Cracking: The Music Behind The Space Between Breaths
How music shaped the voice and soul of my novel
When you write fiction you spend a tremendous amount of time in a world that isn’t tangible but very real in your mind. Because the people and places - the signposts you follow - are imaginary you need to do as much as you can to create hand-holds that can take you into and out of this world - like a talisman.
When I write a novel I always pick a form of music or a particular artist that acts as a doorway into the voice the book is written in and the feelings of the characters. Besides the book, I also pick what types of music a character would listen to and when I need a specific scene written from the lens of that character I will play those songs, similar to the leitmotif used in movies.
The music that informs the narration of The Space Between Breaths are the early albums of Suzanne Vega, particularly the eponymous album and its follow-up, Solitude Standing. The song that I used as a doorway into the world of Lylarose Gentry was Cracking.
“It’s a one time thing, it just happens a lot.”
The intersection of simplicity and complexity in that song took me to that space where the story is both a very simple tale of revenge and a beautifully foggy history of virtue and trauma. Cracking is what Lylarose was doing from the moment Marian died, existing in a nearly numb, confused place where the solid ice all of her students are standing on is slowly breaking towards a fall.
I also named Luka after Suzanne Vega’s song by the same name on Solitude Standing. At the time, it was one of the first songs to tackle the subject of child abuse through the eyes of a child in such a profoundly intimate and emotional way. (Pat Benatar’s Hell is for Children is more of a social scream than a voice of lived trauma.) When I was designing Luka as a character, I could see that quiet pain reflected in the song.
Here are the rest of the leitmotifs in the novel and the music each character would enjoy.
Lylarose Gentry - As the voice of the narration, Lyla listens to Folk-Pop such as Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman, Natalie Merchant, David Wilcox, or Nanci Griffith. Songs with deep messages seductively hidden by poetry and exceptional musicianship.
Penelope Fine - Penelope’s entire existence depends on her being relevant so she listens to pop music and the artists who are talked about at the time to get her vibe right, - Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran or Billie Eilish.
Lawrence and Peggy Gentry - Listened to the country music of Lyla’s childhood (what we would call “Classic Country” now) - before Country became bar-busting and flag-waving, it was a home for the voice of angry women, hard-working men and passion like fire. Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, or George Jones.
Keith Allen - Listened to 80’s Hair Bands and music that claimed to celebrate women by objectifying them for the male gaze. Bon Jovi, Warrant, Poison, Mötley Crüe, and Skid Row.
Pat Allen - Didn’t really care for music, but she would turn on some classical or new age ambiance when she was trying to impress.
Topaz - A fan of the Delta blues and deep southern jazz. Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Bessie Smith, Wynton Marsalis.
Robyn - Modern Country with a hard-driving female lean - Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde.
Luka - Doesn’t listen to anything but the sounds around her - always just listening.
Detective Markel - Women of Rock - Melissa Etheridge, Joan Jett, Grace Potter, Pat Benetar.
Detective Steve Mesa - Latin Pop - Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, old-school Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny, Becky G.
Officer Brault - When the other cops are around it’s basic rock, but when no one is paying attention he likes Irish Folk like High Kings, The Pogues, The Dubliners.
