Book Tours: Guest Post for One Wish

I’m hosting a guest post today for the book tour for my dear friend, February Grace. She’s the author of the “One Wish” collection.

Music and Magic

I have always been a musical person. Thought my brain is incapable of translating little black dots into sound (much to the frustration of teachers who tried to teach me to sight-read) I see colors when I hear music, and I have been able to play a bit of piano by ear (and sing) since I was a small child. It’s something I haven’t done so much lately, with my focus on other artistic pursuits like painting and writing, of course, but music is always a huge part of everything I do, including writing and painting. Writing OF STARDUST and IN STARLIGHT was no exception.

Whenever I’m going to sit down and start working on a new first draft, the first thing I do is begin with a small playlist of songs that inspire me as far as the idea of the story goes. Then I keep adding songs as I go, and I always end up developing individual playlists for the characters that are most significant to me. Gus has two of them, in fact: one for each book in the set!

When I set out to write OF STARDUST I needed music that made me think of the possible in the seemingly impossible: of magical feats attempted and accomplished by those who seem, on the exterior, to be ordinary, everyday people.

One of the first songs that came to my mind when I thought about beginning Till’s journey toward becoming a certified Fairy Godmother was one from way back in my childhood; one that I remember every word to. It’s Magic, by Olivia Newton John from the film Xanadu. I was really obsessed with Xanadu back in the day, the idea of muses crossing generations and living forever basically to inspire artists was absolutely fascinating to me. So Magic was one of the first songs on my list.

Of course, given that Gus is such a huge part of Till’s story, I had to put some songs in there for him as well. I am a HUGE fan of the world-famous singing group Celtic Thunder and have been for years; their music has been a great influence on not only Gus’s character itself but on me as I was fashioning the story. I was really lucky that their album Mythology came out while I was in the process of working on the books: as soon as I heard Now We Are Free I knew that it had to be Gus and Till’s song, so to speak. That, and believe it or not, a version of Auld Lang Syne by a band called Courrier are two songs that really stay with me when I think of Gus and Till.

There were a few songs I had thought of but not found versions that felt ‘right’ to include on the playlists until after the books were finished: one such song is a version of the classic Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, performed by Sweet Talk Radio. I have added it to the playlist of songs that will always remind me of each book; and now I would like to share a portion of each playlist with you (as they are way too long to share in their entirety!)

OF STARDUST Playlist (Partial)

Mylo Xyloto and Hurts Like Heaven by Coldplay

Butterfly, Butterfly, by a-ha

We Were Young by My Mathematical Mind

Speed The Collapse by Metric

Never You Mind by Semisonic

Human by The Killers

The Winner Takes It All by ABBA

Magic by Olivia Newton John

Mysterious Ways by U2

Hail The Hero (Mo Ghile Mear) by Celtic Thunder

I Can Barely Say by The Fray

That’s How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart by Aimee Mann

Never Say Never by The Fray

Beautiful Like You by Lee DeWyze

Chances by Athlete

Never Get Over You by Our Lady Peace

Strangeland by Keane

In My Arms by Plumb

Keep Looking Up by Landon Pigg

IN STARLIGHT Playlist (Partial)

Auld Lang Syne by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Now We Are Free by Celtic Thunder featuring Keith Harkin

Auld Lang Syne by Courrier

Between by Courrier

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by Sweet Talk Radio

Run (SMASH Cast Version) by Katherine McPhee

Speechless by Lady Gaga

Where I Stood by Missy Higgins

Up In Flames by Coldplay

Half Life by Duncan Shiek

Pie Jesu by Sarah Brightman

Pilgrim Finale by Shaun Davey

Wonderland by Paul Young

Awake by Josh Groban

Lost? By Coldplay

Be Still by The Fray

Us Against The World by Coldplay

Just Say Yes by Snow Patrol

Don’t Look Down by One Republic

Day One by Audiomachine

Somewhere Only We Know (Lily Allen Version)

If you enjoy music, I especially hope you’ll enjoy this insight into the eclectic mix of music that I listened to while writing/revising and promoting these two books: two books that combine to tell a story that will always hold such a special, magical place in my heart.

Especially, I must say, will Gus.

~February Grace

About the Books

Title: One Wish – The Of Stardust Collection

Author: February Grace

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Two books, one unforgettable romance!

Till Nesbitt had no idea what she was getting into when she learned the truth about her future from her Great Aunt Tilda: that she was destined to become a Fairy Godmother, because the skills were written into her DNA.

Faced with a whole new world of rules to navigate and a heart full of confusion, will Till be able to live for her work, or will her partnership with sweet, handsome Gus Duncan lead to her downfall?

Author Bio

February Grace is a writer, artist and poet who lives somewhere that is much colder than she would like most of the time.

She sings on key, plays by ear, and is more than mildly obsessed with music, clocks, colors, and meteor showers.

Her poetry, prose, and/or flash fiction have appeared in The Rusty Nail Literary Magazine, Vine Leaves Literary Journal, and Rose and Thorn Journal. Her work can also be found in the following anthologies: Poetry Pact Volume One, Anything Prose…And Poetry, Too! and Orange Karen, Tribute To A Warrior.

GODSPEED, her debut novel, is a labor of love she refers to as “Literary romance with steampunk embellishments.”

Her second novel, OF STARDUST, is a modern, romantic fantasy tale. IN STARLIGHT is its sequel.