Music That Moves the Plot

Writing Meditations

My mom raised me with music. There wasn’t a day of my childhood that I can remember that didn’t have music in the background.

When I was four, she took me to my first concert.

When I was in fifth grade, she became a radio DJ. I would go with her to the studio, and I would sit and listen as she played songs and talked, and gave weather updates.

I love music (except country- I hate that shit).

When I was in high school, I would listen to songs, and it would just take one lyric to inspire me to draw a picture or write a (really awful, melodramatic) poem.

As I began writing novels and the occasional short stories, I found myself creating soundtracks for the stories as they evolved. Sometimes it’s a lyric. Sometimes it’s a vibe. Sometimes it’s the whole damn song that speaks to the scene, character, or overarching theme of the book.

So now here I sit with my sixth novel getting ready to be released, and six playlists that have played in my head as I wrote. But this one, for All That We Burn was the first one that I actually put in order to help tell the story.

Here’s the entire playlist (and link to it) and a little teaser excerpt with a few of the songs.

“Hymn to Virgil,”- Hozier - (This is like the theme song to the whole book- So start here)

“A Little Bit,” - Ella Boh - Chapter 1

Her embarrassing disaster on the witness stand didn’t stop Macy from fantasizing about Parker that night. And the next one, too. Or looking up all of Parker’s social media accounts and going through her Instagram posts regularly (albeit carefully so as not to “like” any of them, because that would be weird and stalkerish).

Needless to say, two days later, the defense rested, and one day after that, the defendant ended up released after being found not guilty. It resulted in a massive blow to her ego. But she still caught herself looking at Parker Harrington’s Instagram and fantasizing about her that night, too.

A little over a week later, when she went to Mo’s, a local bar near the court where all the cops and lawyers hang out, she spotted Parker sitting at the bar alone.

Her jacket off, sleeves rolled up, collar unbuttoned, and tie loosened. She sat looking at her phone, a cocktail in front of her.

“Kool Thing,” - Sonic Youth -Chapter 1

“her name, “. -Beneld, Cheyanne & Omido - Chapter 6

Parker paused, frozen in that eye contact. She wished this encounter had happened under any other circumstances than those where she felt forced to remain professional. “Parker Harrington. So sorry I made you wait. Come this way.” Parker, for the first time in a long time, found herself utterly distracted by a woman. She fixated on watching Calypso move as she stood and walked toward her. She fought the craving to take Calypso and lay her out on the conference room table and - Nope. Can’t go there right now. She tried to erase the thought as she led Calypso down the hall toward her office. She was shorter than herself, with a figure that was soft and curvy, reminiscent of the old Hollywood starlets or pin-up girls. Calypso was eyeing her subtly, assessing her. A static pull of energy flowed between them as they walked. It was terrifying.

“It’s All Over Your Body,” (Oddisee Remix) -Jose James - Chapter 6

“Take a Number,”- Marian Hill and Dounia - Chapter 7

“Messy,” - Lola Young - Chapter 8

“Contemplations,”- Elijah Lee - Chapter 9

“Sin,”- Ash to Eden -Chapter 9

“Mile High,” (feat. Travis Scott and Metro Boomin’) - James Blake - Chapter 10

“7” -Prince and the New Power Generation - Chapter 11

“Find Me Here” (Extended Version)- Helsloot - Chapter 13

“Fire on Fire,” - Sam Smith - Chapter 16

“Broken Man,” - St. Vincent - Chapter 17

“Feel,”- Beneld and Bury - Chapter 18

“Fire for You,” - Cannons - Chapter 20

“Those anonymous letters I was getting and your refusal to even talk to me about your past. Your hatred for my friend. It all makes sense now. It’s all been made clear. I know you stabbed your ex. I know you were wanted for another murder, an identical stabbing. You got lucky and disappeared when the storm hit. You were able to reinvent yourself. Clever. Very fucking clever-”

“Parker. Babe-”

“No. I don’t want to hear it. I saw the file. Do you not understand what kind of danger you put me in? Harboring a fugitive? I could be disbarred! I could end up charged!”

“Pa-”

“I saw the file. I read it all. What I want is for you to go upstairs. Pack a bag. Get the fuck out. I don’t care where you go. I just can’t have you here.”Even saying the words out loud caused Parker’s heart to crack.

“Think of Me,” - Hidden Voices - Chapter 21

“Obsessed,” - Sophie Powers and Ashley Sienna - Chapter 25

“Cocoa Hooves Part II” -Glass Animals - Chapter 28

“affection,” - Between Friends -Chapter 32

“Heat” - Breathe, and L.A. Rose - Chapter 33

“Disposable,” - Blaise Moore Chapter 34

“Give me a little credit, Parker. Please.”

“I am. I brought you here. I spent the night with you. I’m giving you credit.”

She flinched. “Do you regret it?”

“No.”

“It sounds like you do.”

“We said a day at a time. If you are going to be insecure and question me about this, it’s not going to work.”

Her throat was tight. She nodded.

“You need to give me credit. I promised you I’m not in this to hurt you. Just understand I’m kind of a mess right now. A fragile mess.”

“And I’m here for you. However you want that to look. But you need to let me in.”

Pushing a low-hanging branch out of the way, Parker continued forward on the trail. They were near the end of the trail, which ended with a bench overlooking the shore.

She couldn’t reconcile the thought that Parker was only settling for her - that she would never love her as much as she loved her wife. It made her want that woman out of the picture for good that much more. She ruined Parker. She hurt Parker. It was not okay. She glared in the direction of the water but saw none of it. Hatred for that other woman burned through her veins. Her cheeks flamed despite the cold.

“Dark Side,”- Bishop Briggs - Chapter 35

“Possession of a Weapon,” - Ashnikko - Chapter 35

“Cut You Off,” Chinchilla - Chapter 36

“Would That I,” - Hozier -Chapter 38

“Silk,” - Wolf Alice - Chapter 39

“The Last Beat of My Heart,” - Siouxsie and the Banshees - Chapter 41

“Angel,” (feat. Horace Andy)- Massive Attack - Chapter 42

“Faithless,” - The Airborne Toxic Event - Chapter 44

“Barbwire Kiss, “ - Night Club- Chapter 47

“You know, I don’t think this was such a good idea.” Downing the rest of her drink in one toss, she threw a $20 bill on the table, and got out of the booth. “I was a fool to think you cared. I know what it is you are trying to do. You are trying to pin her death on me. It’s not me. It wasn’t me. You won’t be able to pin that on me. Her blood is on your hands. You’re the one with the motive, opportunity, and it was your plan to go up there and meet with her.” She turned to walk out but stopped and turned to face Parker again. “You broke my fucking heart. I loved you. I would have done anything for you. But you-you used me and tossed me aside. You told me not to call you. You blocked me from you. You call me out of nowhere and bring me here, trying to play me like I’m stupid. I would have done anything - anything - for you. But I will not take the blame for her death. That was your mess. You need to fix it without me.” She turned around before Parker responded and stormed out of the restaurant.

“My Kink is Karma,” - Chappell Roan - Chapter 48

“Everybody Supports Women,” - Sofia Isella -Chapter 49

“Bellyache,”- Billie Eilish - Chapter 50

“Wicked Little Monster,” - Veda -Chapter 52

“Burn It Down,”- Siobhan Sainte - Epilogue

Some of the excerpts had to be altered to keep from giving too much away.

If you listen to the playlist, I wanna know what you think. What kind of vibes does it give you for the story?