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One of the things that I've talked about a lot in my writing process is the way I utilize music in the process.  I have songs that I associate with characters, specifically to get myself in the right zone for writing.  It's something I talked about during the visit  I just made to Univ of Illinois at Springfield. 

The challenge of writing so many protags is finding ways to switch btw them. For me, music is a good method--so much so that characters and books get assoc w songs. That turned out to be useful when I needed to re-visit a character in a later book. To write FE I pulled up the songs from WL & then added more. To write MERCY, I had songs from every book in the series.  

"Where is my Mind" by the Pixies is one I can't hear w/o thinking of Seth--and why he's wearing a Pixies shirt in the first book.  

Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" makes me think of Niall.

"Almost Lover" and "Falling Slowly" make me think of Fragile Eternity.

"Not an Addict" and "Pretty Girl" make me think of Leslie.

"I Want my Innocence Back" makes me think of Donia (esp in WL). 

There are others, of course, but those are a few of my fail-safe triggers I have used to pull up the emotions for the characters when I need to adjust my mind to write them.   

The Kills are very much the sound in my head during RS, up to Ani listening to them in one scene. Here's the song that goes through that scene . . . & you'll know which scene when you read the book but just in case:

Gone was the spacious Barracuda, and in its place was a ridiculously tiny Austin Mini. It was cherry red, convertible, and according to Ani, “a 1969 classic.” Nothing about it was subtle or designed to blend in—or fit anyone above average height. Added to that was Ani’s need to play music at a volume that undoubtedly would cause permanent damage to mortal ears. It was the final aspect in a trifecta of discomfort. 

“Ani?” He raised his voice over the din of someone singing about being “tired of cheap and cheerful.” 

She ignored him, so he turned down the volume.

“Ani, I’d like to discuss our plan.” His voice revealed none of his frustration or worry. 

“Our plan?”
  
Anyhow . . .

For RADIANT SHADOWS, I thought it would be fun to include a song that "belongs" to the characters. . . and sometimes the Universe just makes things fall into place.  The young woman I selected to be Ani in Radiant Shadows book trailer is named Jillian (Ani's mother's name in the books) AND she wrote a song called "King of Solitude" that is very fitting for Ani & Devlin in the book.  You can hear it on my website (did I mention that I have a website again? I do). It's also on the Harper Wicked Lovely serieswebsite.  You can purchase the song direct from Jillian over on her site too.  

Back to revisions . . . MERCY (the 5th WL book) is written & I'm now tweaking/slicing/deleting/adding/etc before giving it to my editor Anne for her notes.