Soundtrack “Hold of the Bone”

Every book I’ve written unfolds in my head like a movie, and each has a unique soundtrack. The River Within had scenes set in Afghanistan and Iraq so it was written mostly to middle eastern music. Each Franco novel had its own soundtrack. I kept the albums on a list but lost it when the house burned down. Fortunately, I created the Hold of the Bone soundtrack on i-Tunes and still have it. The songs were gleaned from Pandora stations featuring R. Carlos Nakai, Chopin, and Bach’s cello music. It’s an eclectic mix of genres but each fits perfectly with the books darkly haunting theme.

El Caminante (The Traveller)  Douglas Riva, on Granados: Sentimental Waltzes, 6 Expressive Studies – Classical – this was probably the most pivotal piece of music at the start of writing Hold. That questioning, repetitive piano theme tied in perfectly with Frank’s mysterious, repetitive visions and with my questions about where the story was going and how.

Shaman’s Call  Katalize, on Tribe – Journey Through the Spirit – New Age – this epitomizes how Frank feels on the ranch, like her spirit is soaring, like she is alive for the first time, in a completely new and unknown way. She doesn’t understand why the mountains make her feel this way, but she needs that aliveness, begins to crave it.

Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor Op. 27/2 (Moonlight Sonata)  Jenő Jandó, on The Very Best of Beethoven – Classical – love this for the scene when she is looking out the cabin window at the storm ravaged moon….

Perfect Neglect in a Field of Statues  Eluvium, on An Accidental Memory In the Case of Death – Rock – a sense of urgency and quest to the music, perfect for her anxious flight from the city into the wilderness she is afraid of yet longs for.

Theme from Casualties of War  Ennio Morricone, on 50 Years of Music (92 Original Scores Recorded By Ennio Morricone in Concert) – Soundtrack –  A sweet interlude, underscoring loss, the past, all that is left behind.

Once Around the Park Paul Bley, on Fragments – Jazz – couldn’t find a link to this, which was okay. It was on the Hold playlist but never as instrumental (haha!) as El Caminante or Shaman’s Call.

The Approaching Night  Philip Wesley, on Dark Night of the Soul – New Age – echoes El Caminante with it’s tinkling, probing refrain. Softer, though, not as insistent. Frank is softening, relaxing into her mysterious connection to Sal and the mountains. She’s learning to trust herself.

Dusk and Void Become Alive   Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, on Dusk and Void Became Alive – Metal – dark, strong music nearing the book’s end, as Frank begins to accept her inextricable, inevitable ties to the land.