Blast of nostalgia: book playlist inside

​One of the joys of writing Craving London has been reliving memories–and the music that goes with them.

There are 19 songs/artists (and recipes, which are in the hands of my intrepid recipe testers!) in the book, each of them having to do with the story.

At first, I had actual lyrics written into the manuscript, until I realized that this is a copyright no-no, and I could get sued. So instead I listed the song name or artist. One of my fellow self-publishing authors created a playlist during her launch, which then inspired me to do the same. It was a logical next step given all the musical influences in the book.

A few of the tracks were already in my iPod (remember those?) when I moved to London in 2004 (and I would listen while running and daydreaming about someone…), while the other songs were popular when I lived there. I wanted to set an accurate mood and inject nostalgia, taking us back to that time–and the feelings that went with it.​

The songs are listed in the order that the track or artist appears in the book…save for one: “No One Is to Blame” by Howard Jones. I originally included the opening line of this song as an epilogue in the book:

You can look at the menu, but you just can’t eat.

To me, this line poignantly sums up a key theme in the book, but alas–the legal issue. So I removed it and included it as the final song in the playlist. I hope you enjoy it, perhaps next time you’re in the kitchen or going for a run:

​Craving London playlist on Spotify​

The choice of songs will make a whole lot more sense once you read the book.