Today I
have author Dina James here to talk about musical influences for her new book
Time Heals, book 2 in her Stranger Things series. Haven’t heard about the
books? Check out the info below and make sure to enter the giveaway!
Time Heals (Stranger Things #1)
Rebecca MacDonnell is strange. More than that, she's a Stranger, a human born with the ability to use her own life's force to heal ethereal beings. Vampires, werewolves, demons, ghosts, goblins, and other things thought only imaginary all need help sometime, and when they do, they come to her.Some things, however, are beyond help. Something is stalking all Ethereals, great and small. Beings of every race are fleeing a terror no one will acknowledge, let alone name.At seventeen, Mistress Healer Rebecca is still learning to manage her power. She must learn to control it before it controls her.Unless it's already too late.When her burgeoning ability gets away from her, that which heals turns to harm and drives her loyal man-wolf bodyguard Billy straight into the arms of the unknown horror.Unlikely new friends are her only hope to finding out what's happened, and she must enter new – and dangerous – territory in order to do it.
It's said that when opportunity knocks on your door, you have only one chance to take it.No one said what you're supposed to do when it kicks it.All Rebecca MacDonnell wants to do is get through high school with grades good enough to win a prestigious scholarship so that she can finally leave her miserable life behind. One evening, after a particularly bad day, she finds out that people other than her aging grandmother need her help, and desperately so.Well, not “people,” exactly. Vampires, werewolves, demons, ghosts, goblins, and other things thought only imaginary all need help sometime, and Rebecca was born with the unique ability to heal ethereal beings. She is about to turn seventeen, the age at which her talent will manifest in its entirety, and become a true Healer…if she lives through the event. A war between various ethereal factions is brewing, and Healers are a valuable commodity to any side. Those who wish to harness Rebecca’s manifesting healing powers for their own purposes must get to her before her seventeenth birthday.Only two vampires and a rogue werewolf stand between Rebecca and those determined to make her serve them, and the fact that Rebecca has no clue what she's doing doesn't exactly help matters.Neither does being seriously attracted to more than one of those just trying to protect her.For a soon-to-be seventeen-year-old Healer-in-training, that's a lot to handle.Especially on top of her homework.
Musical Influences for Time Heals
Not all
writers listen to music when they write, but I would venture to say the
majority of them do.
I am no
exception.
I admit
to making playlists for each character. You read that right. Each character,
not each book. One character may like classical music, another angry angsty
Goth rock, another 80s hair bands (I only say that because as I write this,
"Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard is on my playlist).
In Time
Heals, there are characters of various ages. Musical taste varies with
generation, but it's not necessarily limited to their specific age range. I
know teenagers obsessed with Frank Sinatra, so it's all relative, really. So
many things influence musical preference – geographical location, upbringing,
being forced to endure smooth jazz in retail department stores for months on
end…various things.
So it is
with me and my writing. There are occasions when I choose the music by scene
and the feeling I need it to invoke – a dramatic scene needs to have
appropriate music, a fight scene needs up-tempo music and so on. Other times
it's chosen by which character needs the most expression and what music brings
them out best.
What
songs do I choose when I write? Well, I'm a soundtrack girl. That surprises
people sometimes, because I'm…well…let's just leave it at that, shall we?
Soundtracks are perfect writing music because, depending on the track/composer,
you can find something for just about every scene or mood. Some of my favorite
composers include John Debney (Sin City, The Passion of the Christ, The
Stoning of Soraya M.), Brian Tyler (Children of Dune, AvP: Requiem,
Rambo [2008]), James Horner (ALIENS, Willow, Titanic, Avatar), Hans
Zimmer (The Dark Knight Rises, Pirates of the Caribbean), and Harry
Gregson-Williams (Man on Fire, Chronicles of Narnia, Kingdom of Heaven).
I also enjoy symphonic music like Two Steps From Hell (Thomas Bergersen/Nick
Phoenix) and ES Posthumus.
It would
be safe to say that music does have an influence on my writing. I am an avid
listener of Pandora. Some writers prefer to write in silence, but I need
headphones and an arranged playlist in order to bring readers into the world
I'm trying to share with them.
Thank
you, Two Chicks, for having me on your blog!
Thank
you for sharing some awesome musical influences!
Where you can find Dina:
Check out the rest of the tour
stops!
And go here for
the full blog tour schedule:
Wednesday,
April 3 – Good
Choice Reading
Thursday,
April 4 – Literary
Escapism
Friday,
April 5 – Demons of Oblivion series author Skyla Dawn
Cameron’s blog
And now
for the giveaway! One lucky winner will win a swag pack picture below and an
ebook of Time Heals! Just fill out the rafflecopter!
So good to know you have playlists for characters too. My daughter is often surprised by the music in my library until she finds out which character it's for.
ReplyDeleteI cannot wait to read this!
ReplyDeleteYes! It sounds pretty cool!!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to this series because I like the idea of a main character who is human but has the ability to heal ethereal beings.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely yes! I like paranormal elements in books!
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to see how she copes with all she has before her with so little help.
ReplyDeleteThis series looks great! I can't believe I'm just now hearing about it!
ReplyDelete