The Willow Playlist

Go fill your ears with the auditory equivalent of Willow. This is a small, condensed version of what I listened to while writing it. Be glad it's not the massive version (though I could totally set you up with that if you wanted).
Check it out here!

For a Change, We Dance

So I kind of thought I'd start posting little snippets from The Willow Queen, because I'd like to be presented with a very good reason as to why I shouldn't.

That's right, you totally can't.

Ha.

All that aside, here are a few paragraphs from Chapter Five. I hope you enjoy!

Life drags on, no matter how awful everything gets. It keeps going, on and on, constant and full and so thick and heavy that I can hardly breathe. But I am the same. I am constant and ongoing. I keep my ladies distracted, especially if they have sweethearts in the army. I help Charlotte prepare for her wedding. I strategize with Mel and Beaufort. I slowly read my way through the library.

When the day comes, things feel almost bright. Most of the people in the church are either female, children, too old for the military, or simply uninterested in war games. There are so few people here. Yet every single face wears a smile. The music makes us thrive. Charlotte and Alec are bursting with light.

For a change, we dance. Just like the coronation, we dance defiantly. In the wake of horror and war and death, we dance.

I fall asleep feeling slightly uneasy, full to the brim with an uncertain mixture of utter joy and inexpressible dread. The dread is such a constant thing that I’ve almost grown accustomed to it. I’m unused to happiness. How strange. It’s been three months and already happiness feels unfamiliar. This is what war does. It drains you of everything good and leaves you empty. Anything that fills you up again feels strange and, I don’t know, wrong. It ruins and scars you.

Mel hugs me in his sleep, and suddenly, I know that I’m wrong. The war may wound me, but its damage will not be permanent. As long as I have this little moment, and moments like it, I know that I’ll survive.

Alina

Music is one of the most important pieces of my writing process. Certainly more than Tetris. As such, I compile playlists every time I start a new project, because I know how much of an impact music has on my writing. It offers inspiration when the well runs dry, helps me to properly envision the scene, and is a good way to waste time while still telling people, "Leave me alone, I'm busy doing writer things."

I've already talked about two of the songs on my Willow playlist, but here's another. It's a slow, haunting melody that really worked well for the more emotional aspects of the story, of which there were many.

Seriously, guys, I'm an emotional wreck.

Worth it, though.

First Tendrils of Fear

Yet another attempted summary for Willow. I'm not sure if I dislike it more or less than previous attempts. It feels like less. Have I found a decent one?

Callie was born and bred to be special, though never very important. When she quite unexpectedly finds herself the queen of a country at war, she quickly finds that no head is heavier than the one that wears the crown.

While I like that this kind of captures the general feel for my novel, there's not much about the plot. Like, at all. What. So. Ever.

I can do a little four-word tagline fairly well (Queens must never falter (it's okay)), but an actual summary? That's terrifying, yo.

Writing a proper synopsis isn't quite as frightening, as the point of that is to sum up the whole thing, beginning to end. No need to make people wonder Oh, gosh, what happens next? But a summary has to hook you, grab you in and hold you tight and never, ever let you go.

Well, not quite, but you know what I mean.

Callie is a young duchess who marries a prince. She leaves her peaceful home for court life, making her own home among the nobility. When she finds herself quite unexpectedly as the queen of a nation at war, however, she discovers that not all battles are fought with soldiers. Callie must suffer personal tragedies while ruling her nation and waging war. How can she lead her people to victory when she can barely keep herself together?

I think the best summary, however is this: A story of loss and unknown strength, The Willow Queen will hopefully leave you an emotional wreck just like the author.

Just tellin' it like it is. 

So Still, So Serene

Have I said that I'm terrible at summarising things? Because I am. I really, really am.

That being said, I've taken another crack at it and come up with one that's really short and not that hideous. I think.

This story, like so many others, is about a girl who marries a prince and finds her Happily Ever After. Quite a lot happens between the first and the last, though, as Callie finds herself ruling a nation at war. Personal tragedies befall her, but she keeps on going; after all, the queen is a beacon of hope.

Okay, I still hate it. I guess I just have to keep coming up with summaries until I find one that doesn't make me want to tear my hair out in giant clumps. Blah.

On Loop

While writing The Willow Queen, there were quite a few songs that I played constantly. I had two playlists set up for it, one with more modern songs, one that sounded more like a movie score, and it was fantastic. For this second project, I'm sadly lacking Spotify, so I'm just randomly sifting through music in the hidden realms within YouTube. Worth it.

Either way, here are two of the songs I had on repeat for The Willow Queen.

"Soldier On" by Temper Trap. It sort of became my theme song for my main character, and it became a major inspiration for the whole novel. It has a tremendous sort of strength that was channeled directly into the main character, and I think it affected it hugely. Not that I'm complaining.

"Metamorphosis 2" by Philip Glass was another major inspirational song. This one went on the playlist that sounded like a movie score, for good reason. It starts off a bit solemn, but there's the undercurrent of, I dunno, excitement, I think, running through it. I dunno, it just fit. I'm the writer, I say it works.

Also, while writing the book, I ended up listening to more Renaissance and traditional Indian music than I'd ever assumed I would, ever. These are things that happen.