Our guest blogger today is New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries.  In the last 11 years, Sabrina has penned 18 Regency romances and four novellas — becoming a regular on both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists and winning more than a dozen industry awards in the process.  Writing about 19th-century English life comes naturally for her.  Not only is she a lifelong Jane Austen fan, but she has a doctorate in English lit from Tulane and a specialty in Early Modern British literature. Today, she has more than 4.5 million Sabrina Jeffries books in print.  She writes at her home in Cary, N.C., where she lives with husband, Rene, and their son, Nick.  When not answering e-mails as she logs miles on her treadmill or doing jigsaw puzzles (“my reward for finishing a book”), Jeffries can be found championing the cause of autistic children in the name of her son.

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Do you listen to music while you write?  It is my opinion that music is a great way to set the stage either before or during a writing session. It pumps up the volume to your creative talent. Heck, music can be used after a writing session like a victory lap. Think Chariots of Fire.

Music is a great way to get your muse in the mood. Not unlike how sultry tunes rouse some couples into a romantic mood. Bow chicka wow wow.  The harmonies act as an accompaniment to any scene being written.

Take a moment to conjure up a favorite TV show. Theme songs like Law & Order, CSI, Friends, Cheers, and even SpongeBob immediately sets you in a disposition for what you are about to watch. You settle in expecting serious drama, quirky comedy or mind-numbing cartoonish entertainment (a guilty pleasure).

What would movies be without music stealthily layered into each scene?  Would the tension of hiding under the bed from an axe murderer be the same? How about swimming in the ocean, a showdown at noon or that first desperate kiss after nearly losing him/her? Music adds to the tone of the action on the screen. Star Wars, Titanic, The Lion King, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. These are blockbuster movies with music that evoke strong emotions.

Listening to music can stir your muse and put you in the right frame of mind for any particular scene you are committed to write. An adventure or high-anxiety scene requires a fast beat. A tender, poignant moment needs a softer melody. The music prepares you as your story unfolds with its own tracks playing in the background.

Those of us who use music with writing presumably have their preferences for what works. Some write while listening to an iPod. Some use music as background noise. I cannot write at all when I hear my favorite tunes. I spend far too much time singing and rocking out. Head banging or waving a lighter overhead is just plain counterproductive. I really like to sing and it’s not pretty. Instead, I listen to movie soundtracks from epic motion pictures such as The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean. These songs reflect the overall tone of my manuscript and keep me centered in the action. It’s a bonus that I don’t bust out into a karaoke moment.

Authors will have their favorite musical genres to get them in the mood. Me – today’s alternative and hard rock music gets me revved up to write. Some of my favorite bands include Breaking Benjamin, Theory of a Deadman, and Shinedown. Generally, I  have 2 or 3 songs that I consider theme songs for each story. I know of authors who create whole soundtracks for their books. I can’t stress enough how music that means something can ramp up your excitement for a project.

For my first manuscript, The Dolphins Cry by Live fit perfectly as the novel’s theme song. If I ever had this novel optioned for a movie (hey – don’t laugh at my fantasy), this song would play at the end when my hero holds tightly to his heroine tucked under his arm. Whispers in the Dark by Skillet and What Have You Done Now? by Without Temptation are dueling theme songs for the second book in my pirate series. These songs define the emotional climate between the hero and heroine. The videos do not, but my impression of each song gives me the chills.

There are many types of music to choose from as a companion to your creative endeavors. Here, I’ve listed a few possibilities. By no means is this list comprehensive, either in writing genre or type of music.

Adventurous – Soundtracks, Rock

Break-ups – Pop Rock, Adult Contemporary, Alternative, Rock, 80’s

Comedic – Adult Contemporary, Pop Rock, Broadway Musicals

Exotic locales – World beats, Tropical, Reggae

Historicals – Sub-genre specific music, i.e. Celtic, Classical, Soundtracks

Paranormal – Alternative, Rock, Goth, Metal

Single Title – Adult Contemporary, Pop Rock. Dance, Hip-Hop

Steampunk – Alternative, Rock, Grunge, Goth, Metal

Sultry Love Scenes – Latin, Jazz, Salsa

Suspense, Mystery – Alternative, Rock, Soundtracks

Sweet romance – Soft Rock, Love songs, Pop Rock, Easy Listening

Westerns – Country, Blue Grass, Folk

Young Adult – Teen pop, Alternative, College Indie, Pop Rock

Mix and match, the possibilities are endless.

Everyone has their own idea of what puts on the groove. Does music give you inspiration or is the sounds a distraction? What do you listen to?

I’m hijacking Free-For-All Friday today to have an open forum discussion about e-pubs.  Lots of aspiring authors are hearing about the opportunities for writers in ebooks, but hesitant to take that direction and uninformed about what it entails.  Today I’m here to answer any question you’ve got about e-publishers and I hope other electronically published authors will jump in with their two cents on these issues as well. (more…)

When I was in college, I became involved in a student philanthropy called Dance Marathon.  Two hundred couples, thirty straight hours of dancing, a casino, celebrity alumni donations – the whole nine yards.  All for one great cause.  Through Dance Marathon, hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised for wonderful charities every year.  To this day, DM remains one of the most exhausting, thrilling, amazing experiences of my life.

Each year the DM chairs select a new worthy charity to be the primary beneficiary of that year’s marathon.  The student participants not only raise money for those charities, but often become involved on a much more personal level.  It was through DM ‘99 that I first became aware of an organization called the Children’s Heart Foundation.  (more…)

Do you write in multiple genres?  Or maybe you write books that live at opposite ends of the same genre – alternating playful contemporary comedies with dramatic contemporary sagas.  Perhaps you write at wildly varying sensuality levels.  So how do you create an author identity (or brand, but that word always makes me think of livestock) that embraces your different styles? (more…)

Whew! Last day of March, and I don’t know about you, but the last three months have just flown past. And, honestly, I’m happy Spring is here with its happy sunshine and sticky new leaves because March nearly killed me. I spent every weekend away from home, attending two conferences and a family vacation to Disney (which is not restful in the least). Guess how much laundry I have? (more…)

Okay I admit it, next to producing a synopsis the thing I dread the most is writing sex scenes. Luckily I don’t write books that have a whole lot of sex in them, but there always comes that moment (about three quarters of the way into the book) where I have to insert tab A into slot B.
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Yep, it’s that time again….Spreadsheets!!!!!

Everybody excited yet?  I hope so.  This is one of my favorite subjects, so I can’t help but want everyone to love spreadsheets as much as me.    Seriously, though.  Even if you’re not a spreadsheet lover, I hope you find something here you can use in your own character development even if it never makes it inside the cells of a spreadsheet! (more…)

I’m riveted by fictional villains.  Sociopaths, psychotics, psychopaths, megalomaniacs, “The Big Bad”…whatever you call them, whatever their psychological damage – bring ‘em on.   (more…)

This weekend I saw the movie Nine.  I adore Rob Marshall (director of Chicago), and I found myself duly wowed by the visual candy even as I was wrenched by the wrenching emotional drama. 

Nine, for those who’ve never heard of the Broadway play or current film adaptation, is the story of Guido Contini, an Italian director of the Cinema Moderna period (think Fellini) who is struggling to put together his ninth film.  He was hailed as a genius (a maestro) for his early work, but his last few have been unanimously declared to be flops.  A jaw-dropping parade of women act as his inspiration as he wrestles with his latest attempt at immortality. (more…)