I love music. Rock and roll was the soundtrack for my childhood (I knew the words to several Creedence Clearwater Revival songs before I knew how to read). I was in the school choir. I’ve idolized and fantasized about musicians for most of my life. From the Rolling Stones in high school (I was a weird teenager), to Bon Jovi in my early twenties, to Alter Bridge now, and MANY bands/artists in between, I consider my infatuation with music to be my longest, most devoted love affair.

As I wrote this book, there were many songs that I felt not only encouraged me to keep writing, but also captured the of the mood of my story. So naturally, I created a playlist. I’ve shared a song or two on here before, but I began writing this blog too late in the writing process to share every song that’s inspired me along the way.

And I’d like to rectify that. Especially since I am unwilling to share my book title or character names yet.

Above, you will find the playlist in question. The only song I wish I could add to it that Spotify does not offer is Solace by Alter Bridge.

Also, a little news that I already broke over on my Facebook…

I’VE COMPLETED MY FIRST DRAFT!!!!

I completed it around 3:30 pm on September 11. Though it is going to need a lot more work in rewriting/editing, I am so damn proud of finishing it. All of the dopey fan fiction, all of the halfhearted and abandoned attempts to write books in the past, and I’ve finally completed an entire first draft.

You may be wondering what this means for this blog, since one of the reasons I began blogging was to keep myself accountable as I wrote. I will detail everything in Friday’s Progress Report, so stay tuned!