Musically Yours

Sometimes I write in silence, most of the time though I like to have music in the background.

Music is amazing - think about it for a moment - it can make you happy or sad, energise you or make you angry, it can bring back memories or help to soothe your pain.

Some stories I've written exclusively to a particular band or piece of music. Hunters was written entirely to the HALO 2 soundtrack - which I love. Hunters is an action packed romp and the HALO music suited the mood for writing it perfectly.

Requiem for Golgotha is another good example of music suiting the story - Requiem is about friendship and loss, relationships and clawing your way from the bottom back into the light. Papa Roach were the perfect choice for me - songs that come from the heart.

My idea of easy listening music is a bit of Ozzy, and if I need to concentrate I found out years ago that nothing focuses me better than AC/DC. Weird I know, but it works for me and I do love my music.

In all fairness I enjoy a lot of different types of music from rap to soul, classical to country, pop to motown, R&B to reggae. But by far my favourite type of music is Rock - metal, punk, grindcore, grunge, industrial, whatever the hell label you want to dish out. Driving rythms, powerful guitar riffs, strong vocals; all the things that make this type of music in all its forms my absolute favourite type of thing to listen to.

I hope that some of the energy and passion from the music I'm listening to becomes part of the story I'm writing, that the melodies, licks, riffs and lyrics guide me as I weave a world of words from my head.

Good music + good coffee = the perfect formula for me to write.

By the way, I can't STAND drum and bass!