Zip-a-dee-ay...my, oh my what a wonderful day!

Hear that? Got the lyrics running through your head? Feel like kicking up your heels? What about this one...

Dunh dunh dunh daaaah. Dunh dunh dunh daaaah.

Beethoven's Fifth leave you feeling a little melancholy? A little dramatic? How about the Pink Panther theme song? What does that evoke?

And more importantly...what in the world is my point?

Music arouses emotions, and capturing those emotions with words is a writer's job. So work that angle when you're writing. Put on some background tunes to create atmosphere.

Each of my manuscripts thus far has had a soundtrack to go along with the story. GALLIMORE, my first book, was an actual soundtrack from the movie The Count of Monte Cristo. Whenever I sat down to work on my second piece, UNDERCURRENT, I popped in cd's from the Swedish band Vasen, who slam out Scandinavian tunes with a contemporary twist. There's one particularly moving piece that I imagine to be the hero and heroine's special song.

Currently, I don't have any inspiring music for my new Bow Street Runner series. But who knows...maybe Santa will hit me up with a loaded iTunes card, eh?