New Book, New Soundtrack

Music for a new book

You can follow the Mystery Book Project Playlist on Spotify here.

I started writing a new book over Spring Break. I even traveled to a nearby haunted library for a research trip. So far it is going really well. I'm not ready for a title reveal yet (because I don't have one), but I can tell you the story involves fairy tales and a magic library. The picture above is a hint about the fairy tale.

I can't give you much more detail than that about the book, but I can tell you about my writing playlist! If you've checked out the Spotify playlists for Rook and Shadow or Lady Alma, the songs I've chosen for this book will probably surprise you. No baroque concertos or dramatic instrumentals here. Well, not yet anyway.

Instead, first songs I added were Here Comes the Sun and I Want to Hold Your Hand by The Beatles. Here's why.

• cheerful energy
• vintage vibe
• feeling of discovery
• made me smile

Here's a few other upbeat songs that have made it into the project soundtrack.

• When Can I See You Again - Owl City
• Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men
• My Wish - Rascal Flatts
• Hello, Goodbye - The Beatles

This is by far the most cheerful writing playlist I've ever had! It also features the most pop songs. I usually find lyrics distracting while writing and stick to instrumentals or non-English texts, but this book takes place partly in America, so these songs help me set the scene.

It isn't all sunshine and hand holding though. Here's some less cheerful selections from the playlist.

• Safe and Sound - Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars
• Believe - Mumford and Sons
• Mary - Cecile Corbel
• Back Home - Owl City and Jake Owen

The overall tone of the book really is upbeat. If I had to pick a credit song right now, it would be When Can I See You Again by Owl City.

You can follow the Mystery Book Project Playlist on Spotify.