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've only recently been introduced to the concept of creating a playlist to go along with a book. I'd seen it done before, mind you, but I never really associated that idea with the way I write. Then my magnificent friend, Arlem Hawks, started asking our writing group what songs we thought matched up to our characters and their love stories. I happened to be starting work on Miss Devon's Choice at the time, and my hero in that novel is a musician. I was struggling to capture him on paper the way he was in my head, so I started listening to violin music. Suddenly, he came to life. 

Every time I struggled with a scene in Miss Devon's Choice, I found a song I thought conveyed the emotion of a character or the overall feelings I was trying to create between the two of them. Before I knew it, I had a playlist I listened to every time I started to write about Christian and Rebecca. 

Now that a few months have gone by since the book was published, I still find myself listening to that particular list. I'm going to share it here, and I think this will be part of my writing process for all future books, too. 

For your reading AND listening pleasure, the Rebecca & Christian Playlist.