How A Beautiful Piece of Music Inspired Me to Write This Paranormal Mystery Novel
I love music of all types. My collection consists of the very old to the current: Classical, big band, 1920's-1930's dance, jazz of every era, soul, rhythm and blues, country, rock & roll, traditional and modern Christian, World Music, and even modern dance club, and (gasp!) Broadway show tunes. If it's obscure, I have it in my collection. Once upon a time, I played the piano - BADLY. Once upon a time, I played the cornet - a little better than the piano, but still BADLY. I don't play either instrument much anymore. Life has sent me off in other pursuits, for better or worse. Regardless, music is still a big part of my life.
Music has always inspired me in my writing. Sometimes a short passage in an adagio or a lyric in a song will send my imagination into high gear all because of how it made me feel. Sometimes, I will listen to a piece in order to precisely set the scene I am trying to put into words in one of my novels. This is one of those weird things about creative people that only creative people can truly understand.
In the case of my novel, "Hell Is In Me" a beautiful work called "Mother and Child" by composer William Grant Still filled me with contemplation about that unconditional love relationship between parents and their children. It got me to thinking about the loss of a parent or child, whether through death, a falling-out, illness, or (God forbid) abduction. It got me to thinking about the subject of closure and how it would feel if there was no closure, no end to the grief.
And so became this cast of characters who have become very dear to me:
Enter Quinn Vanderfield. Enter Stephanie Norris. Enter "The Wispy Woman." Enter Caleb Anders. Enter (the despondent and enraged even in death) Jacob Sheers.
SPOTLIGHT ON JAKE SHEERS
Having met his death shortly after escaping the insane asylum, he is trapped within the worlds of the living and the dead, and encumbered by a torturous aura he believes is his punishment. Hoping to learn the truth about a past he can't remember, spectral Jake has spent decades wandering America in search of anyone related to the man he was accused of murdering. His search ends in a small rural California town where he hones in on Quinn, a reclusive teenage medium with ties to his victim's surviving family.
What begins as an antagonistic relationship gradually develops into a surreptitious power struggle between him and the unwilling young man he has come to respect. But Jake needs to settle things, and he is out of patience with Quinn's excuses.
Soon, another side of Jake emerges, a violent entity that will kill to conceal the truth. It is a part of Jake. It feeds on his inner storm, and it feeds upon the storms of the earth.
Poor Jake. It sucks to be insane, and it sucks to be alive and dead at the same time.
Indeed... hell is in him.
Although not referenced in my novel, "Hell is in Me," this song is representative of Jake's battle and the battle to come.
A Storm is Comin'
Vocal: Liv Ash
Music: Tommee Profitt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU4J17q8lsg
Photo Credit: jeffrey-robb
Spotlight on Quinn
Quinn, the main character in "Hell Is In Me," is a self-isolated teenager with a lot of emotional baggage that mirrors the angst of the supporting characters in the story (even the psychologically disturbed ghost, Jake Sheers). Inspired by one of his ghostly visitors, once a jazz trumpeter, Quinn is drawn to the elements of the past, a past he sees as a magical time far preferable to his current existence. His affection for the long-gone days of ballrooms, 1930's movie musicals, Big Band Swing music, and 1950's-early 1960's Jazz, and the excitement of a society once in the throes of exuberant optimism grows stronger as he sinks into deeper isolation. Although Quinn's starry-eyed imaginings of those days is a misconception, he surrounds himself with relics of those times as a cocoon to avoid the harshness and sadness of his real life. His greatest joy is the music of those bygone days, and he shares some of his collection with you here.
Photo by Julius Tejeda from Pexels
Although not referenced in "Hell Is In Me," this beautiful song really describes the core message of the story and young Quinn's personal struggles in Hell Is In Me. It is called "HOLD ON TO MEMORIES," and it was recorded by the fabulous Heavy Metal Group, DISTURBED.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q0sMOQvJuw&list=PLjfrsGJvA7x1qZkz1hR-qHCDRm--c06lh&index=10
"Ad Lib Blues"
"Moten Swing"
If Quinn had given Country Music (in Chapter 6) a chance, he might have appreciated the clever lyrics and catchy melody of this gem by Garth Brooks (had he not quickly changed the station on the old Philco):
"I Got Friends in Low Places"
Inspiration
This Beautiful Music by Composer William Grant Still Inspired the Creation of the Main Character Quinn Vanderfield
It is called, "Mother and Child." Once you get to know Quinn you will understand how this incredible composition of the love between a parent and child, and then the grief of separation and longing for reunion fits as the theme playing within his soul.
Orchestra version
https://youtu.be/0VlvY9YbK6o?si=-3dgd-3z-9tTG_Dv
This Piano/Violin Version is My personal Favorite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2jJ0oYzonA&list=RDMezipoarZsM&index=4
A Memory
Stephanie's mother, Ida, recalls her first kiss with her husband while listening to this masterpiece. It is called, "Summerland," and was also composed by the great William Grant Still.
