The Official Soundtrack for Obedience
Believe it or not, when I wrote my first draft of Obedience, I had a soundtrack planned out for the book and intended it to be in the draft that was released on Amazon. I absolutely adore music. I come from a family of musicians, both bluegrass and folk musicians, and grew up exposed to all sorts of music. It weaves its way into every faucet of my life and it always is a part of my writing process. I always have ambient or acoustic music on when I draft.
Here’s the official Obedience playlist for you to enjoy! I didn’t actually go through every single song in the playlist so I leave out chapters with big spoilers so you can check the book out, but you can enjoy the playlist on Spotify, and I left you some of the bigger broader chapters with explanations!
Chapter 1 - Serse “Ombra mai fu”
The reason I picked this song for the first chapter was because it starts out with Cassandra Blackstone, my lead female character’s audition to the Dreamers Academy, one of the main settings of the book. She auditions with this song, which you learn a lot more about through the narration of Chandler in this chapter, including that it is one of his favorite opera songs.
Chapter 2 - Complicated
Without giving away spoilers for the chapter “things get complicated” in this first Cassandra chapter. She’s expecting things to go a certain way, and, as with most books, the authors don’t let it go in their favor. I still feel a little bad for her even to this day.
Chapter 3 - I Put A Spell On You
I love this Annie Lennox song. It’s a classic, and it absolutely fits this chapter, another Cassandra chapter, where she ventures to another interesting setting within the books small little fictional city of Acrefort, New York. You learn some fun things things chapter, and Cassandra’s world definitely shifts by the end of it.
Chapter 4 - My Stupid Mouth
Oh, Chandler. This couldn’t have been a more befitting song for him this chapter. He’s trying to recover from some…lapses in judgment, for lack of a better way of putting it without giving spoilers. You’ll see Chandler does this quite a few times in the book. He always has the best of intentions but sometimes his emotions cloud his thinking.
Chapter 5 - Into You
This chapter is from Cassandra’s perspective, and it’s after a handful of things have gone down in the book. From Cassandra’s point of view, there’s definitely some feelings going on she’s trying to deal with at this point, and she’s starting to struggle when she meets up with Chandler for her first private lessons with the aerial silks… I thought this song very much encompassed Cassandra’s emotions both in this chapter, and just in general with her feelings about Chandler.
Chapter 6 - Can’t Get You Out of My Head
One of my favorite Chandler chapters in the entire book. It’s when we start to see him unravel a little bit, and this Kylie Minogue song encompasses his emotions in this chapter and scene absolutely spot on. It’s evident that Cassandra is more accepting of what is going on with her feelings about things at this point, whereas Chandler is fighting his feelings at every turn.
Chapter 10 - Fire and Rain
I wanted to talk about my choice of this James Taylor song for Chapter 10. The reason I picked it has everything to do with the last parts of the song and what happened to Cassandra as a child and when she is triggered in this scene. I absolutely adore James Taylor and I felt like this song very much encompassed those feelings she had to be feeling in those moments, and in other moments when these memories came up for her.
Chapter 11 - Everything Has Changed
Oh my God I love this Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift song, and I felt like it fit this chapter so much. This is a pretty big Chandler chapter, and I won’t give away spoilers, but the title of the song says it all. There’s a big shift in this chapter, and I absolutely adore the scene in Soliel Theater between Cassandra and Chandler. There’s also lyrics about green eyes in that song, and I couldn’t help myself after that haha.
Chapter 13 - Do You Want To Touch Me
Man I can’t give spoilers!!!! This is a Chandler chapter, and basically Chandler has put himself in a terrible position because he’s fighting all these constant feelings for his student, that he very much is falling for and is infatuated with and then here come all of these sexual feelings on top of it when he puts himself in a very precarious position because he let’s temptation get the best of him. These are some of my favorite Chandler chapters too.
Chapter 15 - You’re Such A
I heard this Hailee Steinfeld song when it first came out and I remembered it when I was writing this chapter. It totally encompasses Cassandra’s feelings toward Chandler and how wound up she is. I absolutely love it. Random quote from the book with no context so not to give spoilers. “Are you fucking five years old or something?”
Chapter 18 - The Flower Duet from Lakme
Before I started the audiobook production, this was my favorite chapter in the entire book. I am not going to talk about it too much again to not give away spoilers, but it’s from Chandler’s perspective, and it is the most beautiful writing I’ve ever done in my entire life. And this song is actually in this chapter, they perform in the silks to it. It’s also in the audiobook! When Daniel Zbel, who voices Chandler, sent it back to me to listen to for the first time, first of all he knocked the narration out of the freaking park, but he also put music to the audio. I have never cried so hard in my life. This song always hits me in the feels, it’s gorgeous.
Chapter 21 - Fix You
Coldplay is up there for some of my favorite listens for me. I absolutely love them to pieces, and it includes this song. There’s not a lot of spoilers for this chapter, but basically you’ll learn that Chandler injured his knee in the book and it gives him a lot of problems. He is kind of a lone wolf kind of guy and doesn’t get a lot of affection or people helping him out with things, but in this chapter, Cassandra helps him when his knee is hurting pretty bad, by trying to alleviate some of the pain for him. It’s something Chandler isn’t used to people doing. I love this little chapter so much, and it is just as beautiful with the audiobook. But this song definitely fits that chapter.
I hope you enjoyed some of the soundtrack from my book! The songs that are on the Spotify playlist definitely represent the chapters pretty well, so hopefully it’ll give you a little bit of an idea about my book.
If you enjoy music, please consider listening to the full-cast narrated audiobook version of my book, too. There’s actually a lot of music and cool sound effects that are incorporated with it, and it makes for a really wild experience! You even get an entire chapter where it feels like you’re sitting in the audience watching a circus show. It is so cool!
Cassandra
Growing up, I was mesmerized by a man soaring the skies.
The greatest silk aerialist in the world, Chandler Moreau.
He was once my lifeline, the dream I clung to after my parents died. I’ve always believed he was my destiny. To join him at the Dreamers Academy. To perform for him.
To soar with him.
He’s more than I ever imagined. Far more than a mentor. When I am high in the silks, turning, flying, falling, he’s my lifeline once again. Twisting my heart and my body into knots like the knots of his beloved Japanese rope bondage, Shibari.
I don’t want to live without him. With each lesson, each touch, I crave more. Only he can satisfy me. And only he can destroy me…
But I must keep him safe from the past that relentlessly follows me.
Chandler
She is my protégé, the student I’ve been waiting to take under my wing for my entire career. Someone with whom I could share my lifelong journey in my family’s circus, Cirque du Lys.
I never intended to fall in love with the student I was supposed to protect—from myself and the demons that lurk in my shadows. But sometimes fate has other plans.
Cassandra, my beautiful butterfly. I know she’s off limits. Forbidden. Still, I want her in my life. My heart. My bed.
My grandfather's taunting words still linger.
Mieux vaut plier que rompre.
Adapt and survive.
It’s what we must do. Cassandra and I share a history that entwines us more than the silks we’ve spent our lives mastering ever could.
There are secrets from the past that must never be told. And truths that could destroy what we’ve just begun…
A bestselling independent author from Florida, Liza has been putting romance books into her readers hands for over a half decade, and has loved every minute of it.
Liza lives with her husband, her two dogs and her cat, ten minutes from the beach. When she isn't writing, you can often find her walking and enjoying outside, with a coffee and a book in hand.
Love the playlist! Amazing.
ReplyDeleteRoses are red. Violets are blue. Let’s cut to the chase. I’m just saying “thank you.”
ReplyDelete