Do you have a view on soul mates? Are you destined to meet yours or do you think it’s a matter of luck?

I tend towards optimism and believe in fate whereas my sweetheart believes life is based on chance.  

My hubby says, “I don’t believe that love is fated. I could never have received a fate as good as the woman I got.”  

    Yes, folks, he’s a keeper!     

Some say meeting a soul mate, or any occurrence in life, is coincidence, and how we arrive at the point we are today is simply a series of random events.

Some might say that but not me. Sure, we make choices that affect our outcome, but rightly or wrongly I believe one’s life mate is prearranged.

Certain religions support the concept of a soul mate. There’s a Jewish belief that says forty days before a foetus is formed, heaven decrees which girl will marry which boy. Talk about divine intervention!

Perhaps I left myself more open to opportunities for meeting my love because I knew he’d eventually show up. Of course depending on your point of view you might interpret that as making my own luck.

One could write a Ph.D. thesis on the subject of destiny versus luck. Instead I’d rather take a mini poll. Which outlook do you prefer – destiny or luck?

Good fortune (or possibly Google) provided me with this sweet song about waiting for one’s soul mate.

watch?v=zcx9cZEqP1U

One lucky (dare I say fated? *G*) person who comments will receive Michael Bublé’s upbeat CD, Call Me Irresponsible. No, it’s not his latest. Hey, I don’t have that one yet. However I’m optimistic that with a few subtle hints, my dearest love will buy a copy for his ‘wife by chance’ someday soon.

The hero and heroine are battling terrific odds. Will they make it? Will they end up together? As the music builds to the climactic crescendo, our hearts are in our throats waiting for the final kiss. The crash of cymbals. The sound of trumpets. We reach the final page. Close the book. The music fades away.

Yes, I did say music. It makes scary parts scarier, tense parts tenser and—what we’re all shooting for—romantic parts more romantic.

Don’t you hear it while you’re reading? I know I hear it while I’m writing. The music library in my computer’s digital jukebox is overflowing with the soundtrack of my novels. Soft classical strains of Beethoven and Mozart paint the scenes of my Regency countryside. But Enya and Loreena McKinnitt can also lose me in the far-off times and far-off places of my stories until I forget I’m actually sitting at my kitchen table, it’s eleven pm, and I have to be up at dawn to get the kids to school.

Bold, soaring movie music accompanies my action sequences. I’m particularly fond of any of Howard Shore’s LORD OF THE RINGS music, the soundtrack to THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS(it doesn’t hurt that I can alternately imagine Viggo Mortenson or Daniel Day Lewis as my hero) or if I’m feeling particularly dramatic I can’t beat Wagner for soul-stirring drama to get my words flowing faster across the page.

Love scenes can be tricky, and though I write historicals I don’t necessarily turn to classical composers to get my juices flowing or my hero and heroine ready to tear each others clothes off. I’ve found that rock singer, Dido can’t be beat for the inner angst and yearning in our characters’ hearts. What I feel in her music translates to my screen, and if I’m doing my job right, you’ll feel every emotional curve along the way.

But occasionally I’ve found inspiration in country music. Stars like Keith Urban and the group, Rascal Flatts are experts at lost loves and might-have-beens. And for some strange reason, the rock group, Nickelback is the voice of every Alpha male, heating my blood and sending my heart racing as fast as my heroine’s.

As you can see, I don’t play favorites. It’s whatever moves me and moves my characters through each scene. The emotional white noise that gets me where I need to be to convey the drama.

I know many writers who tell me they need quiet to work. Music is a distraction. An interruption to their muse. I’ve tried turning it off, but like turning down the soundtrack to a good movie, my writing just doesn’t have the same emotional power without it. I lose the impact when I lose the musical undercurrent.

Luckily, my muse knows better. She just keeps changing the stations, flipping the dial until she finds the music that fits the scene and the artist that connects my brain to my soul and my soul to the page.

I am, admittedly, a tad on the fanatical side when it comes to music. It plays a big part in my writing largely because it plays an even bigger part in my life. I was in my mid-twenties before I discovered not everyone in the world had a musical soundtrack that accompanied them through their day — from their hastily inhaled morning coffee (“Wake me up before you go-go…”–Wham!) to the boring staff meeting at 3pm (“It’s been a long day…”–Matchbox 20) to a quick stop at the post office (“Oh, yes, wait a minute Mr. Postman…”–The Marvelettes) to the microwave meal nuked for dinner (“Drop it like it’s hot…”–Snoop Dogg).

I’m not saying the references were always appropriate (*g*), but I would hear these lyrics beneath the swirl of real conversations around me — the cross-genre, multiple-era melodies running through my mind like an inside joke I couldn’t share with anyone. Just about every memory I have is tied to a song and, even if I wanted to, it’s not possible for me to escape that. 

Thankfully, though, I get to inflict this special kind of fun on my characters.

Both of my first two novels are heavily music laden. The first, According to Jane (Kensington, 09-29-09), persistently references the era of big hair and legwarmers — a time when Michael Jackson (RIP) still wore a single white glove, Spandau Ballet was all the rage and Def Leppard rocked the stadiums with “Hysteria.” As much as I also love the music of today (can’t get enough of Coldplay), the songs of the 1980s are inexorably, undeniably linked to my goofiest and most poignant memories of high school, and I find it impossible to listen to Bruce Springsteen belt out “Dancing in the Dark” without remembering dancing in the, um, dark.  And, you know, other eventful teen stuff…

There are a number of songs that — were they to be removed from my debut novel — would make me fear the narrative was incomplete: Boston’s “Don’t Look Back,” Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is,” Eric Carmen’s “Make Me Lose Control” and the endlessly amusing (and somewhat mystifying) ”Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats, to name but a few. I don’t expect readers to know every verse of these songs as I do, but as I wrote the book, the unstated lyrics informed the text.  In my mind, at least, they underscored the dramatic situations and played up the comedy. For me, these musical asides were a little bonus I could give those readers who were equally fanatical about the music of this era. And, in that small way, I’d get to finally share my inside joke with someone.

And, so, to my fellow writers, I ask: Do musical soundtracks accompany your books? If so, which songs were important to the telling of your stories?

And to everyone, writer or not: Do you have a favorite ’80s tune or two? If yes, which ones?

For anyone who comments on this post today, I’ll be drawing two names late tonight and giving away an advanced reader copy of According to Jane to each of them, as well as a 3-pack of the new Starbucks VIA Ready Brew coffees. (The coffees are only available in Chicago, Seattle and London right now, so I hope it’ll be a tasty sneak preview.) 

May those of you living in the States, have a very Happy 4th — or, to put it another way, since I’m hearing Martina McBride playing in my head now — may you enjoy celebrating ”Independence Day” . And may everyone who reads this have a wonderful weekend!