The other day I was driving somewhere with one of my kids and a song came on the radio. I looked at my child and said, “that’s my book.” His reaction was pretty much a tilted head, raised eyebrow, “Whaaa…??” I laughed and said never mind. He wouldn’t get it even if I tried to explain it to him.

You see, when I write, or even when I read for that matter but especially when I write, I hear a song in the background. Theme music if you will. I guess it’s the "*feel* for the story that I get while it’s churning in my head. Now I must admit, I listen almost exclusively to Country music and I write almost exclusively books with Cowboys and a contemporary western feel (even if it has intrigue or suspense) so I suppose it’s not such a far stretch that I’d hear my books in the music on the radio. (and believe it or not, when writing sex scenes it’s not that cheesy porn: bom-chicka-bow-bow music either )

Still, not every song fits every book. Does that make sense? So as I said, I am driving and the song comes on that perfectly matched the book I have been working on (I am finishing up the last bit edits for my August release). I could see a scene with the opening of the song and feel another scene with the chorus. It was almost spooky. Though not altogether surprising. When I wrote my first book, I listen to one country artist over and over the entire time I wrote the book—to the point the family complained at hearing it over and over . Eventually I finished the book and on to the next, had a different artist and similar complaints. Stranger to me though, when I went to really get down on the edits, I needed to put on the artists I wrote it to. I could *feel* the book as I worked through it .

As a little side note: I don’t often have music playing when I read, I end up completely blocking it out when I really get into a book. But in the back of my head the theme music is ever-present.

And as I write this a thought struck me, the times when I struggle with a book—writing or reading—the theme music is low or lacking altogether. Hmm… and interesting bit. I am sure to some this all sounds uber-strange and you maybe be giving the monitor a tilted head, one eyebrow raise, “whaaa…???” But for some this may make perfect sense.

Tell me what you think. Do you *hear* the theme music or am I out here in the strange-musical-world all alone?