Hello friends and lovers,

Lately, I’ve been seeing posts on Instagram about music.

• “Do you listen to music while you write?”

• “Silence is the answer when writing.”

• ”I enjoy crickets, like literal crickets chirping as I write.”

It occurred to me, in that moment, there are writers who enjoy silence. It shows how different we each are as writers, readers, etc… Yes, I do like to listen to music when I read and write.

Writing and music go hand in hand for me. It might be my love for music soundtracks, but music brings out powerful emotions for me. It allows me to dig through my inner emotions for my characters.

Tear jerker scene? Let’s play some composition pieces to get the tears flowing and the words going.

Sexy scenes? Done. Let’s cue Beyoncé’s Crazy in Love, the slow version from Fifty Shades of Grey music soundtrack. (I own all three soundtracks.)

Before you jump into conclusions, listen to the music. I applaude the person who was in charge of compiling the Fifty Shades playlists.

In light of this, brand new revelation, below you will find the songs that really inspire my scenes for my book.

1. W/O U by Gems (first heard it on Before I Fall. It’s a new movie on Netflix.)

2. Mecca by Wild Beasts (first heard on the new movie called Endings/Beginnings. I purchased it digitally, because who doesn’t want to see Sebastian Stan and Jamie Dornan duel it out for a lady!)

3. Sort Of by Silversun Pickups (I believe this one I heard on Vampire Diaries and I knew I had to have it. It is a fast paced song that will go great when writing a climax or some type of conflict.)

4. Holding on and Letting Go by Ross Copperman (This one, also, from Vampire Diaries. It’s more of a sad song, but it gets the feels out!)

5. Better Off Without by Armon Jay (Set It Up! One of my all time favorite romantic comedies featured this song. If only they sold the whole movie soundtrack. Still sad about that.)

6. The Benefits of Being Young by The Mary Onettes (first heard of this band, because of the movie Endings/Beginnings. I have quickly grown quite obsessed with this band. I’ve purchased about 3 or 4 albums from them. I can’t get enough. I will listen to all of their albums as I write. Great beats!)

7. Earned It by The Weeknd (Fifty Shades of Grey. Honestly, this is a great song when I’m writing sexy scenes. It is a MUST.)

8. Crazy In Love (2014 Remix) by Beyoncé (Also Fifty Shades of Grey, but another must have when I’m writing sexy scenes. It’s a very sensual song, I can’t help it.)

9. Love In This Club by Usher (I know Usher has been around forever, but I recently became HOOKED, because of the movie The Hustler with Jennifer Lopez. It is a bad ass song for those bad ass or sexy scenes I need to write.)

10. Please Me by Cardi B and Bruno Mars (Need I say more? The title says it all. Great song for those slow burn type sex scenes.)