So I have been bragging about something exciting for a while now, yeah??

Well today I'm going to introduce you to half of it! Well... a little more than half.

I am so excited for this I can hardly stand it.

Let me give you a little back story though first...

When I write I use music not only as inspiration, but for mood setting and a catalyst for story lines, basically for every piece of the creative process. Not that that's anything special... most authors do. Music and writing seem to go hand in hand.

Just like Music and Reading.

When I write playlists, as you see to the right of these words, there is a ton of thought that goes into them. I try to capture not just the overall theme of the book, but the setting, the emotions, the sound.... everything. My books play through my head like a movie and my playlists are the score that accompanies each scene.

Silly? Maybe. But I need that to complete the picture for myself. It's what makes each book finished, perfected, completely told.

And I have LOVED sharing that with everyone. Playlists are so much fun for me to put together. Finding a song that goes exactly with whatever chapter I'm writing or the overall theme of the book is like one of the most satisfying things for me. And then getting to share all that with you is even more exciting!

There have been so many marriages between music and books recently thanks to specialized playlists and authors who take their music seriously and the time to put all that together. And there is so much more on the horizon. I have heard some crazy cool ideas that are being developed with music and eReaders that take reading to an entirely new level, that I am blown away.

And super excited!

So of course, I HAD to get in on this. I had to. I didn't have a choice. If music could be used with my books in a very personal way I was going to make it happen.

Thankfully, one of our closest friends is an extremely talented, super innovative musician. He been performing for a while and always played our local scene. But one night this fall while him and his wife were over I approached the subject of writing original music to go alongside my books.

A theme song if you will.

Movies are great. We love movies. But we love books more, right????

If movies get theme songs, why can't books!?!?

So this was our idea. We sat down and hashed out details and then we spent weeks emailing back and forth ideas and themes and snippets of dialogue and lyrics.

And the whole while I was throwing all of my random, incoherent thoughts at him, he was creating music.

And then finally I got to hear what he came up with.

I could so have easily broke down into tears because it was so pretty and SO perfect. It was exactly the heart of my idea, of what I was writing. I was seriously moved. But obviously I have a reputation to uphold and I can't just break down into hysterical sobbing in front of company. Obviously.

:)

These songs are genius. I mean it. He is so talented. So. So. So. Talented.

And in about a week, we're going to release the first song that will coincide with The Rush. I have been chomping at the bit to tell you guys about this and now it's even worse because I just want you to hear it!!!

We will definitely not be stopping at one song either. The Star-Crossed Series is already being paired with fantastic original songs and The Rush series will have so much more than just one song.

The first song we are going to release is for The Rush.

The song is called I Believe. And Andrew James is the name of the artist.


You guys have to check him out. His past work and CDs are mostly blues, but what we are working on is more mainstream than bluesy.

And you have to check him out on Facebook to hear some of his stuff! I promise. It's SO good!

He's new to social media, so everyone needs to go follow him on Twitter and Facebook! I had to tell him to get his social media life together!!! Me? I know! I fail at everything internet-related. I don't even know how to reply to comments on my blog!!! (Which if anyone does know how to do that...? I would love some pointers so I can get back to you guys!!!)

He's number 7 on Reverbnation right now. And he's just pretty much awesome in general!

Like him on Facebook and check out his music here: Andrew James

And follow him on Twitter here: @Andr3wJames

I Believe will be live soon and I cannot wait to share it with you!!!!