Tag Archives: music

Have some music with your ghosts

By Dayle A. Dermatis, Fantasy/SF, Novels, Soul's Road Press, , , ,

I don’t make playlists for all my novels. Some just don’t seem to need them. Or I just find myself wanting to listen to one song, which gets me in the mood for a particular novel or story.

Other novels demand them. Once while listening to Florence + the Machine’s Ceremonials, I thought, Woah, this song perfectly fits that gothic I’m planning to write! Wait, this one does too. And this one! In the end, I realized the album is the soundtrack to the novel (along with some Welsh music and a few other songs). (That novel, With Soft Whispers Laden, is on the To Do list, but not before Shaded and Spectered, the next two Nikki Ashburn books.)

But I’m here to talk about music and Ghosted.

Ghosted is set in Hollywood and nearby environs, an area saturated in music throughout its history. Recording studios, concert venues, the sunset over the gleaming blue Pacific providing inspiration…. So the playlist for the novel is full of California songs, as well as ghost songs and…well, just check it out. Maybe listen to some of the songs while you’re reading the book?

And if Ghosted makes you think of any other songs, let me know!

Ghosted Playlist

California Dreamin’ – Shaw/Blades
Caroline – Concrete Blonde
Celluloid Heroes – Blackmore’s Night
City of the Angels – Gowan
Come To Be My Friend – Shaw/Blades
Estonia – Marillion
Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty
Going to California – Led Zeppelin
Haunted – Evanescence
Hello (Turn Your Radio On) – Shakespear’s Sister
Lonely in Your Nightmare – Duran Duran
Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinéad O’Connor
Our Farewell – Within Temptation
Relax – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Road to Dead – Paula Cole
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye – Soft Cell
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes – Asia
Stay – Shakespear’s Sister
Ventura Highway – America
Walking on Broken Glass – Annie Lennox
Watching You Without Me – Kate Bush
Welcome to the Jungle – Guns N’ Roses
Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses – U2
Why – Annie Lennox

And a reminder: if you’ve been waffling about getting the Sorcery & Steam bundle containing Ghosted and nine more fantasy books by amazing women writers, the offer is ending very soon. Help our project go out with a bang, and while you’re at it, help support our charity, AbleGamers.

Click here for more info!

Want to chat about this post? Join me on Facebook or Twitter.

What’s on your holiday playlist?

By Life, , ,

Even though I sing “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” at Halloween, I love me the heck out of the Christmas holiday season—and you know me, I love heck out of music. Here are some of my favorite holiday songs…what are yours?

  1. “All I Want,” Styx
  2. “All I Want For Christmas,” uh, the kid from Love Actually (I really need that soundtrack!)
  3. “The Chipmunks’ Christmas Song,” The Chipmunks (stuck in your head yet? hate me yet?)
  4. “December Will Be Magic Again,” Kate Bush
  5. “Dickens’ Dublin,” Loreena McKennitt
  6. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Band Aid
  7. “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” Loreena McKennitt
  8. “I Believe in Father Christmas,” Greg Lake
  9. “Mid Winter’s Night,” Blackmore’s Night
  10. “Ring Out, Solstice Bells,” Jethro Tull
  11. “Ring the Bells,” Styx
  12. “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” Bob & Doug McKenzie (and a beer…in a tree!)
  13. “Wizards in Winter,” Trans-Siberian Orchestra (it inspired my story “The Queen of Christmas”!)

(Yes, this is a repost from a few years ago. I still love the heck out of holiday music, dammit!)

Want to chat about this post? Join me on Facebook or Twitter.