Soundtracks
Some songs remind me of characters, some of plots. Some are the melodies I had on repeat while writing. Every book has a soundtrack...
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Soundtrack for The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever
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“Hung Up” by MadonnaMight as well have been written for the book. Plus, I have listened to Confessions on the Dance Floor about three thousand times since my best friend and I hopped a plane and went to see Madonna when she played in LA. (We felt so decadent!)
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“Last Year’s Troubles” by Suzanne Vega
I always have to stop and listen to these lyrics. They seem to almost define historical romance!
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“Soul Meets Body” by Death Cab for Cutie
One of my favorite songs to listen to while writing this book. Plus I love that they celebrate brown eyes.
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“Everyday I Write the Book” by Elvis Costello & the Attractions
It’s what I keep telling myself. Now if I could only stick to my schedule…
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“Sailing to Philadelphia” Mark Knopfler (with James Taylor)
At first listen, this choice might not make much sense on a soundtrack to a book set in 1791 Great Britain. The lyrics are a dialogue between Charles Mason (sung by James Taylor) and Jeremiah Dixon (Mark Knopfler)–the two English surveyors who established the border between Pennsylvania and Delaware from Maryland and Virginia. This border went on to become the Mason-Dixon line and even now is used to denote the border between the northern and southern United States.
But to me, the entire song feels like a journey, like two people setting out on a great and sometimes terrifying adventure. And that reminded me of Georgie and Nicholas setting out for Scotland. Love and partnership is also often a great and sometimes terrifying adventure. But worth it in the end, I think, don’t you?
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“A Little Respect” by Erasure
At its core, First Comes Scandal is not so much about Georgie asking for respect, but realizing it is her right to demand it.
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“Paper Rings” by Taylor Swift
“Kiss me once ’cause I know you had a long night. Kiss me twice because it’s gonna be all right. Three times ’cause you waited your whole life.”
Doesn’t this sound like something Georgie might say to Nicholas? Plus, I feel like this song is so much about two people becoming a true couple, sharing burdens and happiness, and that is what First Comes Scandal is all about.
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“Saw Lightning” by Beck
Nothing to do with the book except I love this song SO MUCH and it has been on repeat for long enough to antagonize everyone else in my house. Plus, it makes me dance every time it comes on, and always in a way that makes look like I’ve gone insane. Which, in my opinion, is really the best way to dance.
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“So Alive” by Love and Rockets
True story: In 1990 I was in Chang Mai, Thailand with my mother and sister, and we got into a tuk tuk, which, if you’re not familiar with Thai conveyances, is an open-air three-wheeled vehicle that is commonly used as a taxi. We’d taken a lot of tuk tuk rides during our time in Thailand; they were much cheaper than traditional taxis, and the lack of seatbelts wasn’t too concerning since, Thai traffic being what it is, we spent most of the time at a complete standstill. Then the strangest thing happened. The tuk tuk driver turned on the radio. And he had a sound system. In a tuk tuk. (It’s difficult for me to overstate how odd this was.) The song that was playing was “So Alive,” and to this day, it makes me think of being in a foreign land. Kind of like Poppy experiences in Portugal.
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“Feel it Still” by Portugal. The Man
Did you think I wouldn’t include a song from a band called with Portugal in its name? (Although the grammar nerd in me is completely flummoxed by the period in the middle.) This song was everywhere when I was writing The Other Miss Bridgerton, and I liked it enough to put it on my Spotify “my songs” playlist, which I’m told by members of my family I overplay.
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“Just What I Needed” by The Cars
No particular reason except that I’ve loved this song for decades. And when Ric Ocasek sings, “I don’t mind you hanging out/And talking in your sleep,” it makes me think of Andrew and Poppy sharing his cabin.
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“We Speak No Americano” by Yolanda Be Cool and DCup
I was first turned on to this song years ago when I saw a hand-dancing video by Up & Over It. After watching the video about 800 times, I added the song to my playlist, and it’s been there ever since. None of this has anything to do with The Other Miss Bridgerton, but I really did enjoy exploring Poppy’s thoughts about being in a foreign country and not understanding the language. So maybe I can nickname it “We Speak No Portugueso.”
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“Cecilia and the Satellite” by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
I couldn’t figure out what to name the heroine of The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband, and then I heard this song. I know that McMahon wrote it for his daughter Cecilia, but I think it’s a gorgeous love song for a partner, too..
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“Cheap Thrills” by Sia
I love this song. It’s overplayed (heck, I overplay it) but I love it so much. It always makes me want to get up and dance, and I listened to it SO many times while I was writing this book.
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“Stay” by Oingo Boingo
I’m a big Oingo Boingo fan, and I’ve always loved this song. When Danny Elfman sings, “Go—Don’t you go. Won’t you stay with me one more day?” it makes me think of Edward offering to release Cecilia from their marriage while at the same time silently begging her to stay.
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“American Tune” by Paul Simon
This is one of my favorite songs ever. The lyrics make me shiver, and the melody is haunting. And in a way, The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband is my American Tune.
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“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson (feat. Bruno Mars)
This song came out (and then took over the world) while I was writing Because of Miss Bridgerton. As soon as I heard “Don’t believe me just watch,” I thought, “Well, there’s Billie in a nutshell.”
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“Bills” by LunchMoney Lewis
Because A) it’s an awesome song and you can’t help but sing along with sass and B) it kind of fits Billie. She doesn’t really have bills she needs to pay (let’s face it; her family is loaded), but she feels such a responsibility to her family’s estate and truly thinks that if she slacks off, the whole thing will fall apart. So she definitely thinks she has to “work, work, work every day.”
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“Team” by Lorde
I love how by the end of the book, Billie and George realize they are on each other’s team.
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“Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon
Read the book. You’ll see why.
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“Walking on the Moon” by The Police
“We could be together… Walking on, walking on the moon.” Don’t you think Frederick and Bea would love to walk on the moon together?
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“What is a Shooting Star?” by They Might Be Giants
Continuing with our astronomy theme… I love this song-in-a-round from TMBG’s kids’ album Here Comes Science. Wouldn’t it be great if elementary school music classes sang this instead of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat?”
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“With a Little Help From My Friends” by The Beatles
Four Weddings and a Sixpence grew out of my friendship with Elizabeth Boyle, Laura Lee Guhrke, and Stefanie Sloane, and I think our stories reflected that..
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“She Blinded Me With Science” by Thomas Dolby
I’m evil for choosing this one. Just evil. (If you’ve read the novella, you’ll know why.)
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“The Hero Takes a Fall” by The “Bangles”
The hero is exposed when his crimes are brought to light of day.” Whoa! Sounds like Sir Richard. But I can’t quite agree with: “And I won’t feel sad at all, when the hero takes a fall.” I really did feel sad for Richard. He pulled a doozy on Iris, but it was with the best of intentions…
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“Left of Center” by Suzanne Vega
This song came on the radio while I was writing The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy and it was like a light bulb going off. It think it could be Iris singing the lyrics: “When they ask me, ‘What are you looking at?’ I always answer, ‘Nothing much, not much.’ I think they know that, I’m looking at them. I think they think I must be out of touch.”.
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“Out of My League” by Fitz and the Tantrums
Iris thinks that Richard is out of her league, and that’s why she’s so suspicious when he seems to fall in love with her so quickly.
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“Riptide” by Vance Joy
I love this song and listened to it repeatedly while writing this book.
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“Lovecats” and “Let’s Go to Bed” by The Cure
After the first two books in this series (Just Like Heaven and A Night Like This) were inadvertently named for Cure songs, someone on Twitter said that if my next book wasn’t called “Lovecats” or “Let’s Go to Bed”, he was going to throw a hissy fit. Naturally, I had to include both on the playlist.
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“The Cave” by Mumford and Sons
I love this song. The melody is haunting and yet ultimately hopeful, and the lyrics always make me think of Hugh, broken in body and spirit, wanting to heal himself but not quite sure how to do it.
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“Einstein on the Beach” by Counting Crows
Hugh is a bona fide genius, so it seems appropriate to bring Einstein into this…
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“Mr. Brightside” by The Killers
The Sum of All Kisses was a very difficult novel to write, and toward the end of my (extended) deadline, I found myself holed up in a hotel room in Vegas, desperately trying to finish the book. (Why Vegas? Cheap rooms and 24-hour Starbucks.) The beat of “Mr. Brightside” is so frenetic and tortured it matched my mood perfectly, and I played it every time I needed a jolt. (In addition to the aforementioned caffeine.)
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“A Night Like This” by Caro Emerald
This is a late addition to the soundtrack, but the minute I heard this song, I was hooked.
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“Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye
I fell in love with this song (like everyone else on the planet!) while I was finishing up A Night Like This. It’s kind of stunning how many times I can listen to it without it getting old.
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“Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machine
This song makes me think of Anne. I love to think of her standing tall at the end of the book singing it out. Come to think of it, it works for Daniel, too.
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“Trouble” by Shawn Colvin
This hidden gem from A Few Small Repairs is one of my favorites by Colvin. She says so much with such a simple melody. And the lyrics! “You need someone to walk with in the dark, well I’m your man.” Is that Daniel or what?
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“Just Like Heaven” by The Cure
No explanation needed. 🙂
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“Raise Your Glass ” by Pink
The lyrics of this song make me think of Honoria, so determined to keep the musicale tradition alive, even though she knows how dreadful they all are.
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“Teenage Dream” by Glee Cast
I like Katy Perry just fine, but I much prefer this version with Darren Criss on lead vocals. The line “You think I’m funny when I tell the punchline wrong” reminds me of Marcus. Not that he’s telling the punchline wrong, but I love when Honoria is thinking about how no one else in the world (besides her) realizes what a good sense of humor he has.
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“Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
This song sounds the way happiness feels. It’s as simple as that.
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“I Want Candy” by Bow Wow Wow
Reader Jessica picked this one for the line: “I want a guy that is tough but sweet…” To say nothing of Marcus and Honoria’s shared love of dessert! (Note from JQ: “I love this song, too!”)
Soundtrack for First Comes Scandal
Soundtrack for The Other Miss Bridgerton
Soundtrack for The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband
Soundtrack for Because of Miss Bridgerton
Soundtrack for Four Weddings and a Sixpence
Soundtrack for The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy
Soundtrack for The Sum of All Kisses
Soundtrack for A Night Like This
Soundtrack to Just Like Heaven
