Hi! I'm really enjoying the SoS series, especially with the playlists you've made for each book! I was wondering if the order of the songs on the playlists is significant/relates to how the books progress? I think some songs might be tied to specific chara

You are 100% right! Most of the songs in the Seven of Spades playlists are chosen for their relationship to a specific scene. And the order they fall in the playlists is in chronological order of when they occur in the books.

The first song in each playlist is thematic, like an opening credits song in a movie or TV show. And the final song is the “end credits” song, chosen for the way it defines the major message of the book as a whole. (That’s why each playlist is named for the last song.) The songs in between are primarily tied to specific scenes, but occasionally they’re a more abstract representation of a character or relationship.

I sometimes listen to music while I’m writing, but more often, I wear earplugs to minimize distractions from ambient sounds. But when I do have music on, if I hear a song that would be perfect for a playlist (which happens a lot), I take a note of it so I don’t forget.

I start the playlist construction process while we’re line editing each manuscript. As I’m going through the book from start to finish, I jot down all of the significant emotional beats and themes on a sheet of paper. Then I go back later and pare the list down to the ten most important, see which songs in my notes fit well, and use Spotify to find the rest.

Your question reminded me that I haven’t posted the One-Eyed Royals playlist here yet, so I’m going to do that now. This one is my favorite so far - making playlists definitely has a learning curve to it, and I think I’ve improved over time! ;-)