Seriously, who here loves playlists?
I know I do!
Today I’m bringing you some info on an upcoming release, Smash & Grab, and the author has provided an awesome playlist! PLUS an epic giveaway for 3 finished copies!!
Smash & Grab by Amy Christine Parker
Published by Random House Children's Books on July 19th 2016
Genres: General, Law & Crime, Love & Romance, Romance, Thrillers & Suspense, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction
Buy the Book • Goodreads
Ocean’s Eleven meets the star-crossed lovers of West Side Story.Grab some popcorn and get ready for an adrenaline-filled heist!
LEXI is a rich girl who loves a good rush. Whether it’s motorcycle racing or BASE jumping off a building in downtown Los Angeles, the only times she feels alive are when she and her friends are executing one of their dares. After her father’s arrest, Lexi doesn’t think twice about going undercover at his bank to steal the evidence that might clear his name. She enlists her hacker brother and her daredevil friends to plan a clever heist.
CHRISTIAN is a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. The local gang has blackmailed him and his friends into robbing banks, and he is desperate for a way out. When the boss promises that one really big job will be the last he ever has to do, Christian jumps at the chance for freedom. In fact, he’s just met a girl at the bank who might even prove useful. . . .
Two heists. One score. The only thing standing in their way is each other.
Told in alternating points of view, this caper is full of romance and fast-paced fun. Hand to fans of Perfect Chemistry, The Conspiracy of Us, and Heist Society.
I don’t listen to music while I write, but when I am brainstorming or trying to figure out issues with my books, music is a huge part of that process. Here are the songs that inspired Smash & Grab. The first one is the song that best represents the book as a whole, the next nine are divided by character: Lexi first, then Christian.
“Dangerous” by Big Data
For every book I write there is usually one song that I listen to on repeat almost obsessively while I’m working—the theme song, if you will. For Smash & Grab, this is the song. When I hear it I mostly think about Christian, the male main character. The video is bizarre, but the song lyrics are perfect for this book. I especially loved these lines:
“I bet you didn’t know that I was dangerous
It must be fate, I found a place for us
I bet you didn’t know someone could love you this much”
2. “Ex’s and Oh’s” by Elle King
This is my female main character Lexi’s theme song at the beginning of the book. She is a heartbreaker and terrified of letting a guy get too close. She’s also confident and tends to flirt to get what she wants. This was the song I was listening to when working out her scenes for Chapters 1 and 3.
3. “The Only Exception” by Paramore
It’s an older song, but like Elle King’s song, it taps into who Lexi is, but more who she becomes at the end of the book. She goes from overly confident to more vulnerable. This song perfectly encapsulates that transition. Plus, it’s romantic and because I have trouble writing the romance bits of my books I need all the help I can get to get the mood/feel right!
4. “Kids in the Dark” by All Time Low
This is the song I listened to most during the scenes where Lexi’s group was BASE jumping or sneaking around. The music is upbeat, but the lyrics speak about deeper issues, kids who are struggling. Underneath all the fun, Lexi and her friends battle loneliness and unstable home lives. This song reminds me of that. The heist and the risks they take are all because they are looking for ways to forget the stuff that makes them unhappy/sad.
5. “A Love Like War” by All Time Low
This song taps into the fight Christian and Lexi have to keep their feelings in check while they try to pull of their respective heists. They know they have to use each other to succeed, but the more they get to know each other the harder this gets.
6. “Get Higher” by Palaye Royale
This is the song I played when I was thinking about Lexi and her brother racing their motorcycles to school or later during a break in into a warehouse that holds movie set pieces and costumes. It’s pure fun and it helped me tap into the feeling of abandonment the characters were trying to have in the midst of troubles.
7. “Ya lo saben” by Crooked Stilo
I stumbled on this duo that does Spanish rap when I started watching a show called “East Los High” about Mexican American teens in East Los Angeles. I listened to this song when I was drafting the scenes at Christian’s house when he was with his heist team. I don’t speak Spanish, so I don’t know the lyrics, but the overall tone and vibe of the song fits these guys. They’ve grown up together and are tight.
8. “Somos Hermanos” by Crooked Stilo
I listened to the song and watched the video a bunch of times. The title translates to something like we are brothers. It’s perfect for Christian’s relationship with Benny. I listened to this one during Chapter Two and later, after something bad happens (I won’t say what so I don’t spoil it, but I think if after you read the book, you listen to this, you’ll know what I’m talking about).
9. “Un Par De Balas” by C-Kan
Roughly translated I think this one means a few bullets or a couple of bullets. Since I don’t speak Spanish, like the song on the list before this one, I chose it mostly for the beat/sound and how I interpreted it based on that. But the video seems to be making a statement about gang violence and it feels right for Christian’s POV.
10. “En Mi Barrio” by Melly
The title for this one is pretty self-explanatory even if you don’t know Spanish. I listened to this one for the scenes leading up to the heists Christian is involved in. It has this great sort of tension that helped me get into his head. I wanted totally different music for Christian and Lexi because it was such a challenge for me to write from two POVs because I hadn’t attempted it before. Picking all Spanish songs for Christian was intentional. It helped me flip to his POV quickly.
About Amy Christine Parker
AMY CHRISTINE PARKER writes full-time from her home near Tampa, Florida, where she lives with her husband, their two daughters, and one ridiculously fat cat.
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New music for me! thanks for the post today! fun stuff here.
Gorgeous blog tour post Crystal 😀 Thank you for sharing about this book. <3 Hugs. Love the guest post 😀 Yay! I own an ARC of this one. Ack. And I cannot wait to read it 🙂 Sort of. I'm unsure. But it do seem pretty awesome even so 😀
How fun! I’m so excited about this book! The cover, the story, all of it!! Can’t wait.
I love learning authors’ and other readers’ book/writing playlists!
I’m so excited for this book! I love the cover!
I’m so excited for this book! I love the cover! And the playlist is awesome.
Im so excited to read this!
Im so excited to read this!!