I listen to all sorts of music when I first start writing a book. I try to build a playlist before I even begin, thinking of the sort of story I want to tell. I add and delete songs as I go, depending on scenes and how the characters transform in a story. By the time I'm finished writing, I've usually whittled down the playlist to just a few songs that I've come to associate very strongly with the characters. 

Discovering Grace was an interesting story to write. I understand Grace on such a deep level. She's quiet, but that doesn't mean she isn't strong. She is the true definition of meek: having power, yet using it with wisdom and gentleness. Jacob, her love interest, is strong in his own way. He's committed his life to becoming a vicar, to being kind and understanding, but when he's put to the test he doesn't react the way he thought he would. Their relationship is so interesting, from friends to something more. I hope you enjoy the music the way I did. Here it is:

I tried to put off using it myself. I really did. I might be a Millenial, but that doesn't mean I have to embrace each and every new technology at once. But I had been listening to Amazon Prime Music for a while, through my computer and an app on my phone. It was helping me write, I found, to attach music to chapters and characters. 

So one day, I said, "Alexa, open my playlist for Christian and Rebecca."

And my playlist HAPPENED. Still. Not all that awesome. I made the playlist myself. So then I said, "Alexa, play music I might like." And wow, did she! Then as I enjoyed a song, I'd interrupt. "Alexa, what's the name of this song? Alexa, add it to my playlist. Alexa, play more songs by this artist." 

We love our Prime Music membership. (We're always listening to it in the house, car, exercising, working, etc.) The speaker on the Echo Dot is incredible. We can turn up the music and dance, turn it down really low to avoid bothering people in the next room and STILL get great sound quality, AND I can even plug in my headphones at my desk when I'm really trying to work in the dead of night. 

Let's not forget the homework help and educational aspect of this nifty device. We can check math problems (after doing the work ourselves) and ask interesting questions such as "who was the twenty-third president?" and "can cats see in the dark?" My kids also play a lot of the trivia and choose-your-own-adventure games. Then we went all in and got "smart" light bulbs. It's a husband thing, in our house. Now he can just tell a device to turn off the lights rather than get out of bed once he's all cozy. 

Julia and Nathaniel.

What if the characters in my book, The Social Tutor, could've sent text messages to each other? :-)