Not Just 9 to 5 is excited to be a part of the book tour of Daughters of the Night: Possession put on by Bewitching Blog Tours.
About the Book:
Daughters of Night: Possession
Daughters of Night series, Book Two
Ashley Torbeck
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Young Adult Paranormal
ISBN: 1480213195
ASIN: B00ASBZ0JM
Number of pages: 380
Word Count: 69,031
Createspace Amazon Author Site
Book Description:
Carmen’s family is being threatened by a new group of vampires, and she is forced into another battle. Only this time it’s not just her life on the line. Now she must face an evil unlike any other. One that is dangerously close to consuming her, and Carmen’s only hope of succeeding is in the hands of a girl she doesn’t know. Will the demons inside Carmen bring her down before she and Gaviyn can save the delicate life of the mystery girl, or will they all fall over the edge into a pit of death and despair?
Guest Blog – Possession: The Soundtrack
I don’t know about anyone else, but music is a huge part of my life. Seriously, I listen to it all the time, even when I’m watching TV, surfing, YouTube, and trying to read all at once. There’s got to be music playing. It’s one of the few things that can help keep my insanity in check.
So, it should come as no surprise that I listen to music when I write. What was different about this book, however, is that instead of just turning it on random and waiting for inspiration, I actually had songs in my head that helped me develop my characters, so they each kind of have their own theme song. Here are some of the theme songs for a few of the major players in the book:
- Carmen – Wide Awake, by Katy Perry; Admittedly, this was the hardest song to come up with, because she goes through so many changes and struggles. But ultimately, she went from a false sense of security as a human who repeatedly dies, to the real reality, where she had to learn things aren’t always what they seem, and she has to let go of fairytales and fantasies to protect her family and friends.
- Gaviyn – Stand, by Rascal Flatts; This song is kinda perfect, because he’s been through hell and back for love, and each time tragedy strikes, he just picks up the pieces and keeps pushing on. Even at his lowest point (which actually is coming up in the third book, but for now, we’ll say it’s his wife’s possession by a demon and captivity of his son), he doesn’t give up, he fights back.
- Damien – Here Without You, by 3 Doors Down; For Damien, since he doesn’t have a lot of time in this book, I chose a song that would reflect how the other characters might feel toward him after he gets taken. He’s such an important person in the story, and so many look up to and respect him, even though he’s so young, this song pretty much sums it up. They’re sad, but holding onto the hope that they’ll get him back. The tone of the song just really sets the mood.
- Abby – Bring Me To Life, by Evanescence; Even though in the beginning of her story, Abby is a happy teenager living the good life, she goes through a few metamorphoses. The first is the coma, where she’s trapped within her own mind, then there’s a vengeful and anger-ridden vampire, then she comes to her senses and finds herself again. The whole time, she just wants to get out of the madness and find her happiness again.
- Jackson – Far Away, by Nickelback; When Jackson loses Abby-first to the accident, then to Connor-he still hangs onto the idea that somehow he can make her remember who she really is and bring her back to him. The line “Keep breathing, cause I’m not leaving you anymore” is what really did it for me.
- Connor – Last Resort, by Papa Roach; Connor has some psychiatric problems and a broken past, leading to depression and self-mutilation. He’s desperate for acceptance and happiness, and this song just embodies him perfectly, even down to the cutting. His anger and rage are irreparable, and mixed with his pleas for acceptance, end up costing him the very things he desires most.
- Zariah – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), by Marilyn Manson; Zariah has let the quest for power go to her head, and she’s teetering on the edge of psychosis. This song, in this version, is the penultimate psychosis song, in my mind. It starts slow, ominous, but misleadingly calm, then rages off the deep end. That’s exactly what Zariah does.
- Seth – Welcome to My Life, by A Simple Plan; Seth had a hard life as a human and as a vampire, both of which were filled with abuse, neglect, and anger, and he has a hard time coping. He’s not totally depressed all the time, but he hides his pain and anguish inside until he befriends Abby, and suddenly his view of the world changes.
I like a lot of different types of music, can you tell? There are so many more songs that spawned creativity, though, and while working on the playlist for the third book, Daughters of Night: Tribulation, I can tell you it’s going to be fast-paced, upbeat, and completely psychotic. I hope you all join me as the series comes to a close. At least…for now.
I also want to take a second to say thank you to the readers of this blog, as well as to Not Just 9 to 5 and all its contributors. Without the readers, writers would be out of a job. Without bloggers, nobody would know we exist. So thank you! May each of you be blessed with all the love and insanity your minds can handle.
About the Author:
An avid reader and sarcasm specialist, Ashley’s quirky and bubbly personality stems from the vast amount of information she crammed into her head as a child. No genre was off limits, but she developed a fondness for Stephen King books early on. Of course, growing up in Eastern Kentucky, life moved a little slower, so books became her closest friends.
Fast forward a few years, and the vast insanity that surrounded Ashley became her life. In January 2009, she married the only person on Earth as insane as herself, and they now reside in Louisville, Kentucky, patiently awaiting the zombie apocalypse while she taps away at the laptop with a plethora of stories to keep you entertained.
www.drunkenspacepenguin.blogspot.com
www.goodreads.com/author/show/6523844.Ashley_Torbeck
www.amazon.com/author/ash.torbeck
I too love music and it inspires me when I work. What a great idea – to have songs that work with the character! How clever. I just started Ashley’s book and I am already hooked!
Thanks so much, Brenda! I’ll admit, I’m addicted to music, and the more I wrote about each character, the more certain songs just seemed to fit.
Hi, great interview. I love music too. I cannot sit still to write without it. I think its great that Ashley has taken her music to the next level by determining what songs each of her characters relate to and is their theme song. I never thought to do that. I typically create playlists in itunes based on the novel I am working on. I use different music for each.
Nadia
Thank you, Nadia! I tend to have a “writing songs” playlist to inspire me, but this time around whenever I would be writing about certain people, I would skip through till I found a song that made me feel like the character. Eventually, the same songs kept getting played, and I realized it was kind of like their “theme song.” And believe me, I can’t do much without the music on! I’m an official rock star in the shower.
Ashley Torbeck recently posted..Book Tour Kickoff