Getting in the Zone

I’ve got so many plans, so many books and so little time (plus each book takes lots of time to get right!) so I’m working full tilt at the moment to get my edits for book 5 finished and the first draft of book 6.

For each book, I have certain songs that get me in the zone. There are always interruptions in life and I’m learning, with each book, to find the balance between staying deep in the book and also stepping back occasionally to reassess (and to do real life).

These songs become such a part of the books – the mood, sometimes the lyrics or the content – and I’ve started choosing songs more deliberately at the beginning of the drafting process. What also works for me is if those songs are in the language of the area I’m writing about or by local musicians. This means unfortunately my playlists aren’t full of current hits or songs readers will know, but if you’re interested in checking out my inspiration, then take a dive with me!

We’ll Always Have Venice was the second book I wrote set in Venice, but I only really found my musical inspiration while I was editing a Match Made in Venice, so this band is more a part of the second book than the first. And I chose a couple of their songs that have a summer feeling, for We’ll Always Have Venice. And then I had to give the band a cameo in the book, of course! Remember the bit where they go and see a local punk rock band? In my mind, it was Rumatera!

This song in particular was the one I listened to pretty much every morning while walking the dog, getting back into the zone for We’ll Always Have Venice. Even if you have no idea what the words mean, it’s a funny music video and some of the elements of this have ended up in book 6 as well! The title means ‘Me and My Friends’ in the Veneto dialect.

Rumatera also have a song called ‘Ghe Sboro’, which you might remember from my two Venice books. It’s a rather rude, but useful saying in the Venice region, to express anything from surprise to approval to disbelief. The music video is worth watching just for the glimpses of Venice, but it’s also very funny.

So welcome to my weird playlists full of Veneto dialect (and recently songs in French). I’ll write a separate post about the songs from the ‘zone’ of book 5! I had a lot of fun with that playlist. Some amazing pop songs in French out there at the moment. In the meantime, enjoy the fioi (the boys) from Rumatera!