(Potential Spoiler Warning)
I cannot write without music—physically, psychologically, emotionally impossible. The writing process for this book started late 2012 and wrapped up early 2014. These are the songs that I fell in love with for the first time, or the hundredth time, while writing Bright Side. They inspired the overall vibe of the story and its characters, or in some cases they inspired very specific situations or even entire chapters. Kate’s passion for music is my own, though I can’t play an instrument and I’m completely tone deaf when it comes to singing. Like Kate, I LOVE me some strings, especially in unexpected places—they make any song sexy. And I’ve got a HUGE thing for California bands. I’m lucky to say I’ve seen most of these bands perform live (many of them while I was writing this book)—the rest are on my bucket list.