I create playlists for every book while I’m drafting, daydreaming about plot points or trying to get in my characters’ heads. I had the pleasure of sharing some of the songs I listened to at various points during Our Devil’s Awake’s creation with Dru at Birmingham Mountain Radio. You can listen to the full interview here:
Hold On, Hold On
Neko Case
I was immediately drawn to the raw angst of this song for Blythe as she appears at the story’s opening. She’s inherited this huge responsibility that gets in the way of anything else she could possibly want and thinks all she’ll ever have is her devil. To me, that line, “It’s the devil I love,” really captures Blythe’s internal struggle throughout the story.
Sets the Blaze
Hope Sandoval and the Warm Intentions
Hope Sandoval’s dreamy vocals lend perfectly to Our Devil’s Awake’s overall fantastical, mysterious vibes. This song especially reminds me of the dynamic between the main character Blythe and her love interest Elsie. They fall for each other fast and when they do, it’s a fiery kind of love, but that’s all I’ll say for now.
Where Did You Sleep Last Night
Wanda Davis
If a fictional Louisiana small town like Winchester could sound like anything, it’d be this song. What I love about this cover is how haunting and ominous it is beneath Davis’s sultry, powerful vocals, the perfect mood for cryptid hunting in stifling swamps.
The Well
Cas Cleo
This was one of the first songs I added to Our Devil’s Awake’s playlist. The last line in it actually inspired one of the book’s first major plot points. If you know, you know. And if you don’t, I hope you’ll pick up the book and find out!
Fire
Sara Bareilles
Most of the songs I selected for this list have to do with the book’s romantic subplot. The love interest Elsie is a magic-wielding fire dancer, which made for some—I cringe when I say this—hot moments between her and Blythe, but this song in particular also speaks to how they end up fighting for their relationship in ways that aren’t necessarily healthy. I’ll leave it at that.
Roseblood
Mazzy Star
More Hope Sandoval! I adore her voice so much. This is another one of those Blythe and Elsie sapphic angsty anthems. I don’t know, for better or worse, it just sounds like them.
Andromeda
Weyes Blood
One of the most compelling relationships in the story is the one between Blythe and her mom, Andromeda, who goes by Andie. In the beginning, she represents the life Blythe feels she’s doomed to live. But like any good mother, Andie wants more for her child and carries more than just the burden of their devil to make sure Blythe can have a future of her own. This song’s initial pessimistic tone shifting into the message to chase what you want perfectly illustrates Blythe’s journey to the person she becomes at the end of the story, which I think her mother would be proud of.
Yam Yam
No Vacation
Yet another sweet tune that evokes the love story in Our Devil’s Awake. One of the things Blythe longs for the most throughout the story is the romantic relationship she thought she’d never have and this song evokes that sense of longing as well as her desire to fight for Elsie even when she thinks she shouldn’t.
Hare Tarot Lies
No Joy
This song absolutely hits the vibes of the less-discussed relationship in Our Devil’s Awake, the one between Blythe and her captive devil Rosie. Hare Tarot Lies is fuzzy, melancholic and darkly atmospheric, but there’s something else there it’s hard to put your finger on at first. I hope readers will have as much fun dissecting the dynamic between Blythe and her devil.
Impossible Weight
Deep Sea Divers, Sharon Van Etten
If Blythe as she appears at the story’s opening had an anthem, this would be it. Between the song’s propulsive, upbeat sound and Sharon van Etten’s rich vocals in Jessica Dobson’s lyrics about letting yourself be vulnerable, I knew the song belonged on the playlist the minute I heard it.
Origins
Tennis
Another song that perfectly describes Blythe’s struggles, both in the beginning of the story and toward the end when things are at their lowest and she has to discover her own power within herself to save the day. And get the girl.
Sure
Hatchie
I chose this one because it sounds like a sweet love song until you pay attention to the lyrics about the indecisions of an on-again, off-again relationship. Plus, Harriette Pilbeam looks how I imagine Elsie does.
Wicked Game
Widowspeak
Wrapping up with a lovely dreampop cover of Wicked Game, one of my favorites. Love is something Blythe wants more than anything but constantly denies herself until her pull to Elsie becomes too strong to resist. Once we get into the story’s climax however, I think readers will understand even more why this song fits the vibe.