Amanda Havard recently released the second book, Point of Origin, and now she is telling us all about how music plays a role in her writing and sharing the soundtrack for the book.

Amanda Havard has been telling stories since before she could write. She grew up in Dallas, Texas, where her first book was published in her elementary school library at age seven. She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Vanderbilt University. She currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, with her baby grand piano and more story ideas than she could tell in one lifetime.

Havard discusses the role of music in her writing and the book’s soundtrack below:

In The Survivors world, music is a hugely influential factor. I connect to songs as they relate to my story world so that I will hear a song playing somewhere, stop what I’m doing, and think, “This is so Sadie,” or “this is so Cole,” and then I must listen to it repeatedly. Music gets me into my characters’ heads. And so I use it to get you there too. Whether it’s the original music, the YouTube Survivors Sessions where local artists cover the soundtrack songs, or it’s a song playing in the right moment of the book when you read the Immersedition, music is what keeps this universe buzzing.

When I write the story, I find the perfect song for the perfect scene or perfect emotion and set the book to a soundtrack. When I plot the remaining books in the series, I don’t do it by an outline but instead by a playlist that charts every major moment in the rest of the story. Because music is so experiential for me, this allows me to remember the full range of emotion, the tone, the texture, the ambience for the scene. The perfect song for the perfect scene communicates volumes more to me than 500 words scribbled in my outlining ever could.

This was especially true when writing the second Survivors book, Point of Origin. I had already selected half the songs in advance of writing it, including the ending song, “Fire” by Augustana, which really set the tone of the entire book for me. Since it was such a big part of the writing process for me, I’m thrilled to be here to debut the The Survivors: Point of Origin soundtrack with you. I’ve shared a few notes with you on why I picked what here, but on my website, you can find the full (sometimes spoilery, so be careful to only read what’s marked that way if you really want to!) explanation of why each song matters to the story, and why it matters to me.

In chronological order…

1. “Second Chance” – Peter Bjorn & John

Sometimes it’s a single line that makes you know the song is perfect. This one? “When you flew back to the nest, you made a mistake, flew all the way back.” Isn’t that where we find Sadie at the opening of Point of Origin?

2. “What If” – Coldplay

The first two verses of this song are printed as the epigraph in Point of Origin. I chose them because they so effectively signify the more complex no-right-answer, no-easy-way-out situation the characters find themselves in in this book. Plus, “What If” is the actual soundtrack song to the movie-in-my-head of the first part of the first chapter of the book.

3. “Time of the Season” – The Zombies

I imagine this playing when Sadie and Everett are in Dallas with Felix and Corrina — both when it’s going smoothly and when it goes terribly awry. I like the juxtaposition of what-happens-in-the-restaurant and the sultry retro sound of this song.

4. “An Army of Lovers Cannot Fail” – Lovers

“I love you baby, but I know you don’t understand. When the good Lord made me, he made me sad. The best I felt in my whole life was when I was in your hands. But you deserve better than what I have to give.” This song is so utterly perfect for a broken Sadie and Everett in chapter three, “Damages.” I’ll let you determine which of the two you think it applies more to.

5. “Addicted to Love” – Florence + the Machine

Sexy… sultry… yeah. There are those moments.

6. “I Put A Spell on You” – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Listen to this one with chapter 5, “Apothecary.” Reasons will be obvious.

7. “Winter Song” – Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson

This was one of the first songs to make it on the entire series soundtrack, a song about love lost in winter. “This is my winter song to you. The storm is coming soon. It rolls in from the sea. My voice a beacon in the light, my words will be your light to carry you to me. Is love alive?” and… “This is my winter song. December never felt so wrong. You’re not where you belong, inside my arms.” The entire song is so utterly perfect for the tone of Sadie and Everett’s now tragic, tumultuousness. I just can’t even… You must listen to it. Listen to it in every book from now until the end. You’ll see how perfect it is.

8. “Under the Milky Way” – Sia

I imagine this playing at the beginning of chapter 8, “Human Contact.”

9. “Hanging High” – Lykke Li

Listen to this one, really, honestly, and tell me it does not make you think of Sadie.

10. “Quiet Little Voices” – We Were Promised Jetpacks

Imagine you could read minds in Manhattan, where minds are stacked 100 stories high. This song would be the equivalent.

11. “Take Me Out” – Franz Ferdinand

Fight song. See, the end of “Encounter,” beginning of “Duel.”

12. “All for Believing” – Missy Higgins

I connect this song to explorations. The soft ominous feel also connects well to the frayed listlessness of chapter 13, “The Human Trail.”

13. “Are You a Dreamer?” – Denison Witmer

See: a hotel room in Turkey. Trust me.

14. “Don’t Let Them See you Cry” – Manchester Orchestra

Chapter 14, “Soulless” at the Densus Church.

15. “Hankie” – Aphex Twin

Fun fact: I picked this song by googling “creepiest song ever recorded” and found this as one people suggested. It’s absolutely creepy and so so perfect for the opening of chapter 16, “Ava Bientrut.” I listened to it about a hundred times while writing that scene. No, actually.

16. “Pride” – Manchester Orchestra

This one helped write that same scene.

17. “Apologies” – Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

Also one of the early additions to the soundtrack, I imagine this one in a particular interaction with the warmer heart in chapter 17, “Cold Heart/Warm Heart.”

18. “Cemeteries of London” – Coldplay

See: chapter 21, “The Day of the Dead”

19. “The Man Comes Around” – Johnny Cash

This was the first song I associated with Raven. You’ll see why.

20. “My Good Gal” – Old Crow Medicine Show

There is only a spoiler version of this explanation, so you’ll have to check out the site once you’ve read it.

21. “Fire” – Augustana

Same goes for this one, but this song basically wrote the book. I picked it when I was still writing the first Survivors. Check out the full story on the site on this one too — but only once you’ve read it!

Links:
Amanda’s Website
Amanda on Goodreads
Twitter: @AmandaHavard
Facebook: Amanda Havard
Follow THE SURVIVOR SERIES on Facebook: The Survivors
Chafie Press Website