Characters and Music

Music is like painting without paint, description without necessarily using words. In a way it transcends both of those in its power to evoke emotion; it has an otherworldly aspect. I know some people are more geared toward it than others, and I'm not one of those who cannot survive without it, but I find it fascinating how linked music is to the human soul.

So with that said, I dug up some of the music that either inspired my characters or novels, or that I found especially applicable to the characters or novels, and here it is.

The Soldier's Cross

Fiona - Daughter of Grace by Twila Paris. The spirit of the song, the coming to the end of one's self and finding that Grace is the only thing to save, characterizes Fiona's search for peace and her loneliness through The Soldier's Cross.

She sat down inside to wait, to rest her mind awhile
No use trying to fight with fate, or fake a smile
There she found the end of herself
Heard a small voice crying for help

Leah - Windows in the World by Andrew Peterson. The way these lyrics reflect what C.S. Lewis called "sehnsucht" - a joyful, heartbreaking longing for something beyond this world - is perfect for Leah's nature. Fiona's first thought on meeting her is that her soul seems to be shining through her body like a star, and Andrew Peterson's song captured that idea.

It’s the way the clouds are burning from the angle of the light
as the earth is slowly turning you to meet it.
And you’re watching at your window at the ending of the night--
it’s as plain as day so any fool could see it: it’s a window in the world.

Pierre - I'm not sure Pierre really has a song, but the nearest I could come up with was Boy Like Me / Man Like You by Rich Mullins. It isn't perfect, but it reflects to some degree Pierre's boyishness and the way he grows into a man.

Did they tell you stories about the saint of old?
Stories about their faith?
They say stories like that make a boy grow bold
Stories like that make a man walk straight.

Wordcrafter

Justin King [the wordcrafter] - Justin gets two songs. Just because. His first would be Brother, Stand Beside Me by Heather Dale*. That song, although it concerns King Arthur's last stand, captures, in a way, the whole thrust of Wordcrafter (because no one has set Kipling's "The Thousandth Man" to music). His other song is instrumental: A Gift of Thistle, from the Braveheart soundtrack*. The soft sadness of it has an element in it that reminded me of Justin at times.

Brother, stand beside me - Brother, lend your arm
Brother, stand beside me - Brother, lend your arm
See the weakness in the world
And choose to be strong
Let them sing, let them sing our praises when we've gone.

Ethan Prince [the hound] - And Ethan gets two as well, because Justin got two and of course one must be fair. The solidness of If I Stand by Rich Mullins makes it Ethan's first, but it has a joyful theme as well that also fits him. In Wordcrafter I did not get "inside" Ethan's head, as the story unfolds from Justin's perspective, but this song depicts his mindset, his foundation, quite well. And then his second song is the instrumental The Blood of Cu Chullain by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna. It is perfectly wild and vivid - and is also one of my favorite songs.

So if I stand let me stand on the promise
that You will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace
that first brought me to You.
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
that has born in me these songs
And if I weep, let it be as a man
who is longing for his home.

Jamie Fairbairn [the vixen] - When the Coyote Comes by Fernando Ortega. The bouncy, slightly dark tune fits Jamie and the coyote in the lyrics is a good analogy to her.

The night heats up when the coyote comes
He won't rest till his work is done
Critters flee when he comes around
Some won't make it home...

Copper - Love Theme from the Merlin soundtrack. I couldn't find an actual song that fit her, and her quiet nature is better suited to an instrumental piece. The sweetness of the Love Theme is just perfect.

The White Sail's Shaking

Tip Brighton - Let Mercy Lead by Rich Mullins. Something of an odd choice for the kind of character he is, but the tune and the chorus seemed to fit. Perhaps because it is a "growing" song, and Tip does a lot of that through the story. Perhaps because the concept of mercy worked itself more into the novel than I was expecting at the start. Anyhow, it fit.

Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There'll be a drop of grace

Marta Rais - Storm by Fernando Ortega. Much of her story is her coming to grips with life, now that so much that was "life" for her is taken away. I love the tenderness of the song, and the way it is both a love song and something more. I love it so much and all of it is so fitting, I had a hard time deciding which bit to use here.

It takes the rain between the lines to know what sorrow finds
The way the cloud divides sometimes
The clearing and the blue...
I love you.

Charlie Bent - He got two. So much for "fairness"; the main character didn't get two. Anyhow, one song that particularly reminds me of Charlie is Owl City's To the Sky. I'm not a big fan of most of Owl City's songs (the lyrics don't make any sense, and I like lyrics to make sense), but for one reason or another the synthesizer-strong tune and the optimistic feel suits Charlie - when he is feeling upbeat. His other song, however, goes down to the other end of his mood-spectrum: After the Last Tear Falls by Andrew Peterson. The sadness and the almost (but not quite) hopelessness captures his other side.

After the last tear falls
After the last secret's told
After the last bullet tears through flesh and bone...
There is love
Love, love, love
There is love
Love, love, love
There is love.

Jo Darkwood - Sweet Grace by Fernando Ortega. Because Darkwood left a sweetheart back home, and because he never really wanted to go to sea in the first place.

I thought I heard your voice last night
Carried on the wind
Singing lines from old songs,
Calling out all our names again.

So, what songs are especially fitting for your characters?

*I don't recommend all of Heather Dale's songs, nor have I watched Braveheart; I just like the soundtrack. The image for Brother, Stand Beside Me is from the Front Street cover of The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff. All usual disclaimers apply.

Scenery

I am not much of a traveler. Sometimes I think I'd like to go to the British Isles, Southern France (briefly), Sicily, somewhere random like the Winter Palace... All those fascinating and beautiful European places that I read and write about. Then I start to think about plane flights, motion sickness, lack of home, lack of kitties, lack of family, lack of church, and my fancy for traveling goes "Meh." Maybe one day I'll do some traveling, but in the meanwhile I find it nicer to confine my trips to the page, read or written.

The other day I was thinking how vastly different the scenery is between my two historical novels, The Soldier's Cross and The White Sail's Shaking, the one set in the 1400s firmly on land (except for a Channel crossing), the other in the early 1800s at sea (except for the frequent pit stops). Many writers tend to stay in a specific comfort zone, like the Wild West or a fictional place nearby where they live, but it is great fun to venture into other places. A great deal of research work is involved, too, I'll grant, but it is also rewarding to try to paint a picture of different lands. There's such a lovely amount of variety to be had in the world.

Fiona, the main character of The Soldier's Cross, has always dreamed of visiting the White Cliffs of Dover; it is the only place she has ever wished to go. She gets her chance when, seeking an audience with the Duke of Gloucester, she travels to Dover. Standing on the cliff top on a clear day, one can see the northern coast of France across the Channel, particularly Calais. An age-old symbol of Albion, the White Isle, the Cliffs have held off many an invasion. Dover was also the site of the Roman fort Dubris and two lighthouses, both called Pharos, the ruins of only one of which still remain.

Most of The Soldier's Cross, however, takes place in northern and eastern France. Fiona follows the coast from north-western France to Agincourt, near Calais in the north-east, visiting such places as Cherbourg and the twin cities of Honfleur and Harfleur. She never gets to visit Mont Saint-Michel, which is a pity, since I would have liked to have written it; her boat lands her a little east of the island. But the photo is pretty and gives a good impression of northern France. I personally would prefer visiting southern France, but Fiona never gets beyond the Marne River.

In her travels she also goes to the ancient city of Reims, the cathedral of which was the traditional place for crowning the French kings. She never goes inside the building, only looks at the impressive and ominous exterior. It frightens her more than anything else, both because of its great size and because its very greatness seems to judge her.

One of the first exotic places in The White Sail's Shaking is the Rock of Gibraltar, which Tip finds very grand and very foreboding. While it has a certain charm, especially to someone who has neither seen nor imagined anything like it before, he is quite glad that the American squadron is only passing by and will not be stationed there. The region of the Straits is extremely windy, either with levanters or westerlies, and prone to gales; ships sailing in and out of the Mediterranean are at the mercy of the weather. The Rock is dull and bare, although providing an excellent view of the sea and the northern coast of Africa.

After Gibraltar, the American squadron moves its base to Syracuse, Sicily. The region is full of ruins from the Greek and Roman periods - an amphitheater, the fountain of Arethuse, and various destroyed or converted temples provide some of the main sites, for those interested in history. It also has a pretty view of the Mediterranean from the bay. At the time of the Americans' arrival, the King and Queen of Naples, having been expelled from the mainland by Napoleon's forces, are in exile in Palermo, Sicily.

And then, of course, there is Tripoli. Tripoli is finely situated in a bay on the Mediterranean with the protection of reefs, shoals, and batteries. It is perfect for withstanding attacks, especially as any ships (in the Age of Sail) must wait for the right wind to be able to sail in around the reefs. The city has some ancient buildings with Ottoman-influenced architecture, particularly mosques, but also other structures. As in most capital cities at the time, while the Bashaw lives in splendor (apparently Yusuf was a bit obsessed with his gold; had it carried around with him wherever he went), most of the town lives in poverty. Enslavement of Christians was a common practice, and seamen whose nations did not pay tribute to Tripoli and who did not renounce their Christianity for Islam could look forward to a lifetime of servitude.

And there we have my eclectic mix of real-world locations. Looking back over them, however, I must say that I didn't realize that bodies of water show up so often in my stories...