COFE Staycation – Soundtrack

As I mentioned last week, most writers listen to music at various stages in the process. (I’m listening to music right now!) I wrote most of the Mystical Island Trilogy before I switched over to writing and editing mostly to songs with no lyrics, or various types of white noise. And while I listened to a wide variety of songs while I was working on this series (I had just discovered Sabaton around the time this project started), there were a few songs I kept coming back to.

If Crossroads of Frozen Eternity had an anthem, it would be Wherever You Will Go by The Calling. If you don’t recognize the name of the band, it’s because they were one hit wonders from way back in 2001 – when I still listened to the radio regularly. When James and I first discussed the concept for this novel, the first few lines of the song came back to me with a vengeance:

“So lately, been wondering
Who will be there to take my place
When I’m gone, you’ll need love
To light the shadows on your face.”

It’s hard to deny that the central conflict in this novel centers around a somewhat distorted love triangle. And that means one of our intrepid lovers has to walk away unsatisfied. So I planned most of this book while listening to this song on repeat. But, of course, like calls to like, and there are several other songs which suit the same theme that found their way onto my playlist. Including Matchbox 20’s You Won’t Be Mine:

“And I know soon you will be
Over the lies, you’ll be strong
You’ll be rich in love and you will carry on
But no – oh no
No you won’t be mine.”

And Tim McGraw’s Please Remember Me:

“When all our tears have reached the sea
Part of you will live in me
Way down deep inside my heart
The days keep coming without fail
A new wind is gonna find your sail
That’s where your journey starts

You’ll find better love
Strong as it ever was
Deep as the river runs
Warm as the morning sun
Please remember me.”

Ironically, all of these songs were written within a five year period. Maybe there was a spate of heartbreak in the music industry? Or maybe this was just the kind of music I found appealing as a teenager.

As with Island of Lost Forevers, I also found lots of songs that helped me evoke a specific character’s mindset during the writing stage. This time, for Sentomoru, I chose How You Remind Me by Nickleback (groan all you like but suited my purposes):

“Never made it as a wise man
I couldn’t cut it as a poor man stealing
Tired of living like a blind man
I’m sick of sight without a sense of feeling

And this is how you remind me…
Of what I really am.”

For Damian, I listened to a lot of Kamelot, but especially their song March of Mephisto:

“You know just who I am
Don’t be so distant
Cause when you’re lost
I am solely there to share your grief

Wailing for your sorrow
Is only my way to comfort you.”

Believe it or not, because I found a song so early on that meshed so well with this project, it has a smaller soundtrack than most. But that didn’t detract from the power and motivation it provided during the writing and editing of this novel.

This wraps up our Crossroads of Frozen Eternity “Staycation.” I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about this novel, and I hope you’ll join me again in November to learn more about its sequel!

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The island is on a collision course with an alternate version of itself…

The island flourishes under Catilen’s rule. But Damian can’t escape the former lord’s shadow. It haunts him keenest in the form of Catilen’s seven-year-old daughter, Morulin. Damian wants to be part of her life, but fears rejection when she learns the truth about her father’s death.

With the island at her back, Catilen thought she could deal with any crisis. But when something tears the veil between worlds, she comes face to face with the man she spent the last eight years trying to forget. Worst of all, the island’s predicament has infected Catilen’s daughter with a mysterious ailment.

Catilen must put her personal strife aside, and stop Damian’s from consuming him, because saving the island’s inhabitants means making peace with Kenjiro Sentomoru.

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