For Carly

Hi Carly!

I'm so charmed by your comment on my Stay Awhile playlist post that I wanted to write you a thank you -- thank you! -- and elaborate a bit further.

Many of those songs I listed, as well as the songs found elsewhere on the Wilfair blog, inspire me simply via sound and feel. While I absolutely adore lyrics, sometimes the emotion a song evokes, just through tone and instruments, is what fills my well.

But there are few significant songs in the Wilfair world. Here are five.

Sunshine by Keane. This wasn't a band I regularly listened to; a friend of mine loved them, though, so I decided to check them out. I really liked this song in particular, and it was the first song I remember listening to as I waded into the first few pages of Wilfair. I had it on repeat when Fair first walks over to Motel Fairwil, if memory serves.

Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event. This song is a bit more melancholy than the feel of the books -- although the books may yet walk some melancholy roads -- but it really captures the moment when someone you weren't expecting to see crosses your path and you nearly liquefy. Plus, this is a local band, and I like having some LA acts on my list.

Short Skirt/Long Jacket by Cake. Guy in lust with a lady exec. Uh, hellz yes, this was going on the Wilfair playlist!

Diving for Hearts by Corinne Bailey Rae. I first heard this song the week I decided if I was going to write some light, superficial books about an heiress who gets into some crazy high jinks or if I was going to write some books that spoke to real emotions and real matters and how it feels to make a foe your friend. I opted for the latter (with some high jinks thrown in). The diving and underwater imagery in the song appealed for obvious pool-based reasons, too.

The Golden State by John Doe (with Eddie Vedder and Corin Tucker). This is a LOVE SONG. The lyrics just twist my toes. And I'm mad for the title, which is both California's nickname, of course, and an apt way to describe how being in love feels. (Also, all the Wilfair hotels are in California. California is flat-out, 100% magical, in my opinion.)

Thank you, Carly, for indulging me!

I may post a few Stay Awhile songs that do give clues to what's going to happen. Now I'm tempted! Watch this space. :)