Funk-N-Fiction

Playground school bell rings again
Rain clouds come to play again
Has no one told you she’s not breathing?
Hello I’m your mind giving you someone to talk to
Hello

If I smile and don’t believe
Soon I know I’ll wake from this dream
Don’t try to fix me I’m not broken
Hello I’m the lie living for you so you can hide
Don’t cry

Suddenly I know I’m not sleeping
Hello I’m still here
All that’s left of yesterday

Hello – Evanescence (2003)

Most authors get this question now and again:

Where do you get your ideas?

Sometimes it’s a strange shower thought: what if the sun went down and never came up again?

Sometimes it’s the inevitable product of watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the sixth time and deciding it’s finally time to write that vampire book because really, vampires never die.

And sometimes, it’s a song lyric that makes you stop and ask, “What’s going on in this song?”

The Phantoms series (Jessica Hawke) was born in 2011 when a song grabbed my attention and refused to let go. I’d never really planned to write a young adult series best described as the CW does The Sixth Sense with a touch of Buffy. But one evening I was listening to one of my favorite genres–Sad Girl Music Sung By Goth Ladies With Divine Voices*–and started really listening to the Evanescence song Hello. Between the haunting lyrics, particularly “Has no one told you she’s not breathing?” and Amy Lee’s siren voice, I was obsessed.

(*This isn’t a real genre but if you’d like some recommendations for the vibe I like here, try Amy Lee, Within Temptation, Nightwish, and a new addition, Poppy!)

With that bolt of inspiration, I started writing notes about this young lady, who clearly saw ghosts.

Why?

Didn’t know.

How?

Didn’t know.

What was the story actually about?

Didn’t know.

I just knew this song was absolutely about the character I was starting to see. (Fun fact, her name was Bridget from the beginning, but Natalie was originally Nicole, and Emily was Amelia.)

Here are some of the early notes from my earliest file entitled “young woman who sees ghosts”:

• she thinks it’s because she got a second chance when her sister didn’t; she’s still connected to her sister who died in an accident, keeping a connection beyond the grave
• she has a hard time functioning; she can’t focus in school, can’t drive a car, spirits always randomly appearing to her
• maybe it has something to do with angels?
• why would she not be able to go to the police? hmm

Sometimes it starts with a simple question and a bunch of “maybe” answers.

Back to the song – Hello has a stark, lonely tone. Amy Lee’s voice is the main event, with some piano and string accompaniment. It’s not as orchestrated as some of Evanescence’s other slow songs (see Good Enough, one of my other personal favorites on this list!), and it’s not as noisy and busy as their up-tempo songs. This isolation and the lyric “Playground school bell rings again” made me think of a girl on an empty playground with rusted equipment against an overcast sky. The loneliness and grief of it rings through all the quiet of the song.

And that is where Phantom Touch came from. One day, a deeply sad song grabbed on and didn’t let go for years.

I later did a little research and learned that Amy Lee, the lead singer of Evanescence, lost her little sister to a mysterious illness. Supposedly, this song and the song Like You are both about her sister. She cites the loss as an inspiration to becoming an artist and using music to heal herself.

Funny enough, I don’t listen to any music with words while I write. It’s too distracting! But I love to make playlists with songs that fit the story, which I’ll listen to while I’m driving or exercising to help me get into the mood for writing.

* * *

Here’s a selection of other songs that have made onto the various playlists for the Phantoms books. For this series, I leaned toward melancholy music with female singers, usually on the slower side.

Pull back the shield between us
And I’ll kiss you
Drop your defenses and come
Into my arms
I’m all for believing
(All For Believing – Missy Higgins)

I’ve often said Phantoms has the slowest of slow burns on the romance front. An impossible bond grows between Kale and Bridget, one that simply can’t be. But gosh, isn’t the pining fun?

For everyone lost in the silence
For every one missing piece
For every will that is broken
No matter how dark it may be
There is redemption
(Redemption – The Strange Familiar)

One of my favorite things about Bridget is how she sees the good in people. She carries a heavy guilt after losing her older sister Valerie. But instead of letting grief make her hard and cold, she still cares so deeply for people. This song reminds me of her warmth and how she will go to such great lengths to help the people who need her.

I’ll be the warmth when your heart’s gone cold
When you’re on your own
I’ll be the compass that points you to north
I’ll be the voice of an old favourite song
Taking you back home
I’ll be the guard at the top of the tower
I will be your keeper
(The Keeper – Kina Grannis and Marie Digby)

This one is two-fold; the two women singing remind me of Bridget and Valerie. Especially in the first book, they’re both acting as each other’s keepers, both taking on the heavy responsibility of caring for the other. But as the series progresses, Bridget becomes a compass to so many other characters. She doesn’t realize how strong she is deep down, but she’s like a lighthouse for so many lost spirits that have no hope until they find her.

I’ll be here waiting
Hoping, praying that
This light will guide you home
When you’re feeling lost I’ll leave my love
Hidden in the sun
For when the darkness comes
(When the Darkness Comes – Colbie Caillat)

This song came across my Spotify discovery well into the series, but I immediately added it to my playlists. There’s a dark warmth to this one, and I’m a sucker for ‘light in the darkness’ imagery. This one goes on a journey, and it really evokes how Kale and Bridget see each other over the course of the series.

* * *

Music plays a role in the writing process for all my books, but this one is unique because of just how much it inspired the story. If you’ve read the series, what song do you think fits on the playlist?

Juice Newton’s Angel of the Morning and U2’s Angel of Harlem. And that’s just book one.

In short, if you are a lover of music and fantasy, and would like heaping helpings of both in your latest word sundae/book, check out my stuff. You won’t be disappointed.