Soundtracks - Julia Williams
Author
SOUNDTRACKS
Available June 2011
Music is fantastically important to me in the writing process and each and every one of my books gets a soundtrack. The way it works for me is that I hear a song which gets me in the gut and I think, yes, that’s the emotion I want to capture. A scene will unfold in my head, like watching a movie, and the song forms the soundtrack for the scene. Because music above all other media, it seems to me, has the power to evoke emotions, inspire, reduce us to tears in a way no other medium can. It is pure and primal and rips out our souls.
And THAT is what I try and tap into when I'm writing. It isn't a structured kind of process. More an organic kind of thing. Sometimes I hear a song and it inspires me to a particular plot line, for example, ever since I heard Keane's Somewhere Only We Know, it's spoken to me of star crossed lovers for some reason, and it's down on the list for a parallel universe story I plan to write some day. Other times, a song takes me into the heart of a character. In Strictly Love, Rob, who started off as a jack the lad when I first envisaged him, suddenly turned into something else entirely and it became obvious that his theme song was Robbie Williams’ Feel, which seems to me to be all about wanting to be better then you are and not being able to escape your nature. You have to hand it to Robbie, he does know how to turn out gut wrenching stuff, I've used him again in Last Christmas, which is a lot about mothers and daughters and the moment when you start mothering your mother. Angels was perfect for that, and as it happens has turned out to be particularly poignant. The way I write seems to be that I always have a pivotal scene at the latter half of the book, already worked out in my head before I even have a whole story. I don't know why that is, but it's the way the process works for me. So in Pastures New (if you've read it) it's the rainy scene in the allotments, and in Strictly Love it's the picnic scene on the downs. Both scenes had a song at the heart of them. In Pastures New, it's Travis' Sing, which seems to me to be a painful acknowledgement of the impossibility of ever truly reaching another human being, however much you love them. For Ben who is trying to comfort Amy, and for Amy who cannot be comforted, it was just perfect to capture the pain they were feeling. I tried to reflect that pain in the writing. That is the most frustrating part of the process for me. I know how a song makes me feel. Try to put that into words? Eek. In Strictly Love, the song was Fields of Gold by Sting, which makes me think of long lazy summer days, and falling in love, and wanting to be together, with just a hint that maybe the love won't last: Sting singing so evocatively of the remembering his love among the fields of barley always catches my heart. And it makes the hairs on my back stand up every time I hear it, but it also has a poignancy to it, which again, was perfect for the scene. For Last Christmas I have another pivotal scene which I won't reveal because it would give too much away, but again I had had it in my head for months before I wrote it. I didn't have a song for it for a long long time. Then I heard Neil Diamond's Pretty Amazing Grace and it totally blew my mind, and I knew I had my song. This book is a little bit (I hope without sounding preachy) about the claims of the spiritual versus the material, and Neil Diamond’s song about coming across a chapel, and feeling liberated by the grace and beauty he found there is just wonderful. For The Bridesmaid’s Pact my pivotal scene involves a really painful situation which I also won’t reveal. This book is as much about the love of friends as it is about romantic love (though as it's about weddings, it's about that too). As I mentioned, I tapped into some very deep emotions to write this book. And when I heard Hurt by Johnny Cash for the first time I knew I had my pivotal song. When I saw how they used the song to great effect in Being Human, I knew I'd chosen the right one. When I was writing my latest book, The Summer Season, for some reason it took me a while to work out the pivotal scene, and it was only when I got to the end that I suddenly thought, ah, that’s it! This time around I’ve done something new for me, as I have interwoven a historical story with a contemporary tale. So the background to the book is the love story of Edward and Lily Handford in the nineteenth century, while in the modern day we meet Kezzie, Lauren and Joel who are restoring the garden that Edward created for Lily. I had a very strong image of Edward alone as an old man in my head, and the song that seemed to sum up his experiences best was Noel Harrison’s fabulous Windmills of your Mind. It’s a really haunting song of memory and loss, and perfect for Edward who is trapped in memories of the past. The first time I heard the brilliant Scouting for Girl’s This Ain’t a Love Song I knew I had to use it for Kezzie, whose love story has imploded at the start of the book. She still loves her ex, but she knows they can’t be together anymore, and the song captures those feelings brilliantly. Joel is a grieving widower, and so for him the poignantly haunting My Lady D’arbanville by Cat Stevens was a must. It’s one of those songs which always gets to me with its heartachingly sad beauty. (Only don’t make the mistake I did of looking up the story behind the song, and take it at face value!). It’s also relevant to Edward, and I liked the fact that the two characters are connected through family, history and shared experience. Lauren in the meantime is being seduced back by her unsuitable ex, who left her alone in the labour ward, and for her Wicked Game by Chris Isaaks seemed right (though sadly on Spotify I couldn’t find his version, but I’ve used a rather lovely cover by someone called Violara instead). This song sends shivers up my spine and I love the line about what desire will make foolish people do, because I think it’s so true. The early parts of Lily and Edward’s story focuses on their courtship, and so for them I have chosen Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams for that image of seeing the woman you love for the first time, and Ruby by the Kaiser Chiefs for that dizzying moment when you realize you’re obsessed with someone else. Kezzie is very much someone who is running away from her past, and trying to rediscover her future, so I gave her Runaway by Bon Jovi. I’m a bit partial to Bon Jovi, me, for a rock band they’re often sweetly poetic. I’ve also given her Inside by Stiltskin. Sometimes I don’t quite know why a character gets a song – this is one of those occasions, and all I can say is, it just seems to fit! Joel is harbouring guilt about how he treated his wife before she died, and how to cope with the son he is suddenly bringing up alone, so I chose Little Lion Boy by Mumford & Sons (thank you eldest daughter for introducing me to them) for him. This savage and beautiful song expresses perfectly the agony and anger Joel experiences as he grieves for his wife. I also love Gary Jules’ sad bittersweet version of Mad World, and Joel and Edward also have that as theme tunes, as it seems to chime in with their experiences. Finally, this is a story about summer, renewal and second chances– I think gardening offers great parallels for rebirth - I chose for the end of the book this lovely early Bee Gees song, First of May. I heard it first on a soundtrack to a really sweet cult seventies film, called Melody, and fell in love with it. I think it really sums up the way love makes us all feel. Pastures New Pastures New was originally going to be in six parts, I chose a song for each part of the book. The story really began with Justin Hayward's Forever Autumn, which seemed the perfect song for my heroine Amy, recovering from the death of her partner. I also used: California Dreamin' by the Mamas & Papas, Soak up the Sun by Sheryl Crowe, Here Comes the Summer Son by Texas (the last two came from listening to them on long car journeys - a common source of finding inspirational songs I find), Sing by Travis and Fix You by Coldplay. All of the songs were chosen for the mood they inspired, their part in advancing the story and for some significant line that led into the character's behaviour. Forever Autumn talks about how life is forever autumn without the singer’s lover, which is how Amy feels about losing Jamie. California Dreamin' imagines being somewhere sunny on a winter’s day, which fit both the wintry mood of the beginning of the book and Ben's dilemma about his love life Soak up the Sun talks about not having what you want but wanting what you have which fits Amy's burgeoning reconnection with the world and acceptance of the good things in life Here Comes the Summer Son is a perfect fit for Amy's nervousnes about indulging in a new relationship. The last two songs, Sing and Fix You were chosen for the pain and anguish they engender - Fix You, particularly stayed in my head as Ben's song, as it summed up what he feels about Amy and why she keeps him out of her life, and is another song that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. When I was writing Pastures New, I tried to weave some of the song lyrics themselves into the story (quoting verbatim from songs is a very expensive thing to do, so I generally try to avoid it). So Amy remembers walking in golden fields with Jamie, Ben at one point does stop into a church, Amy hears Sheryl Crowe singing about having what you want, and wonders later on if she should go through the door of a new relationship. I didn't use Sing so much, but at the end, I did literally have Ben lighting her way home. However, I realized after I'd done it, I was trying too hard to bend the story to fit the song, plus when I came to write Strictly Love (spoiler alerts) I wanted my characters to have a theme tune each and that rather then having one theme song for each part of the book, I also wanted to highlight certain key moments, like soundtracking a film. Strictly Love So in Strictly Love I worked it slightly differently. Each part had it's own theme song: Part One had The First Cut is the Deepest, for Mark who was mourning the loss of his marriage; Part Two was The Weakness in Me for Emily who kept going back to an unsuitable boyfriend and for Katie who was being tempted by Rob: Part Three had Can't Get You Out of My Head for all my protagonists as they attempted to control their feelings and Part Four's theme was Song for Lovers, which makes me go slightly weak at the knees. Additionally, I used : Abba's heartbreaking Slipping through my Fingers for Mark's relationship with his daughter Gemma (I have sobbed EVERY time I see Meryl Streep singing that in Mamma Mia!- it's also turned up as a theme for Cat in Last Christmas) Feel for Rob, which helped me hugely give depth to his character. He started off as a happy go lucky character, who lacked commitment, but I always knew he was hiding a dark secret. Then I heard Feel on the radio one day and suddenly I knew Rob so much better. I listened to this song obsessively every time I had to write a Rob scene, and in the end he became my favourite character because of it. The Miracle of Love by the Eurythmics. I love the Eurythmics and this song about the wonder of finding love again was a perfect soundtrack moment for the first time Emily and Mark get together. I had this scene in my head for months before I wrote it- it unfolded as if I were watching a film. And had I been watching a film, then this song would be what you'd hear... Fields of Gold by Sting. Again, I had a scene in my head with Emily and Mark lying in fields of gold watching the sun rise, and this poignant song just fitted the mood perfectly. I also played Sting's Shape of my Heart a lot for this particular moment, more because of the way it catches at my heart then the lyrics. The boys also got two theme songs: The Boys are Back in Town for their attempts to get laid and Fifteen Years, which is a great song about booze and regret and lost opportunities, and perfect for anyone who has ever sat in their local, looked around and thought, Is this what my life's come to? A last minute addition (thanks to watching an episode of Ashes to Ashes) was Body Talk, which worked really well both as the song that Rob and Katie danced to when they realize their true feelings for each other, but the perfect accompaniment to a rumba. I even choreographed the steps, with the use of a little handbook of dancing, myself on my own in front of a computer trying out both the male and female steps, while I listened to the song. The things I do for my art! Last Christmas For Last Christmas, I've gone less for major theme songs and more for key moments of the story, where again, if it were a film you'd have an apposite piece of music playing (I had a completely eureka moment when I went on the Being Human website - currently my favourite place in cyberspace and read about how they chose the music for each episode, and realized this is what I aspire to). So this time around I had a lot of songs about tension in relationships, as one hero and heroine: Cat and Noel are in a long term marriage which is fraying a bit around the edges. Their songs include: This is Where I Came In by the Bee Gees. I belatedly realized when they brought out their last album before Maurice died, that I totally heart the Bee Gees. And this song is just amazing. The lines about both of them lying and wondering who will get the sharpest knife, I'm sure will resonate with anyone who's been in a long term relationship. There are certainly days when every couple is scrabbling for the sharpest knife, but usually the wounding is with words. But I also love it for the reality of the end, that despite that, hope carries on and you’d go anywhere with your partner. The point is, however rough the ride gets, however much you sometimes are hard pushed to like each other, if you LOVE each other you will go anywhere, through thick and thin. That's why those pesky marriage vows are in there. We never imagine the worse when we get married, but boy oh boy, the better is worth the occasional pain. Well, I think so anyway, but then I do write romantic fiction. Cat and Noel also have: Bryan Ferry's Let's Stick Together for similar reasons, but for moments when the going is tough, another song for them is the Manic Street Preachers’ Your Love Alone, as sometimes despite what I said above about love making you go anywhere with your partner, it isn't enough, on its own to see you through the tough times. You also have to hang on and remember the good times. Which is why I've also given Cat and Noel Coral's Put the Sun Back, which talks about putting the sun back in our hearts, and not letting the relationship fall apart. This is absolutely somewhere I've been emotionally, and I think it's brilliant. For my other couple, Marianne and Gabriel, I have the wonderfully perky and upbeat She's Got You High by Mumm-Ra which is one of the most perfect falling love songs I have ever heard, even if I mistakenly heard the lines this world has turned to seethrough as this world has turned to seafood, till I googled the lyrics. Gabriel is in a difficult relationship with his mentally unstable wife at the start of the book, and I have two songs for key moments they have together. The first is Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division, which is such a painful, sad destructive kind of song and I also had the wonderful KT Tunstall's Other Side of the World, which is another song which makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and also is brilliant for catching the insolubility of their problems. Cat has a lot of me in her. She is the mother of four and has (I hope) a moving storyline featuring her own mother, which turned out to be a damned sight more personal then I intended when I thought of it. So she has Angels as a theme tune. Which makes me howl. Which I also hope is the reaction of my readers to this part of the storyline... At the last minute I've brought in I Can See Clearly Now and Love Resurrection for Marianne, for two key moments for her. And I also had a sudden wow moment and used The Streets of London for a hugely important scene for Noel. But the heart of this book, belongs to Noel and so my favourite emotional stirring song of recent time (till I heard Johnny Cash's Hurt) is Neil Diamond's Pretty Amazing Grace, which is relevant not just for Noel, but in their own ways all the other characters too. No book about Christmas would be complete without some cheese. So I've also got Wham's Last Christmas as the title song and Marianne and Gabriel's theme tune(I was always partial to those Wham boys). I've even pinched the lyrics for my part titles which are: I Gave you my heart/You gave it Away/To Save me from Tears/Someone Special. The Bridesmaid’s Pact The Bridesmaid’s Pact tells the story of four friends: Doris, Caz, Sarah and Beth, who promise to be each other’s bridesmaids when they grow up, and then for a variety of reasons fail to do so. It’s a book about friendship and forgiveness as much about weddings, and in many ways is very personal to me. So the songs I chose for this book have a huge resonance for me, and a lot of them, quite frankly reduce me to a puddle… Having said that, this is a book about weddings, so White Wedding by Billy Idol - had to be soundtrack for the book, didn't it? I've always loved the energy of this song, and I think it's particularly apposite for Caz's wedding at the beginning of the book. You Know I'm no Good Amy Winehouse is also one for Caz. You have to hand it to Amy, she has a brilliant knack of turning her personal disasters into fabulous songs. Caz is the wild child of the quartet, so this song sums her up. However, when I heard Wire to Wire by Razorlight on the radio one day, I thought wow, this could have been written for Caz. It really fits her self destructive sadness, and sends shivers up my spine. Fab, fab, fab song. I love the high energy of Let me Entertain You by Robbie Williams , which is a great party track and totally suitable for Doris' joie de vivre, battiness and hen night with her mates. Pure by the Lightning Seeds is one of my favourite love songs, and just right for Doris and Darren's relationship. Pure and simple all the time. I'm always a little in love with my leading men, but I adore Darren. He's very cute. The Shadow of Love by the Damned is a great gothic song which fits Caz very well - if she were to get married, I can see her doing it goth style... and Always on my Mind by the Petshop Boys (yes I know they covered Elvis, but I do love their version) is just right for Caz and Charlie. I love Charlie too. It’s ok to be unfaithful to Darren, as he’s my creation (-: Thanks to a flurry of tweets on Twitter one day, I had a great Fleetwood Mac fest, and have ended up with Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac for Sarah - is there a better break up song? As well as, Love is a Losing Game by Amy Winehouse - the sad poignant melancholy of this song fits Sarah's sense of loss perfectly. Caz doesn't know her dad and feels the loss keenly, so Oh Daddy by Fleetwood Mac (thank you Twitterverse) was the obvious choice here, more for the emotions then the lyrics. I think it is powerful, sad and heartrending. Perfect! Songbird - more Fleetwood Mac for Beth, who hides a painful secret, and somehow this song sums up her pain for me as well as giving hope for the future. Plus it's just BEAUTIFUL. I also have The Man with the Child in his Eyes for Beth and Matt - I don't know why, it seems to fit their story somehow. The Sadness Runs Through Him by the Hoosiers is another heartrending song which fits Beth and Matt, whose situation particularly gets to me. Before I fall to Pieces by Razorlight is for Caz, who has to stumble a little on the way to finding redemption. Again this song seemed to capture her perfectly. Hurt by Johnny Cash is the pivotal song of the book, for Doris and Darren particularly, but for al the characters in their own different ways. And it always makes me weep... And finally, Doris is obsessed with all things Disney and this is a book about friendship, so You've Got A Friend in Me by Randy Newman from Toy Story is the perfect swan song!
Listen to my soundtracks!
Thanks to the wonder of modern technology I’ve now loaded all the soundtracks to my books on Spotify, and will be linking them to my Facebook and Twitter accounts, so you can hear them too!
And here are the soundtracks for rest of my books and the reasons why I chose the songs I did…
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