I remember being 13, perched beside my parent’s boombox with a blank cassette in the deck, finger hovering over the record button, waiting for the opening notes of Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World” to play on the radio. The moment I heard those distinctive opening drums, I’d press down, sometimes catching the DJ’s voice trailing off, sometimes missing the first few seconds—an imperfect capture of a perfect song. No matter how many times I tried, I never got it quite right—but that never stopped me from enjoying each attempt.

It's strange how sometimes, art connects in ways we never anticipated. While writing When the Trees All Burned, I had a soundtrack that helped shape the atmosphere—songs that carried the weight of ending and beginning, of destruction and possibility. But then, I found myself drawn to an unexpected addition: “Corner of the Universe” by Creed Bratton.

Yes, that Creed Bratton from The Office. Before he was quality assurance at Dunder Mifflin, he was a legitimate musician with The Grass Roots in the '60s. His solo work has this playful quality that, surprisingly, resonates with the themes I explore in my novel.

Discover how Marc Scibilia's “Life In My Bones” perfectly captures Jude and Brett's last-minute connection in When The Trees All Burned. This haunting song mirrors the novel's exploration of finding love at the apocalypse's edge, showing how authentic connection transcends time constraints. Perfect for readers who love apocalyptic fiction, emotional character arcs, and the intersection of music and literature.

When I first heard Anna Ternheim and Dave Ferguson’s duet of “The Longer The Waiting,” I couldn’t help but draw connections to the themes I explore in my novel, When The Trees All Burned. Their intertwining voices—hers with a delicate strength, his with a weathered wisdom—create the perfect tension that mirrors the relationships caught in my apocalyptic narrative.

There’s something remarkably intimate about the way Gregory Alan Isakov crafts his music—a delicate balance of vulnerability and strength that feels like a conversation with an old friend in a dimly lit room. His song “If I Go, I’m Goin” carries this quality in spades, and, like all the songs I’ve shared before, carries thematic resonance with When The Trees All Burned.

Patrick Watson’s “The Great Escape” demanded a spot on the soundtrack to my novel When The Trees All Burned. The song’s gentle piano and ethereal vocals create a cocoon of melancholy acceptance around difficult truths—something my characters grapple with throughout their journeys.

Reflections on humanity’s final season… As I wrote When The Trees All Burned, “Hot Scary Summer” by Villagers (written by Conor O’Brien) became more than just a song on my writing playlist — it evolved into a prophecy. The book unfolds through humanity’s final summer, ending dramatically on Labour Day, and O'Brien’s lyrics feel like they could have been written for my characters as they navigate their last precious months.

Themes of anti-capitalism and the rejection of materialism echo powerfully throughout the narrative of When The Trees All Burned. These same ideas are beautifully captured in The Avett Brothers’ thoughtful track “Untitled #4,” making it a perfect addition to the book's official soundtrack.

There's something hauntingly beautiful about Nick Mulvery's "Cucurucu" that perfectly captures the emotional landscape of The Path That Takes Us Home. Both works explore the profound human desire to find our place in the world, to understand where we truly belong.

I don’t remember the first time I heard José González's haunting cover of "Heartbeats." I’m sure it was a result of the Spotify algorithm sending it my way because it seemed similar to other songs I’d been drawn to. And, because the universe delivers us what we need, I was served González's stripped-down acoustic arrangement which perfectly captured the raw emotional atmosphere I was trying to create in my novel — that delicate balance between devastation and intimacy.

I first heard "More to This" on the radio during a long drive home. The opening lines about contemplating death and what lies beyond immediately seized my attention — they perfectly echoed the questions my characters wrestle with throughout When the Trees All Burned. Before the song was even over, I knew it belonged on the novel's soundtrack.

The haunting lyrics of First Aid Kit's "The Lion's Roar" resonate deeply with the themes and imagery in When The Trees All Burned. Released in January 2012 as the title track of the Swedish folk duo's second album, the song carries a weight that seems almost prophetic when paired with my upcoming novel.