SeaHeart

I got Sara Bareilles's album Kaleidoscope Hearts from the library because I am a huge dork, and I love their music collections there. I have been listening to it nonstop. Two of the songs, in particular, have become the anthems to the beginning and end of my forthcoming novel, Ragged, and I wanted to post them here--both so I can share the tone of the book (music is such an important part of my writing process/feel of my novels), and so that I can share what the book made my heart feel. In lovely song format. <3

~*~

Talula is the main character of Ragged--and she's essentially fucked up. She's funny, but neurotic, has never been kissed and is bitter about the fact that she survived the end of the world, and hardly anyone else did--she wishes she died. Why, she wonders, when she loses everything she loves, should she bother trying to feel anything?

And then, along comes Din. She's a monster, right? The Gilt (fairies) are killing people, and Din's killed people, but none of them wanted to murder. The Gilt are cursed to kill by a fairy queen who is more unhinged than a serial killer, believes in genocide. And Din is looking for a way to stop it, has created an underground revolution to try and put a stop to the Monarch. And, so far, she's failed miserably.

But Din sees something in Talula, something special. And together, after Talula loses everything she's ever known, they set out on a fairy tale quest to try and stop the murdering in a fucked up world. Din's idealistic, Talula's pessimistic, and she can't stop falling in love with the person...who isn't a person at all.

When a true monster is set loose to stop them, Talula is in very real danger of losing the only thing that matters: Din.

So, the first song--all of Talula's angst and hope that she'll, someday, not be alone, but worry and fear and that she always will be. The second song--disbelief that she's falling in love, that something beautiful is finally happening in a very not beautiful life. And the possibility of something growing when everything else is dead.

Is anybody listening?

Does anybody know how to hold my heart
How to hold my heart?
'Cause I don't want to let go, let go, let go of you

And if you say "be all right"
I'm gonna trust you, babe,
I'm gonna look in your eyes...
And if you say "be all right"
I'll follow you into the light.