Summoning the Music

 

Jenn Bennett is one of my favorite writers, her books are smart,exciting, gritty and often hilariously funny. She incorporates magic and demons into her world in a way, new to the Urban Fantasy genre. Her first book in the Arcadia Bell series is out, it's called Kindling the Moon and you can find a post about it here.
 Her second book in the series Summoning the Night, just came out . Here is a little bit about it...

 After narrowly escaping her fate as a sacrificial scapegoat, Arcadia Bell is back to normal. Or at least as ordinary as life can be for a renegade magician and owner of a tiki bar that caters to Earthbound demons. She’s gearing up for the busiest day of the year—Halloween—when a vengeful kidnapper paralyzes the community. The influential head of the local Hellfire Club taps Cady to track down the fiendish bogeyman, and now that she’s dating red-hot Lon Butler, the club’s wayward son, she can hardly say no. Cady and Lon untangle a gruesome thirty-year trail of clues that points to danger for the club members’ children. But locating the person behind the terror will require some metaphysical help from Cady’s loyal bar patrons as well as her potent new Moonchild powers—and she’d better figure it out before the final victim disappears and her own darkest secret becomes her biggest enemy. 

 I asked Jenn to come over and talk to us about how music inspires her writing, so with further ado.. Here's Jenn..........................


 I'm one of those writers who needs complete silence to write. I can't even stand to hear the dull murmur of the television in another room. I have, on occasion, put on a set of ear buds connected to absolutely nothing, just to block out noise. Yes, I'm crazy.

 But music is still a vital part of my creative process. I listen to it when I'm daydreaming book ideas, plotting my scenes, and getting revved up to write. Different projects require different vibes. If you're interested in what inspired to me when I was working on the latest Arcadia Bell book, SUMMONING THE NIGHT, look no further. Here's a peek into the tunes that helped me dream up the events, people, and places in Cady's world:

1. "The Next Movement" by The Roots. I've got a major crush on Questlove, the brilliant drummer for the Roots. (Who, by the way, has some of the best hair in hip hop, hands down. Very Jupe-y, don't you think?) The Next Movement is one my favorite Roots songs. They've got the hot-hot music, the hot-music.

 2. "Jailbreak" by Thin Lizzy. I think this would probably be one of Lon's favorite songs. It's definitely one of mine. Perfect old-school, asskicking rock. I listened to Thin Lizzy a lot when I was writing SUMMONING. More Jupe hair. Maybe there's a trend here.

 3. "Help Me Rhonda" by the Beach Boys. Hey, this is one of the best songs of ALL TIME. It's pretty cheeky. The guy's basically begging this cute girl to help him get over his breakup by sleeping with him. I picture Lon being miserable before Cady showed up—still not quite over his ex, Yvonne—and maybe this went through his head when he was getting to know her. I think he still hums it to himself when Cady's around, but he'd never, NEVER admit it. Don't think of the Beach Boys after they got fat and started whoring themselves out on film soundtracks and playing state fairs. Remember them as they were: one of the bands that shaped the entire world's vision of California and an iconic American band.

 4. "Red Right Ankle" by The Decemberists. When the Decemberists are on, they are ON, buddy. And this song tears out my heart. I listened to it when I needed to dig deep for Cady and Jupe's tear-jerky scene, when Cady is realizing that Jupe and Lon are a package deal. (If you haven't read the book yet, you'll know the scene when you get to it.)

 5. "Oblivion" by Mastodon. I love metal. Mastodon is one of my favorite bands. They're from Atlanta, where I live, so occasionally my husband and I see band members around town, which is kind of cool.

 6. "Porcelain Heart" by Opeth. Did I mention I love metal? This is a Swedish band. I come from hearty Swedish stock, which is probably why I like both Opeth and ABBA. The video for this song is pretty delicious and creepy. And the lead singer has a mustache. Mmm.




 Nice! Thanks Jenn for coming by, as always a pleasure to have you here.

~ you can find Jenn at the following places


her website~

 Jenn Bennett

on twitter~
@jenn_benn

on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/JennBennettauthor

you can find her books here~
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million