Monday, January 6, 2014

You are the Only Exception

I am doing the final read-through of Fly Away Home today. My cover designer has finished and delivered the files. As soon as I finish the read-through I can order a proof-copy. Everything is coming together quite well and I am excited to actually hold a copy of my book in my hands and see if all that formatting work I did worked out okay.
On Twitter, Elisabeth Foley asked if Fly Away Home will be available as an e-book. The answer is yes--I plan to release it as an e-book and a print book. I am going to shoot for releasing them simultaneously but depending on technicalities, the e-book might not come out February 14th. We shall see. I have a friend formatting the e-book for me, as I have no idea what an e-book ought to look like. We all know my feelings about that, don't we. ;)
I was listening to Pandora while reading through one of the more tense, heart-wrenching scenes in Fly Away Home, and "The Only Exception" by Paramore came on. I had never heard this song before but as I listened to it, it was a little startling how perfect this song is for the middle point in Fly Away Home. Read:

When I was younger, I saw my daddy cry
And curse at the wind
He broke his own heart and I watched
As he tried to reassemble it
And my momma swore that
She would never let herself forget
And that was the day that I promised
I'd never sing of love if it does not exist
But darling, you are the only exception

You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception

Maybe I know, somewhere deep in my soul
That love never lasts
And we've got to find other ways to make it alone
Or keep a straight face
And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable distance
And up until now I had sworn to my self that I'm content with loneliness
Because none of it was ever worth the risk

But you are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception...


Astonishing, really. People are always asking "What song best describes your character/book?" and I've never had an answer until now. "You Are the Only Exception" is the perfect song to describe Callie's angst, her brokenness, her jaded spirit toward tenderness...Agh. I love it when things are handed to you on a silver-platter and you don't have to go searching for them. Other songs that I've stumbled upon recently that fit (in ways) Fly Away Home are:

Imagine Dragons "Demons"
Colbie Caillat "Falling For You"
Matt Belsante "Beyond the Sea"

For me there isn't a song that perfectly describes the whole book. "Demons" is where Callie starts, "You Are the Only Exception" is the middle point, "Falling For You" is nearing the end... "Beyond the Sea" is Mr. Barnett's song...

I am glad I figured this out. Having music that reminds me of this book is so much fun. 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My sister introduced me to that Paramore song & it is SO darn perfect for Fly Away Home I love it even more! <3

Amber Holcomb said...

Congratulations on all of your progress, Rachel! Such an exciting time! :)

I don't think I've paid attention to this song much before... But just listening to it again on YouTube reminded me it really is lovely and catchy. :) It's so fun to be able to match songs to your books! I have a "soundtrack" for both Bleeding Heart and Forget Me Not, and I've got some song ides for Book 3. Music is such a powerful form of communication, so I think having a "soundtrack" (etc.) is a great extra to accompany a reading experience. Well, that's how I feel about my own books, anyway! ;)

~Amber

Liza G said...

Beyond the Sea IS Mr Barnett's song - to the point the mere mention of it brings him to my mind :)

And how cool to find a song that fits the story so well! To be honest, I've never given that song much thought (except to count the 18 "you are the only exceptions" at the end) but I may have to give it another shot and see :)