Playlist

MUSIC TO WRITE BY…

I usually listen to music when I write, and I thought it might be nice for my fans, friends, and associates to know what I was listening to when I wrote various stories and books.

Most of the time, I listen to soundtracks when I write—lyrics can be distracting when you’re trying to put a novel on paper. I listen to more classic, punk, and alternative rock when I’m writing comics.

Sometimes, I cast around a bit before finding the “right” music to write a certain book to. Finding the right tunes can really help with the mood and up my productivity. Because I generally listen to CDs when I write, the music I use is mostly limited to what will go into that disc changer. Eventually, I settle down to 3 or 4 regular discs which seem to best fit the moods I’m writing to.

Obviously, I have favorites that I use again and again.

Perhaps at some point in the future I’ll set up some kind of sales connection to hook all of you up with the tunes, too.

The books & stories are listed in rough chronological order.

THE SCORPION
Star Wars: Episode I—by John Williams (especially Duel of the Fates)
Henry V—by Simon Rattle
The Shadow—by Jerry Goldsmith
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story—by Randy Edelman

THE PHOENIX
Journey to the Center of the Earth—by Bernard Herrmann
The Shadow—by Jerry Goldsmith
Jurassic Park—by John Williams
The Monster Music of Hans J. Salter & Frank Skinner (Son of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man Returns, The Wolf Man)—by Salter & Skinner

THE LION
Star Wars (Episodes 4-6) — by John Williams
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story—by Randy Edelman
Big Trouble In Little China—by John Carpenter
Silverardo—by Bruce Broughton
The Shadow—by Jerry Goldsmith

DRAGONLANCE CROSSROADS: THE DRAGON ISLES
The Sea Hawk—by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Classic Fantasy Film Scores—by Bernard Herrmann
Journey to the Center of the Earth—by Bernard Herrmann
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring—by Howard Shore
Jason and the Argonauts—by Bernard Herrmann
Epic Film Music of Miklos Rozsa—by Miklos Rozsa
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad—by Miklos Rozsa

DRAGONLANCE YA#2: THE DYING KINGDOM
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones—by John Williams
Pirates of the Caribbean – by Klaus Badelt
The Shadow—by Jerry Goldsmith
Conan—by Basil Poledouris

THUNDERBIRDS
Thunderbirds Are Go: TV Themes for Grown Up Kids—by Barry Gray and others
Thunderbirds (TV Soundtrack)—by Barry Gray
(What else would I listen to when writing Thunderbirds?)
James Bond music (Thunderball, et al.) — by John Barry

ELEKTRA
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story—by Randy Edelman
Jackie Chan’s First Strike (& Rumble In The Bronx)—by J. Peter Robinson
North by Northwest—by Bernard Herrmann
Once Upon A Time In Mexico—by Robert Rodriguez & various

THE FANTASTIC FOUR
Superman—by John Williams
Silverado—by Bruce Broughton

SPIDER RIDERS: THE SHARDS OF THE ORACLE
Star Wars (original trilogy)—by John Williams

SPIDER RIDERS 2: QUEST OF THE EARTHEN
Star Wars 1-6 (especially 4-6) — by John Williams

DRAGONLANCE: WARRIOR’S HEART
The Magnificent Seven—by Elmer Bernstein
Pirates of the Caribbean—by Klaus Badelt
Silverado—by Bruce Broughton
Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow—by Edward Shearmur

SPIDER RIDERS 3: REIGN OF THE SOUL EATER
Pirates of the Caribbean—by Klaus Badelt
Silverado—by Bruce Broughton
Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow—by Edward Shearmur
Star Wars 1-6 (especially 4-6)—by John Williams

DRAGONLANCE: WARRIOR’S BLOOD
Batman—by Danny Elfman
Journey to the Center of the Earth—by Bernard Herrmann
The Lord of the Rings—by Howard Shore
Pirates of the Caribbean—by Klaus Badelt
Silverado—by Bruce Broughton
Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow—by Edward Shearmur

DRAGONLANCE: WARRIOR’S BONES
Conan—by Basil Poledouris
Journey to the Center of the Earth—by Bernard Herrmann
Lawrence of Arabia—by Maurice Jarre
Pirates of the Caribbean—by Klaus Badelt
The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad—by Bernard Herrmann

PIRATES OF THE BLUE KINGDOMS
Pirates of the Caribbean—by Klaus Badelt
Pirates of the Caribbean 2—by Hans Zimmer
Classic Fantasy Film Scores—by Bernard Herrmann
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad—by Miklos Rozsa

IRON MAN
Silverado—by Bruce Broughton
Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow—by Edward Shearmur
Superman—John Williams

TOURNAMENT OF DEATH
No soundtracks for this, just the live 2008 Olympic games.

PSUDONONYMOUS DETECTIVE NOVELS
The music I listen to varies on these book by book, however, I have some standards that I return to time and again.

North by Northwest—by Bernard Herrmann
Silverardo—by Bruce Broughton
The Magnificent Seven—by Elmer Bernstein
Jackie Chan’s First Strike (& Rumble In The Bronx)—by J. Peter Robinson
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves—by Michael Kamen

RECENT PIRATICAL DETECTIVE NOVEL
Pirates of the Caribbean—by Klaus Badelt
Pirates of the Caribbean 2—by Hans Zimmer
Silverardo—by Bruce Broughton

SHORT STORIES
I don’t always remember to write down the music that’s on while I work on these.

“CRUCIBLE” (from Monsters of Magic)
The Best of Godzilla 1954-1975—by Akira Ifukube (and others)

MAGE KNIGHT STORIES
These vary by topic and characters, but generally I’ve listened to:

Jason & The Argonauts—by Bernard Herrmann
Journey to the Center of the Earth—by Bernard Herrmann
Classic Fantasy Film Scores—by Bernard Herrmann

“THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR” a Blue Kingdoms story
Dracula—by John Williams
Henry V—by Simon Rattle
Xena—by Joseph Lo Duca

“FESTIVAL AT WOLFNACHT” & “BLOOD RED ISLE” two Blue Kingdoms novellas
Dracula: Classic Scores from Hammer Horror—by James Bedard, Christopher Gunning, David Whitaker
Dracula—by John Williams
The Shadow—by Jerry Goldsmith

‘OF A FEATHER” a steampunk story
Jurassic Park—by John Williams
North by Northwest—by Bernard Herrmann
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves—by Michael Kamen
Silverardo—by Bruce Broughton
Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow—by Edward Shearmur

“CRASH OF THE TITANS” – a Crimson story
Conan the Barbarian – by Basil Poledouris
Jason & the Argonauts – by Bernard Herrmann
7th Voyage of Sinbad – by Bernard Herrmann
Pirates of the Carribean – by Klaus Badelt
Silverado – by Bruce Broughton

“TIME WAR“ – a Crimson story
Babylo9n 5 – Vol 2 – by Christopher Franke
Conan the Barbarian – by Basil Poledouris
7th Voyage of Sinbad – by Bernard Herrmann
Pirates of the Carribean – by Klaus Badelt
Silverado – by Bruce Broughton

“THE LAST ALCHEMIST“ – a Blue Kingdoms story
Babylo9n 5 – Vol 2 – by Christopher Franke
Conan the Barbarian – by Basil Poledouris
7th Voyage of Sinbad – by Bernard Herrmann
Pirates of the Carribean – by Klaus Badelt
Silverado – by Bruce Broughton

UPCOMING NOVELS

A RELIABLE DRAGON (forthcoming)
The Lord of the Rings Symphony—by Johan de Meij
The Adventures of Don Juan—by Max Steiner
In the Wake of the Wind—by David Arkenstone
The Sea Hawk—by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Pirates of the Caribbean—by Klaus Badelt
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad—by Miklos Rozsa

MURDER ON THE MOON (forthcoming)
Venus & Mars—Paul McCartney & Wings
The Planets—Holzt
Big Trouble in Little China—John Carpenter
Jackie Chan’s First Strike (& Rumble In The Bronx)—by J. Peter Robinson

HIVE HUNTER (forthcoming)
Still working on it & finding the music!

FROST HARROW series (forthcoming)
Music from Dark Shadows by Robert Cobert