Music for telling stories – guest spot on Kobo Writing Life

Yes, another guest post. But just for a change, it’s not about the characters book!

When I was Kobo’s Writer in Residence at the London Book Fair last month, they were fascinated to hear about my series The Undercover Soundtrack. Firstly because they’re keen on fostering innovative ways for writers to get together and make contact with readers. And second, because they were busily scribbling their own novels and were imagining what they’d say was on their soundtracks!

Anyway, they asked me to write an introductory piece for the Kobo Writing Life blog. If you’ve ever wondered what all those red posts are, here’s Undercover Soundtrack 101. I tried to mention as many past posts as possible – so if you’ve been one of my guests, hop over there and see if you’re starring on the Kobo blog…

‘It’s never a bad thing to make the reader feel a bit uneasy’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Jonathan Pinnock

A change of gear this week. This is the first time I’ve hosted a writer who is talking about short stories. A lot of music lurks behind his award-winning first collection, inspiring the plots, mood and characters. Various signature songs have passed through his imagination to become a tightrope-walking couple, a doomed relationship, a person given the eyes of a serial killer and a haunting piece of music derived from nature. His name is Jonathan Pinnock and he’s on the Red Blog today with his Undercover Soundtrack.

‘True love is a sense of returning home’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Caroline Smailes

My guest this week says she always found music a distraction rather than a help in her writing. Until a lyric sneaked into her thought processes – and from then on the novel took its own turn. She started writing about a secret siren world in a derelict swimming baths, and a character who is looking for a home. She is Caroline Smailes, the novel is The Drowning of Arthur Braxton, and shes on the Red Blog with its Undercover Soundtrack.

GIVEAWAY Caroline is excited to give away a print copy of The Drowning of Arthur Braxton to one commenter on her post. Extra entries if you share it on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In or G+ – but be sure to leave a note in the comments to let us know that you have!

‘Art that engages the sixth sense’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Tom Bradley

My guest this week is part of a program that publishes unusual fiction that drenches all the senses. He describes Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin as both the ‘inner ear’ and the central nervous system of his novels which were written as collaborations with artists. His Undercover Soundtrack is wonderful, eerie, apocalyptic and elastic; his name is Tom Bradley – and you can meet him how on the Red Blog.

‘A piece of music with dark water running through it’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Timothy Hallinan

Sometimes I find there’s an inexplicable moment when the tune in my ears tells the story back to me and from then on is part of its world. My guest this week became wedded to a Ravel piano concerto when it started at exactly the moment he began a long, brooding sequence with a killer. He likes to write in public places and his playlist is forever topped up by suggestions from his wide fanbase. Indeed his musical roots run deep; in the 1970s he was in a band that recorded an album for Universal and which ultimately, minus him, became the gazillion-selling group Bread. How cool is that? As cool as this – songs he’s written have been recorded by a number of top artistes in several genres. Now he’s an Edgar- and Macavity-nominated author of thrillers and mysteries. Could it get any cooler? His name is Timothy Hallinan and I’m thrilled to have him on the Red Blog with his Undercover Soundtrack.

‘Changing the voice of seven different narrators’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Andrew Blackman

Another Soundtracker returns this week, a new book under his belt. Andrew Blackman had set himself a steep challenge with his second novel. His story of love in the internet age had seven narrators, each needing their own voice and style. Early feedback from his agent said they weren’t distinct enough, and for a while, Andrew despaired of finding a solution. Then, as he always did in times of trouble, he turned to music. Which saved the day. He’s on the Red Blog with the Undercover Soundtrack to his second novel, A Virtual Love.

GIVEAWAY Andrew is offering a signed copy of A Virtual Love. For a chance to win, leave a comment on the post or share it on Twitter, Facebook, G+ or anywhere else (and don’t forget to leave a note saying where you shared it).

‘Love is the key to these stories’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Andy Harrod

I heard a quote this week that I love: ‘All art aspires to the condition of music’. Meaning, it works beyond its medium; a direct connection with nerves and heart. This quote seems particularly to fit my guest this week. He says he writes from a need to understand, to uncensor, find meaning and connect with self and life. He prefers his music on vinyl (good man!) to better enjoy its sleeve art, and his book, Living Room Stories, is housed in a 7in record sleeve. How could you resist? He is Andy Harrod and he’s on the Red Blog with his Undercover Soundtrack.

GIVEAWAY Andy is giving away 1 handmade copy of Living Room Stories and a print of two from tearing at thoughts. To enter leave a comment or tweet the song that represents love for you. Andy will pick his favourite. If you take the tweet option, include the link to the post and the hashtag #undersound. Good luck!

‘This is my blues novel’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Nathan Singer

My guest this week is another of those enviably talented writers who is as happy playing a set of strings as a qwerty keyboard. Not only that, he is a playwright and an experimental performing artiste. He says his various novels correspond to musical genres and he often composes a soundtrack before he starts writing. Beyond his own compositions, many of his favourite musicians help to set the tone and create the atmosphere, and some of them end up as cameos in the story. And what a story – the book he describes as his ‘blues novel’ features hellhounds in suits, a 1938s afterlife (possibly)  and resurrected loves. He is Nathan Singer, and he’s on the Red Blog with the Undercover Soundtrack to Chasing The Wolf.

‘Notions of past and present hold no sway here’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Andrew James

My guest this week describes his novel as having a subliminal soundtrack that wormed into his head and influenced the period, the tone, characters and the ties that connect them. The novel, Blow Your Kiss Hello, is a mystery and a thriller with a bit of Other too. It’s the story of a man searching beyond the boundaries of here and now in the hope of finding his missing girlfriend. It’s set mostly in the 1990s with threads of 1640, a crossing that becomes apparent as Faithless meets Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aenas. He is Andrew James and he’s on the Red Blog with his Undercover Soundtrack.

‘The music gave me short sentences, like gunshots’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Grigory Ryzhakov

My guest this week tackles a range of narrative styles – comedy, action sci-fi and romcom. He uses music to tap into the right mood for a character or to find the right rhythm for the prose. He also composes and performs music under an alias, so when he hasn’t been able to find a suitable soundtrack for his writing, he creates his own. He is Grigory Ryzhakov and he’s on the Red Blog with his Undercover Soundtrack.

GIVEAWAY Grigory is giving away 5 copies (Kindle or epub) of his two-part novelette Becoming Agie to commenters. Leave a note on his post to enter – and if you tweet or share on Facebook, G+ or other media, be sure to mention because that counts as extra entries too.