I usually listen to music constantly in the background while I conceptualize characters and plot out my stories, and oftentimes while I'm working on a story, I make a playlist of songs that I associate with the general "feel" or "vibe" of the piece, certain events and/or characters therein, imagining it as the ideal soundtrack were the story in question ever to be adapted into film. (These playlists are essentially the soundtracks to their respective stories as they play out as if cinematically in my head/imagination.) Even though it's now years after I published these two on BCTS, and judging by their view/kudos counts these stories have "run their course" on here (in the sense that everyone regularly on the site who's going to read/kudo/comment on them has done so by now), I figured I'd share the "soundtrack" playlists for "Aurora and Aurelia" and "Ships", if anyone's interested.

This is an odd question to ask one's readers, but I'd also be very curious to know/hear if reading any of my stories evoked associations with any other particular music for anybody, and if so, which songs/pieces/etc. came to mind. (That's something else I tend to do, sometimes come up with little "soundtracks" of sorts even for others' fiction while or after I read it...)

One could interpret and apply these playlists to the fiction in various ways, I suppose--like a quasi-cinematic "soundtrack" as just described, or songs the characters might be listening to throughout the time in their lives the story covers, songs by artists/bands the characters just happen to like, songs with lyrics that parallel what transpires in the story, just general ambient/mood-setting music that conveys the overall tone/"vibe"/etc. of the story, any combination of the above or whatever else have you.

Format here is Artist - Song Title, with YouTube links. (Sorry, no uploaded mp3s, as I'm lazy.) Anyway, without further ado...

Aurora and Aurelia:

Aurora's Theme: White Poppy - Aurora (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKL4Vh7zDYw)

Aurelia's Theme: Orbital - One Perfect Sunrise (Phil Hartnoll Mix) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no4Pp8oxyPE)

Letters to Cleo - Awake (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYM2u8xl-yk)
Letters to Cleo - I See (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR8CanlNGAE)
Letters to Cleo - Veda Very Shining (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsJJ0GaIswA)
Letters to Cleo - Sparklegirl (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60We9_uT6jI)
The Cardigans - You're the Storm (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRy4QdN0l58)
Bethany Joy Lenz - Then Slowly Grows (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zietkVqlAM)
Glee - Taking Chances (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0X27ImzIJ4)
Maps - Valium in the Sunshine (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE-TbmiSXpc)

~o~O~o~

Ships:

Deborah's Theme: Miss Melera - Stunning (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gog1GFvHrYc)

Sabina's Theme: Miss Melera - Magenta (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRiiHURxTuA)

Miss Melera - Faith (Original Mix) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GN43MpRgMo)
Tangerine Dream - Love On A Real Train (New Version) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epOf2RLqLdw)