Guest Post: Music as Inspiration by Azalea Moone

Music has always played a huge part for me as inspiration when writing stories. I make tons of playlists for all of my stories, consisting of several kinds of genres. And in Angel’s Redemption, recently published by Storm Moon Press, music plays a very large part of inspiration into character Blaine’s life as well.

Despite his years of bad luck, he continues to strive with one goal in mind: for his band to have some recognition. It doesn’t have to be big at first. Matter of fact, they start small: garnering the chance to play Friday nights at a local club.

For Blaine, music in general is his motivation. So what kind of music does he listen to? Well, his band, ‘Til Dark, has its own unique melodic sound with lead vocals by Katlinne. Definitely not the usual gothic sound from female fronted bands. They play melodic death metal, a subgenre of metal music that got its start in Sweden in the early to mid 1990s.

This, by far, is probably Blaine’s favorite genre of metal music. Actually, in the first chapter, he listens to an old CD by In Flames. There’s no mention of the song title, but I think he’d be listening to “Jester Script Transfigured” during that first scene. Other bands I believe Blaine would listen to are: Insomnium, Amorphis, and Nevermore. Never heard of them? Well, check them out!

Those are some of the bands Blaine would listen to for inspiration, but what about the other characters in the story? How about Katlinne? I can hear her singing voice in my head sounding somewhere between Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil and a heavier style like Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy. So I think she’d listen to a lot of Lacuna Coil, especially the older stuff, as well as heavier stuff like The Antagonist and Arch Enemy.

Vince would be into the good ‘ol 80s stuff: Megadeth, Metallica, and Pantera. He’s older than his other band mates by about five years anyway. Strangely enough, he’s always suggesting changes to the band. Things like spraying their hair down with hairspray like Bon Jovi, or trying the rap/metal scheme of nu-metal.

Now that I’ve covered the main rockers in Angel’s Redemption, what about the angels? What would the angels in Angel’s Redemption listen to for inspiration?

Lynsael... well, we don’t really know what he would listen to. He’d likely love anything that Blaine and his band plays, but of course, he believes that anything Blaine does is perfect. If he’d have a chance to listen to more music, he might enjoy some relaxing New Age, or something with mellow harmonies. Something that would soothe his pain and fear, both from losing his angelic nature and the fear of being in the human world.

Raziel, my Hell’s angel in the book, claims he listens to a lot of older stuff, too, like Vince’s selection above. I could imagine it, actually. Heck, maybe someone ought to play some death and black metal for him. Teach him some cords, let him jam out.

I think that covers the majority of the characters, especially the band, ‘Til Dark’s musical inspiration. But what about the author’s inspiration?

Music for me is a huge inspiration, especially with this story. I’d created a large playlist via Youtube and played it consistently. If I heard songs on the radio that reminded me of a character, a situation, or what have you, I’d add it into the list.

Strangely enough, besides the In Flames song mentioned above, none of the other songs that inspired me while writing this story were in the metal genre. The most-played song from the playlist has to be One Republic “All the Right Moves.” Why? I haven’t a clue, other than I had it on repeat while I wrote Blaine and Lynsael’s first love scene. The lyrics aren’t even dirty, but somewhere in my head, I made them to sound like it. Okay, so I guess they could be erotic, if you think of them like that.

Another song that made the frequently played list is Aerosmith's “Angel.” Hehe, that’s a given, though. The song talks about an angel.

So, what about you? What are the songs that inspire you? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to check out my new release, Angel's Redemption, which is available now through Storm Moon Press for just $3.99. Thanks for having me on Pants Off today!

Twenty-four-year-old Blaine Schneider is seasoned to hardship. Since the age of eight, he's experienced nothing but a swarm of bad luck: from the funny electrical fire in shop class to failing grades and relationships gone sour. He believes he'll never get past it; only his band, 'Til Dark, and their dream, keeps him going through it all.

Shortly after he mysteriously inherits a beautifully carved angel statue, Blaine also finds an apartment big enough to display the lifelike sculpture, and he thinks his luck has finally taken a turn for the better. But when he discovers the spell inscribed on the statue's base, he frees Lynsael from his stone prison, a handsome fallen angel who claims to be Blaine's former guardian angel, and then his luck really improves.

But while Blaine is falling hard for the angel's blue eyes and lively personality, in the shadows, dark forces are working to keep Blaine and Lynsael apart. It will take more than luck for the pair to come through unscathed—it'll take a miracle.