Character playlist is a new feature in which I ask authors to share how music influences their writing and their characters. If you’re interested in contributing to this feature please email me at phillips (dot) connie (at) gmail (dot) com

Please help me welcome my good friend and critique partner, Sloan Parker, to my little corner of the web today.

Sloan and I met through our local RWA Chapter (MVRWA) and it didn’t take too long for me to figure out she was an expert story-teller.  I feel so honored to be one of the first ones to read her wonderful stories of love and relationships.

Here’s Sloan entry in the Character Playlist feature:

Thanks so much for asking me by your blog today, Constance.

I love mixing music with my writing. When I sit down to work on my manuscript, I’ll often start by taking a quick listen to specific songs I’ve picked out for that book. Music helps me get into the right mood for the scene I’m about to work on, whether that’s an emotional moment or a suspenseful action scene. It also helps to remind me of the overall “feel” of the story and what I love about the characters.

When I’m outlining a new story, I’ll let my iPod shuffle through my library. As the story and characters develop, I’ll start saving songs that have the right tone and lyrics. Those become the songs that, for me, define the characters and what they’re feeling.

My current work-in-progress (which doesn’t have an official title yet) is an erotic suspense about two strangers who end up working together to find out what is happening to missing men in their city. Even though they know they need to keep things focused on the case, they can’t seem to ignore the intense draw they have to each other.

The blend of passion, emotional conflicts, and dangerous suspense led to an interesting mix of songs for these guys.

Here’s a peek at some of what I’ve listened to while writing Walter and Kevin’s story:

• “For You” by The Calling

• “We Belong Together” by Gavin DeGraw
  
• “Say When” by The Fray
• “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence
• “Hanging By a Moment” by Lifehouse
• “Never Surrender” by Corey Hart

Sloan Parker bio

Sloan Parker has been writing and playing with fictional characters for years, but she finally found her true passion when she began telling stories about two men (or more) falling in love. Now she spends her writing life creating m/m erotic romances and romantic suspense. She loves to explore the lives of people who are growing as individuals while falling in love.

Her novels MORE and BREATHE are winners of the 2010 and 2011 Rainbow Awards for Best Gay Contemporary Romance. MORE is also the 2011 EPIC eBook Award Winner for Mystery, Suspense, and/or Adventure Erotic Romance.

Sloan enjoys writing in the fictional world because in fiction you can be anything, do anything…even fall in love for the first time over and over again. She lives in northern Ohio with her partner and their three neurotic cats. You can find out more about Sloan and her work at www.sloanparker.com.