One Month

It's December 3 that means we're within one month of BLOODROSE's publication date: January 3. In the lead up to the release I'll post a weekly soundtrack teaser, with music and a line from the book (no spoilers though! And not in chronological order - mwaa-haa-haa-haa!)

You should also check out Penguin Teen's Tumblr for more info and teasers leading up to January 3.

Hope you're as excited for the countdown as I am. 2012 here we come!

Week one BLOODROSE soundtrack teaser:

"Waves lapped the shoreline a few yards from where we lounged on the rocks."

I Know, I Know...

I'm ridiculously behind on the blog - life has just been too busy. However, I'm full of ideas about things I want to blog about AND I'm a week away from my first international book tour. So I hereby promise to you that I will be blogging more soon and I will have pictures from my tour!

Thanks for hanging out with me even when I'm sadly absent from this page. I do miss blogging - this space in one in which I love to write.

If you're wondering where else you might connect with me and my life, I'm more frequently on Twitter and Facebook due to their facilitation of short online engagements!

Until a real blog post - here's a new favorite artist of mine, whose music is oft playing as I write RISE (Nightshade Prequel #2).



Also cool about Zola Jesus - she's a fellow Wisconsinite!

Road Tunes

In a couple of hours I'm heading north to Ashland, WI, my hometown. I'm doing a school visit at my old high school tomorrow morning - which is both trippy and delightful.

With a four-hour drive ahead of me I decided to splurge on some new music. Listening to music while drive is a sure-fire way to get my brain synapses firing in a writerly way. Listening to new music in particular seems to really enliven my creative side.

While I purchase a lot of music on iTunes I still buy cds. I love the jacket art and liner notes that lets me know more about the musicians' process behind this finished product. Here's what I'll be listening to on the rides to and from the Northwoods.

The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck

Though I already know the Mountain Goats to be incredibly talented, I was won over to purchase this album because I fell in love with the title tracks. The first track on this album: Damn These Vampires. Other fabulous titles for tracks: Prowl Great Cain, Outer Scorpion Squadron

Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

I haven't listened to much Lykke Li but keep reading such great things about her that I decided to give this cd a whirl. Plus Scandinavian musicians tend toward awesome - Abba, anyone?

Jonsi - Go

Thank you to David Levithan for bringing Jonsi into my life. I loved Sigur Ros, I might love Jonsi a little bit more.

Yeasayer - Odd Blood

I already listen to Madder Red and O.N.E. incessantly, today I broke down and bought the whole album. Plus the typeface on the jacket is designed to look like Norse Runes. Love.

Radiohead - The King of Limbs

It's Radiohead. Need I say more?

I'll be curious to see which tracks are particularly inspiring. Songs often spin out scenes for me and that's how they end up on my book playlists and soundtracks. I'll keep you posted with the tunes that make the cut.

Other People's Music

I've posted many a time about how essential music is to my writing process. Each of my novels has a playlist as I'm drafting and when copyedits are done the book gets a soundtrack. You can see the Nightshade playlist and soundtrack and the Wolfsbane playlist on my web site.

Discovering new music is one of my favorite things. I find a lot of songs through the incredible Minnesota Public Radio station The Current, which I'd recommend to everyone. You can stream it online no matter where you live. For ambient, mood music I often turn to Digitalis on Soma FM, which I'll sometimes stream as I'm writing.

But even better than finding music on your own can be the joy of learning about the songs and bands that other people love. David Levithan, author and editor extraordinaire, conducts a yearly music poll wherein his friends send in their favorite albums and songs of the year. David compiles the list and then gifts us all with an amazing compilation of music recommendations from some very music savvy peeps.

If you're looking for new music I'd check out these recommendations.

And here's a 2010 single on my list: Yeasayer's O.N.E. I love this song and am now obsessed with the video - it's like if a dystopian world decided the 1980s should be revived. It also kind of makes me think that this might be a club where the capital citizens of Panem might be found slumming it. (Sorry I can't embed the video here, but I'd highly recommend watching it. It's a hoot and a half!)

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all the magic, joy, and wonder of the season!!