Money Changes Everything

Cyndi Lauper's  iconic song Money Changes Everything
inspired the new novel Mind Fields by Dylan Madrid.One of my very faithful readers sent me a note last week that said: “From the very first line of the novel, I was hooked.” That’s quite a compliment and one I accepted graciously.

However, the first line of my new novel Mind Fields isn’t really of my creation. It’s the title of a song recorded by superstar Cyndi Lauper , featured on her iconic first album She’s So Unusual. The song was the spark that ignited the plot, characters, and storylines in my imagination. During the entire writing process, I kept going back to the song and the title of it: Money changes everything.

Wealth and the lack of it are opposing forces in the novels, constant themes that weave in and out of the characters lives. My main character, Adam Parsh, is a struggling college student who has been raised by a single mother, Becca. She was widowed at a very young age, has never remarried and has worked hard to provide for her son. When Adam is hired by a Greek tycoon named Dario Vassalo, he’s introduced to a world of excess and power. The immense wealth intrigues him at first because it’s an existence he’s never known. At the same time, he comes to realize that even though the Vassalo’s have money, their family is considerably dysfunctional. In the end, Adam learns many valuable lessons, one of the most important being that money really does change everything.

Music has always inspired my work. Often, I will hear a song – especially something with very memorable lyrics – and it will create an emotion or an image in my mind. The ones that refuse to go away are the ones that make it onto paper – and often into print.

Mind Fields was also greatly influenced by the song Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) by Nancy Sinatra. That song and Cyndi Lauper’s are both referenced in the novel.


Singer E.G Daily whose classic hit Love in the Shadows
inspired the romance suspense novel by Dylan Madrid.My upcoming novel Love in the Shadows was inspired by a dream I had, but there’s a song with the same title recorded by the wonderful E.G. Daily that I listened to while writing the book. Having admired Daily's entire catalog of work for many years, I titled the book after the song as a tribute to her. I will also let you in on a secret: when and if Love in the Shadows is adapted into a film, I will do all in my power to see to it the role of Regina Bremington is offered to Daily, as I truly created it for her.

My next novel Backstrokes was really inspired by the beautiful music of Elizaveta and my fear of water.

I am always very inspired by anything Lana Del Rey sings. She’s my musical muse. I could probably write an entire novel based off of each of her songs.

When writing Mind Fields I knew that everything would begin and end with that one phrase, that title, that song. In truth, it captures the entire essence of the novel. Constantly, as a creative person, I am always amazed by the moments in life when art inspires art.