Book Playlist: Sarah Davis

Sarah Davis is many things… wife, mother, veterinarian, writer. An avid reader, she enjoys stories that transport her into new and exciting worlds. Having read more books than she would ever admit, she considered writing a novel for ages. It wasn’t until the idea for Inside Voices popped into her mind that she finally started pursuing that dream. She and her incredible husband share their remote home on the prairie with their three extraordinary children and one mostly human weimaraner.

Sarah Davis, author of Inside Voices

As I wrote Inside Voices, I listened to a variety of music. Most of which I would not include in a soundtrack for the movie, er, book, the music helped me tune out the outside world and focus on the world in my head.

While playing out scenes in my mind, certain tracks easily fill the background silence. That must mean I watch too many movies, eh? After I knew the book would be published, I put a bit of extra thought into the score and stumbled across Two Steps from Hell (which technically should be Heaven, right?), a movie music production company out of LA. Their music is phenomenal. Brilliant. Majestic. Everything I was looking for.

Without further ado, the song list for Inside Voices.

Breath of Cold Air by Two Steps from Hell
This song captures the crystalline cold of the north.

On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons
The story takes place close to the top of the world, however the characters joke they are on the edge. This song is upbeat and hopeful. A good one for a fresh start.

Who I Am by Goo Goo Dolls
A song about mental illness. Need I say more? It’s the Goo Goo Dolls.

Secrets by One Republic
I first heard Secrets on The Sorcerer’s Apprentice with Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel. This was my introductory song for One Republic and I was instantly hooked, replaying the Tesla coil scene over and over just to hear it and see the electricity. So, any story I write MUST have One Republic.

Enter Sandman by Metallica
The main character, Penny, plays guitar and practices riffs as a way to escape life’s troubles. The more difficult the piece, the more engaged and focused she can be to the music. Enter Sandman, while it doesn’t have phenomenally difficult guitar tracks, it is repetitive and allows one to get lost within the music. Also, a bit of a darker trac to go with the troubling nightmares that Penny deals with in Inside Voices.

Bad Horsie by Steve Vai
If you listen to the song and cannot see why it is a choice here, we shouldn’t be talking. Ha. Seriously, this song, included on the ‘95 Alien Love Secrets is based on a 1986 Ralph Macchio film and the heavy metal of a train. There are many things in life that imitate an oncoming train…anxiety, stress, and in Inside Voices, a predator’s hunt of man. Penny also enjoys playing Steve Vai music, and this is one she learned to play with her father.

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Don’t Stop Believing by Journey
Only because I used a verse to throw together an attention grabbing twitter pitch…and it’s Journey.
Just a city girl
Livin’ in an arctic world
Took a midnight run beneath a shining sun

Everybody Hurts by R.E.M.
A mental health song. A bit melancholy and eye opening. Some people hurt more often.

It’s A Beautiful Day by U2
Everytime I hear this song, whatever might be bothering me steps aside for a few minutes. U2 serenades me with all the warmth and peacefulness of my many blessings. Memories stir of days where a soft breeze cools my face in the summer sun. I hope everyone has a song that brings them peace and a smile.

Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield
A fun song, Penny’s father’s favorite. He may have been playing it when he caught Eelyn’s eye. Penny learned to play on her father’s electric and continues to switch over to his black Fender Jaguar when jamming to this song.

Snowball Fight by Two Steps from Hell
This piece plays whenever Fjord, Penny, and Blue go outside. How could it not??

Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra
Because this is the song Penny and Noah dance to…and it’s Frank.

Monster by Imagine Dragons
Another group that will have a song in any of my stories. Monster could play for Noah as easily as Penny. Both face nightmares from their past and carry the burden of surviving when others did not. The song is a bit dark to match those times when the characters gaze into their pits of despair.

Love and Loss by Two Steps from Hell
Epilogue!!

Love You till the End by the Pogues
This is the song that I see at the end (before Miracle)

Miracle by Two Steps from Hell
Credits, I mean, Acknowledgements…and another part of the story I cannot name…see chapter “Cracks.”

About the book…
The mind is a strange beast…extraordinary, unpredictable, protective.
Penny Osborn’s mind is no exception. In High School, Penny witnessed a massacre and lost her father to the same killers. She had seen it unfold before it happened, in a premonition, but could not prevent it.

A college research project at the edge of the Arctic is her chance for a new beginning. Struggling with PTSD, Penny’s therapy includes running, dogs, and guitars. Yet her fresh start is plagued by new premonitions, dark and foreboding, that coincide with a rising number of murders in the community. Her visions are vague, offering little to identify the killer.

When confronted with an orphaned polar bear cub, Penny risks everything to save its life. The deepening mystery of the murdered women, coupled with the exhaustive duties of caring for the small cub, draw her closer to her friend, Noah, and further from her sister.

Fearful for the serial killer’s next target, Penny discovers where her physical abilities can help her.
Will letting go of the past lead to healing? And can she stop the murders?