The first step for me when I sit down to write is to click on Pandora and choose which station I’ll listen to as I create. The music I choose varies with which book I’m writing.

For Bone Girl, I prefer bluegrass, from the joyful fiddle playing of Mark O’Connor to the fast pace of the Barn Owl Band. Throw in a dash of Adele and top with the soulful duets of the Judds. All mixed together, these are the themes of my middle-grade novel, Bone Girl. . Here’s a few tunes that fit this novel best:

•  “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele,
• “Emily’s Reel” by Mark O’Connor,
• “Road to Spencer” by The Three Pickers,
• “Johnson Boys” by The Barn Owl Band,
• “Love will Build a Bridge” by The Judds,
• “Home” by Phillip Phillips,
• “Squirrel Hunter” by The Wilders,

If I’m working on A Year with Geno, a contemporary romance that takes place in Anchorage, I leave my bluegrass stations and head straight to the music of Ella Fitzgerald and crooners like her. Lately, I’ve spent most of my writing time sculpting the rough draft of this novel, so I have quite a few songs bookmarked:

• “I’ll Be Seeing You” by Billie Holiday,
• “All Right Okay You Win” by Joe Williams,
• “Almost Lover” by A Fine Frenzy,
• “Smile” by Nat King Cole,
• “The Very Thought of You” by Harry Connick, Jr.
• “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” by Arethra Franklin,
• “Many the Miles” by Sara Bareilles,

For my paranormal romance, Celebration House, it’s pure Norah Jones. I wrote the rough draft of the book when I first fell in love with this blues singer. Even my hunky hero, Maj. Thomas Stewart, remarks on Norah’s voice: “She sings as though she’s courting me.”

Hands and arms inside the cart: Next, I post my book, Bone Girl, on Authonomy. Quick! Go to www.Authonomy.com and read the first few chapters of my book. Tell me what you think.