I consider Stranded on Grzbt, my story in Pets in Space 6 a fun scifi romance.

Preorder now for October 5th release!

Then I looked at my play list. Many loss and longing songs, fighting through hard times songs. Hopeful songs.

What they have in common:

All are live performances. Ephemeral...they were a moment in time, captured. All evoke emotions. Some still can make me cry (Boulder to Birmingham, I'm looking at you!).

The eighties songs have been in my life for a long time, before I wrote or married and had a family. Emmylou even longer. She's the only one on this list that I've seen in concert, and she did not disappoint. I own albums of all these artists, but my favorite performances are always live ones.

Many are eighties musicians. Finding a live version of Aha's early Take on Me is not easy because music television performances were over dubbed back then. But that 1984 version with the white gloves is live. At the time, the song seemed to be all about looking for love. The acoustic slow version from 2018 is far more poignant. Morten has recent live concert versions where he still hits the high notes.

Summer Moved On. This isn't the best video production quality, but the drama when the curtains open right before Morten Harket's unbelievable held note makes it my favorite. Summer Moved On and Stay On These Roads are both songs about loss. Stay On These Roads was sung at the memorial service for the Norwegian teens killed in a mass shooting.

Has Phil Collins ever played and sung as well as in this live video? The song is all anger but also anticipation, and he makes us wait. Anyone who has heard the song before knows it's coming. This video-- will Phil get to the drumset in time??? He has more recent versions after back surgery, his son plays the drums, but this is my favorite.

My characters in Stranded on Grzbt are kidnapped and confined in a cage for months. No sexy aliens around, their captors are stinky worm aliens. Anger, loss, fear, longing for home or for something better...many of the songs on my playlist reflect those emotions.

Some are encouraging, like Bon Jovi's Keep the Faith. The high energy of Living on a Prayer and Wanted Dead or Alive fit action scenes.

Adam Lambert, turning a pop tune into something stunning in Believe, fighting your way back after a huge hurt.

One Direction-- my daughters are/were huge fans. Drag Me Down, a great fight song. Harry Styles' Sign of the Times--danger and running away. Also, drums!

Flicker, this acoustic version is fabulous. Flicker of hope. Niall Horan (thick Irish accent) was also in One Direction.

Eurythmics, this is a masterful 2012 acoustic version of Here Comes the Rain Again. Annie Lennox, full of longing and strength.

Emmylou Harris, Boulder to Birmingham. This has been a favorite since I was a teen. 'I'd walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham just to see your face'...

Maren Morris The Bones, about strong relationships. Also, a good pandemic song. I saw this in light of personal growth, which was important to my heroine.

I have other playlisst. One is all boy choirs, lol. One is romantic love songs and sexy songs. But this one has been my go to the last few months while I wrote Stranded on Grzbt.