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.