Music to my ears

[John Dean]

One of the things that interests me about writing is ambience (no, not the white things that take you to hospital) and how authors create it.

I always write to music. It helps create atmosphere. Favourite artists for writing? The Irish band Clannad trigger something deep in me, as does some Mike Oldfield stuff, not least Tubular Bells. And Mercy Street by Peter Gabriel is so haunting that it takes my mind to the places from which stories spring.

My latest inspiration? Well, Thou Shalt Kill, my most recent novel, is set against a religious backdrop so a spot of Hildegard von Bingen kept me going! You can tread the result at https://www.amazon.co.uk/THOU-SHALT-KILL-crucifixion-unsettles-eboo...