I'd written the first half of the book about a witch who kept her magic at a distance, but only at a price. This song's inclusion in the playlist was one of those odd, mysterious twists of fate and happenstance. Whenever I felt lost in Diana's denial, Kate Bush was always there to help me find my way to the other side. She is reluctant to acknowledge her power, but there needed to be a moment when she turned the corner and began to accept it. When I was writing A Discovery of Witches it was often difficult to keep Diana Bishop, a witch who doesn't want to be a witch, in focus. The yearning in this song is palpable, and the lyrics make the yearning bearable because they tell us that someone (whoever she is) is out there, somewhere, waiting to be found. What would it be like to be lonely for more than a thousand years? Matthew Clairmont, the scientist-vampire at the heart of the book, has experienced that loneliness firsthand. The Future of Forestry, "If You Find Her" I played those songs, day after day, throughout the writing and revision process. They were arranged in sequential order to coincide with the story as it unfolded. My working playlist for A Discovery of Witches: grew from around 90 songs to 148. Sometimes, a song captured all three perfectly. In particular, the music and lyrics evoked a particular mood that was essential to the development of the plot, the mental and emotional state of the characters, or the setting. Second, the music was not there to provide architecture but to inspire. First, I started writing to songs with words. When I started writing fiction two things changed. The music lends structure to my often chaotic thoughts. My non-fiction writing is done to a steady stream of Mozart with some Bach and Vivaldi thrown in to make a few waves. What surprised me was how different my musical needs were when I made the switch from non-fiction to fiction. It's a lonely business, sitting at the computer for hours, whether you're marshaling evidence to make arguments or making stuff up. In her own words, here is Deborah Harkness's Book Notes music playlist for her novel, A Discovery of Witches:įor me, writing and listening to music are inextricably intertwined. "Destined to be popular with fantasy and paranormal aficionados, this enchanting novel is an essential purchase. If you enjoyed Lev Grossman's The Magicians (or are looking for a book infinitely more stimulating than the Harry Potter or Twilight series), A Discovery of Witches (the first book of a planned trilogy) will not disappoint. Harkness deftly melds the paranormal elements (witches, vampires, and demons) with histories of alchemy, genetics, and witchcraft in a perfectly paced, exceptionally researched, and vividly imagined fantasy novel. In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.ĭeborah Harkness's debut novel A Discovery of Witches is filled with supernatural splendor.
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