was some kissing and smexing in the epilogue…

Ingrid Michaelson – “Can’t Help Falling” (cover)
So the epilogue is called “A Kind of Blind Love” in reference to “I Only Have Eyes For You” (recurring song in the series), but it was this cover of Can’t Help Falling I wrote the end of the epilogue to–I almost called the epilogue “Can’t Help Falling” instead. It’s a melancholy sort of cover, almost (esp at 2:10), that hits the right emotional notes for that final scene.

Print available now and get ready for the ebook on Tuesday!

October 14, 2018 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

Soundtrack Sunday – EMPEROR’S TOMB Edition

Two days! AAAHH! Still giving away postcards for preorders.

Stevie Wonder – “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing”
The book both opens and closes to this one.

Coldplay – “Fix You”
As mentioned in the FB countdown, this is Emperor’s Tomb book theme. Lyrically it covers pretty much all of the characters on this journey.

Billie Myers – “Kiss the Rain”
There are two chapters back to back, one with a brief phone call and the other with a concluding text; the section was named after this song.

Mozart – “Lacrimosa”
Someone has a breakdown and shoots someone else in the head, and this was the song for those scenes.

Bon Jovi – “Bed of Roses (acoustic)”
Right, so…I have a new character who makes me listen to a lot of rock ballads. And plays them. Sorry not sorry.

Bon Jovi – “Always (acoustic)”
See?

Aerosmith – “Crazy (acoustic)“
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this is sort of Iluka’s song for Livi in the series, even if not really in this book.

Fisher – “You”
Livi’s song while watching her daughter sleep.
And you//You make me run//And you//You make me want to live

Chris Cornell – “Nothing Compares 2 U”
There was almost some accidental kissing to this song and I got super annoyed. You’ll be able to tell by the chapter called “Nothing Compares”.

Junkie XL – “The Devil’s Sea“
SEA MONSTER.

Kathleen Battle – “Lovers”
Stella & Marlee.
Your voice still echoes in my heart//You are my true love

Amy Lee – “Speak to Me”
A new character Stella is driven by being haunted–haunted by hope, haunted by grief–and sustained by irrational belief. The glimpses I get of her head, this is often what I hear.
I can’t let go//You’re every part of me//The space between is just a dream//You will never be alone

The Civil Wars – “Poison & Wine”
There’s a chapter named after this song.
You only know what I want you to//I know everything you don’t want me to

Shane Alexander – “Shipwrecked”
This one wasn’t actually during any shipwrecks, but after a sea monster battle Livi is curled up in her dark cabin watching old videos (chapter title “A Ghost”) and this was the song.
Can you hear me? Is someone there//Am I losing my mind, am I losing my mind?//Am I all alone, won’t you rescue me?//Talking to myself, staring at the sea

Jack Wall – “Jade Empire Theme”
Jade Empire was one of my favourite games (every time Bioware fans eagerly await a new Dragon Age game, I sadly sit in the corner thinking about Jade Empire). This is the island-appears-from-the-mist music, and any moments that are wonder/splendor instead of terror.

Junkie XL – “Figure in the Night”
In the forest/battle the forest guardians.

Mika – “Any Other World”
I tried to live alone but lonely is so lonely, alone//So human as I am, I had to give up my defenses//So I smiled and tried to mean it to let myself let go

Colin O’Malley, Troels Folmann – “Arctic Sea – Guardians of Helheim”
The fortress/the tomb.

Hans Zimmer, Junkie XL – “Is She With You?”
There’s a pretty epic battle in the tomb that I loved writing (you’ll be able to tell when reading it), and I even threw in the line “He’s with me” as a reference.

Hurts – “Somebody to Die For”
I think it’s pretty West.
I could drag you from the ocean//I could pull you from the fire//And when you’re standing in the shadows//I could open up the sky//And I could give you my devotion//Until the end of time

Audra Day – “Rise Up”
There’s a high level of action toward the climax and I was as exhausted as the characters by the end of it. When Livi falls to her knees on the beach and reaches safety, this was the song.
When the silence isn’t quiet//And it feels like it’s getting hard to breathe//And I know you feel like dying//But I promise we’ll take the world to its feet

OneRepublic – “Heaven (acoustic)”
It could fit with Livi, yeah, but I’ve always heard this from West’s POV.
When the room don’t like us//I’ll be at your table//Yeah I’ll be sitting next to you//And when the world ain’t righteous//It’s raining Cain and Abels//I’ll be trying to dance with you and Everyone they say that we don’t work//But I could swear this is heaven yeah//Everyday I know that this might hurt but I don’t care//This is heaven yeah

Mozella – “Can’t Stop”
Pretty much Livi’s perspective on West at this point.
And I’ll be yours, just give me time//Give me time