Originally written as a single, long book, we have now broken it into two volumes. We are preparing Book IV, The Sacred Heart, for release this fall. (Check out the excerpt here.)
As I mentioned in a previous post, Coyote and I have taken a break from the main O4S storyline and working on a side project about Corbenic, which is the setting for Books III and IV. One of the reasons I think it's been so hard to finish Books V and VI is because it's so hard for us to say goodbye to Corbenic. It's our favorite place.
While you're waiting so patiently, you can at least share my creative headspace, in which music is so indispensable. As always, SPOILERS AHEAD.
**10/12/21, Edited to add, I used to have YouTube videos embedded in this post, but videos have a way of getting yanked. So I've created Spotify playlists for all the books. The Spotify lists actually have more songs than what I included in these posts, so, I hope you enjoy the bonus tunes.
Spotify Lists:
If you want my commentary on the songs, here are the other soundtrack blog posts:
Where Flap the Tatters of the King Soundtrack
1. The Road to the Capital - Violet Hill, Coldplay
"There was snow
White snow..."
A song about winter and war. The entire planet of Corbenic has been plunged into an endless winter while the King is imprisoned, which means the team has a long trek through snow and ice to get to the capital. As Murphy observed, the characters were "just in a goddamn desert." From scorching heat to freezing cold-- we're not nice to these people. Fortunately, they're all from the Midwest, so they're used to extremes.
2. The Witches - Four Women, Nina Simone
One of the team's early stops is at a house where four women hide from the rest of the Corbenese society-- if they did not, they could face execution simply for being what they are in a world that forbids women from practicing magic.
A song about four very different women, with different backgrounds, who nevertheless share the pain of persecution. The witches consist of a woman who was born to a noble family, a servant, a seer and a prostitute, who have managed to come together to form a tight family unit.
3. The Toy Makers - My First Child, Nil Lara
"You're my first child
I'll lose you someday..."
Another one of the team's pit stops-- Daedalus' Toys, manned entirely by women workers. Like the witches, these women must hide from society because they have escaped cruel husbands, masters and pimps. Some of them are lesbians, which, like witchcraft, carries a death sentence. There are some little girls at the house, but no boys. As one of the women notes, "To steal a Corbenese man's son? That is suicide." If a woman comes to the house pregnant and gives birth to a boy, he is killed. So there's something especially poignant about women who had to either leave their children behind or kill them outright for their own survival, then turn to toy-making to earn a living.
4. The Fox Boys - Portions for Foxes, Rilo Kiley
Alyssa is the pretty young thing in front of the Bassarides boys, and almost becomes a portion for foxes. Much to her chagrin.
5. Voice Like an Angel - The Ballad of Jesse James, The Ramblin' Riversiders
We could hardly pass an opportunity for a Jesse James reference, especially since our heroes are only a few shades away from being outlaws themselves.
6. Four Mothers - Marble Halls, Enya
"I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls..."
A white castle by the sea, a handsome prince, and magic-- Four Mothers, the imperial palace of Corbenic, is definitely a dream.
7. The Ball - Galapagos, Smashing Pumpkins
This song always felt like a waltz to me, perfect for Alyssa's first dance with the Prince.
8. The Market - Mystic's Dream, Loreena McKennitt
I think it's mostly the opening note of this song, which sounds like a boat horn, that inspired me so much for this scene. I listened to this song on repeat I don't know how many times as we worked on Leo and Christophe sailing the team across the bay to tour the capital city, and all the attendant shenanigans and mishaps.
9. The Red Garters - Rebel Girl, Bikini Kill
A feminist anthem was in order for Corbenic's proto-feminists and suffragettes. Lady Susan Lamprise is the queen of our world.
10. Murphy's Healing - The Merry Old Land of Oz
"Rub rub here
Rub rub there
Whether you're tin or bronze
That's how we keep you in repair
In the merry old land of Oz."
After two and a half books of gimping his way along, we cut Murphy a break. With the help of magical Corbenese medicine, he is relieved of the health problems that have been plaguing him since a vampire attack years ago. Also, the Corbenese capital is totally the Emerald City-- right down to those green glasses, which I totally want a pair.
11. The Blue Lotus - Glory Box, Portishead
One of the most popular brothels in the capital-- and thereby, the Corbenese empire. A song about a woman being tired of being coveted for her body and not her heart.
12. Lady Susan - Black-Eyed Susan, Laura Veirs
"Flower like you in a desert this cruel
My, my, you're a rare, rare find."
See what I said above about how we *heart* the tenacious, tough-as-nails, yet big-hearted Lady L.
13. Alyssa and Leopold - Lover I Don't Have to Love, Bright Eyes
"Your tongue in my mouth
Trying to keep the words from coming out
You didn't care to know
Who else may have been you before
I want a lover I don't have to love
I want a girl who's too sad to give a fuck."
What can I say about Al and Leo? They fall for each other hard and fast, but Al's got this eensy little problem with communication. And commitment. And intimacy. Good thing Leo's a patient fellow. Also, he has a Christophe to rely on for sensible relationship advice.
14. Downstairs - Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd
JD plays guitar for the staff at Four Mothers. Remember that guitar pick keychain he had back on the day he met his wife? We planted that as a little clue that the Colonel knows his way around the ol' gee-tar strings. Of course, he would be, in the immortal words of Eric Forman, a "good, clean, Lynyrd Skynyrd-lovin' American."
But I still love Bill's comment, "And not a goddamn one of us from Alabama."
So there you have it, folks-- the songs I listened to when working on Book III. I'll post a Book IV playlist sometime after we release it this fall.
Thanks for reading, and as always, let me know what you think in the comments.
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