Today we are discussing the music we listen to as we write. I don’t always have music playing when I write. Sometimes I prefer the quiet and sometimes I’m just too lazy to dig out the right kind of music for what I’m writing. For most books I find a movie soundtrack that has the same energy vibe I am looking for and simply listen to that.

For most of my paranormal books I’ve developed a pattern of movie soundtracks and not surprising they are all paranormal movies. But for better or worse I like most of the music on these and they get me in the right place before I nearly tune them out once I’m writing. They are:

Twilight
New Moon
Blood & Chocolate
All 3 Underworld movies
The Covenant

Now some books are either inspired by a band’s music or their music so fits the theme I will listen to only them while writing. Two examples are my sexy demon novella, Dirty Deeds and the Steampunk story I am writing now. For Dirty Deeds you’ve all heard it so much I’m sure you’ve already said it. AC/DC my favorite childhood band. It was AC/DC all the time while I wrote that book and I LOVED IT. That is some of my favorite feel good music.

For the Steampunk it’s Abney Park. I first heard Captain Robert and his crew at Dragon Con a few years back and instantly fell in love. I really can listen to them all day long.

Then there are other books where I have actually hunted down a few songs and made an actual varied playlist. But I will admit that at times I have quite strange taste in music and rarely pick something current. For the Purgatory series I wanted that Fetish club vibe and so I started with the Tainted Love remix by Marilyn Manson.

The rest of the Purgatory playlist includes:

Die For You by Megan McCauley
Zombie by the Cranberries
I Sit on Acid by Lords of Acid
Were in the Blurred Line Closer by Nine Inch Nails
Terrible Lie by Nine Inch Nails
Hole to Feed Depeche Mode
Get Your Body Beat by Combichrist
Head Like a Hole by Nine Inch Nails
This is My Rifle by Combichrist
The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails

Another series where I have a few favorite songs to listen to include the Black Cougar series. Although even in my lists you’ll notice several songs by the same artist. Once I find one of their songs that makes me feel it, I usually add a few of their other songs.

The Catshifter playlist includes:

Stripped by Shiny Toy Guns
Steve McQueen by Sheryl Crow
Higher by Creed
Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent
Safe and Sound by Sheryl Crow
My Own Prison by Creed
Blue on Black Kenny Wayne Shephard
Soak up the Sun by Sheryl Crow
The First Cuts the Deepest by Sheryl Crow
My Give A Damn’s Busted by Joe Dee Messina
Black Water by the Doobie Brothers
If It Makes You Happy by Sheryl Crow
She Talks to Angels by the Black Crowes
Hurt sung by Johnny Cash
One Last Breath by Creed

Now follow the trail and see what everyone else is listening to as they write.

Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Emma Petersen
Shelley Munro
Ashley Ladd
Lauren Dane

For months now I’ve been writing and writing and writing. And squirelling away some of those books with the promise to revise and edit them when I get time. Yeah, such a bad idea. If I wait until I have time… you know the drill.

I did manage to get a few polished up and now I have some contracts to announce. Three in fact.

First is Bottom’s Up with Resplendence Publishing. A new contemporary BDSM story that if you like my purgatory series, then you’ll definitely want this one.  No definite date of release yet, although it looks like  November 2010. Here is an unofficial blurb:

Snooping is risky business…sometimes it pays off in unexpected ways.

Jenn has been in love with her best friend since college and despite their years apart she is determined to at least find out if he has any interest in her. When the opportunity opens up in the form of a job interview in his hometown, she jumps on a plane with a plan to see what happens.

Riley walked away from Jenn after college to explore and understand the dark side of him that harbored needs he knew she was too young to understand. They kept in touch and after years of exploration into his kinks, he’s decided the time for hiding the truth from the woman he loved has come to an end.

When Jenn finds a bdsm book and a flyer for a local sex club in his condo, she is both shocked and intrigued. Riley catches her red-handed snooping through his things and dares her to give him and his lifestyle a chance. Two days to explore her potential submissive side and see where it leads.

With no hesitation and barely a thought to how far he might go, she jumps at the chance to prove she’s the woman for him, even if it’s just for the weekend.

Second is Black Moon Rising with Loose Id. A new action packed and super sexy wolf shifter menage. While all release dates are subject to change this one is tentatively set for October 2010.

And a VERY unofficial blurb: (read: I wrote a summary but it needs some work)

As the next in line for the role of alpha, Sierra’s whole life has been about the pack and the rules that govern them. But that didn’t stop her from falling for two lovers, including Nolan, her human guardian who is strictly forbidden from her. Now the night of the Black Moon has arrived and she must mate with a wolf to get the job. A magical bond that can never be broken.

Her decision to mate with Marek, and keep Nolan a secret isn’t an easy choice. But when a raid on the pack during the ceremony brings a third man from her past looking for more, all hell breaks loose. Everyone she’s ever loved wants to fight for dominance in the relationship any which way they can. Sex and violence come easy to her kind but love and death take things to a whole new level and not everyone can survive.

And third is Tied and Teased with Loose Id. I am so excited about this one since I’ve been wanting to write about bondage photography for so long. It was just one of those things that kept getting pushed to the back burner. Now it’s front and center and hopefully coming you way in December. I’ve not written a story summary but here is a tiny teaser from the proposal.

Eve Blake has been working at Model Mayhem as their receptionist for three months now. While she’s seen some rather unusual things as the employee of a fetish photographer, nothing compares to the fantasies she conjures in her own mind. All of which conveniently star one Chase Miller…her boss.

When a custom photo order comes in for a plus-sized red head, Eve sees an opportunity she can’t pass up. Ready for an adventure, she volunteers for the job and Chase accepts. Maybe pretending to be a sexual slave for Chase’s camera will get her one step closer to the man with the ability to satisfy even her darkest needs.

So that’s what is coming later this year. What do you think?

Eliza