‘He hears sounds like a heartbeat in the ground’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Lifeform Three

My new novel isn’t set in the world of music and none of the characters are musicians. It’s a quirky take on the future dystopia/utopia, with a smattering of Arcadia too – misty woods, abandoned towns, a forbidden life by night; the scent of bygone days; and an enigmatic door in a dream. Behind the scenes, though, music did all the early work for me. The first, rough outline came to me from favourite tracks by Boards of Canada, Peter Gabriel, Vangelis, Enya, Ralph Vaughan Williams and the Hungarian electronica composer Gabor Presser. As I built the story I listened to them repeatedly, and now each of them represents a landmark on my main character’s journey. Join me on the Red Blog, when I’ll explain the Undercover Soundtrack for Lifeform Three.

It’s a cover! The real cover of Lifeform Three

Forget the alien on fire. Delete your sparkly apocalypse. Say hello to misty woods, abandoned towns, secrets in the landscape, a forbidden life by night, the scent of bygone days and a past that is itching to be found. Say hello to a door in a dream that seems to hold the answers. And this is science fiction? Oh yes, in a literary, unusual sort of way. You’ll see.

I’m quite excited now! I’ll let you know when it’s up. In the meantime, my to-do list is full of notes such as ‘fit the new cover into the artwork at the top of the blog without making it nonsensically crowded’, ‘update end material in other books’, ‘book myself a spot on The Undercover Soundtrack’…