I was recently just listening to my music playlist and it cycled to one of my favorite songs, “Gold” by Britt Nicole. This was one of the songs that inspired me as I was writing Gone Missing . Joslyn, my heroine, was from a poor background, so she was working at an electronics store in Los Angeles and putting herself through school in computer programming. When she got involved with her ex-boyfriend, who murdered her father, she ran away to Oregon. She lost her baby and the woman she was working for helped her through that ordeal. The woman also talked a lot about Christ to her, and so Joslyn has been seeking Christ more and more. She’s lost a lot and has gone through a grieving process after her father was murdered and she miscarried her baby. She had to leave school and her job to run away from her ex, so she has to start the school year all over again. At least she’s able to work for Liam and Elisabeth in Sonoma, California, at their new skip-tracing agency rather than try...

I mentioned before that I really enjoyed the Idolish7 anime series. I went a little crazy and bought the music from the series on iTunes. :P One of the songs that I was surprised to discover is this one, although I don’t think it was actually played in the series, it was only released in the game. It’s so uplifting and cute! I hope you enjoy it. Here is also a cover of the same song by Lambsoars, which is also great. Those four guys are just super cute! Yeah 「代わりのある今日が終わる」 街中がため息をついて 涙をこらえた "Another day just like any other comes to an end" I could hear the whole town sigh As I held back my tears 用はないけど寄り道しよう やるせない思いを言いながら 顔を上げたら It's not really necessary, but let's take a detour Let's talk about our gloomy feelings Then lift our heads 消えてしまいそうな光 僕たちの言葉によく似てる 狭い駅前ここも誰かにとって夜空の果て The dying light Closely resembles our words Even this small place in front of the station Can be the end of the night sky to someone みんな気づかない星でも 好きに瞬いて踊るよ...

If you're following my Writing Diary Blog , you might remember that I'm trying to establish writing rituals to help me to get into flow state faster and easier, and also to encourage me to be more self-disciplined in my writing schedule. One of the rituals I've adopted has been to play the same playlist when I write. I usually can't write to songs with words, so I've been listening to movie and TV show soundtracks. Right now I'm working on my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series , and what I chose to listen to is the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Original Soundtrack by Sawano Hiroyuki. He’s my favorite composer and I love his J-pop songs too, but his soundtracks are out of this world. I know it's kind of strange that the music I'd pick to listen to while writing my Regency romantic adventure series is a Science Fiction anime series soundtrack, but since Lady Wynwood's Spies is my mashup of Mission: Impossible in the Regency period, it's not that di...

My iPhone happened to shuffle to this song during my walk today, and the sky looked like this! Aside from the great weather, the song really spoke to me today to remind me that God is still with me no matter what, and I can put my hope in Christ. I hope this will encourage you today, too! On days of gray When doubt clouds my view It's so hard to see past my fears My strength seems to fade And it's all I can do To hold on, 'til the light reappears Still, I believe though some rain's bound to fall That you're here next to me And you're over it all Lord, the sky's still blue For my hope is in you You're my joy You're the dream that's still alive Like the wind at my back And the sun on my face You are life You're grace You are blue skies You're my blue skies When nights are long Seems the dark has no end Still we walk on in light of the truth For waiting beyond Where the morning begins Is the dawn, and you'r...

What I’m listening to right now from my favorite composure! It’s a super fun song and just puts me in a good mood. Have a happy Monday!

This is the song I always play to remember today.

I was walking today and this song was on my playlist. It’s a favorite song of mine, but it really spoke to me today, and I thought it might lend some comfort to people who might be feeling a lot of pain because of the current world situation. My prayer for you is that God will hold you, also. And feel free to leave me a prayer request , spoken or unspoken, so I can pray for you.

Okay, full disclosure, Sawano Hiroyuki is my #1 favorite composer, so I buy almost everything he’s released, even if I have to order the CDs from Amazon Japan. But his RE/MEMBER album is actually on iTunes, which I was pretty stoked about. This song, Remember , is what I’ve been listening to a lot the past couple weeks. There’s something just really upbeat and happy about it that’s made me feel great while I’m working. It’s a combination of English and Japanese lyrics. 手を止めた一秒で変わるはずないと 気を緩めた後ろで連れ添う音が逃げていく oh, oh 君は黙って見ていた 破けたページの所為で先が読めないように このまま一つの物語抱いて エンドロール見返してても人が過ぎていくだけ 大人の言い訳にもたれ掛かる前に remember Let it shine! I will never give it up All the spirit is gonna let it fly 強がった日の言葉が錆びた夢の体をまだ支えている Running circles around what is mine I'm getting closer as I move in time Wow-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, wow-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Let' em know! Oh, let it shine! Oh, let it shine my friend! そう 誰の弱さも前に繋げる You remember, purest heart? And the beauty of the colors Wow-oh-oh-oh-oh-...

I know this news is a bit last minute, but I volunteered to be a last-minute replacement for our church’s worship leader tomorrow, and our church service will be streamed online so if you’d like, come watch. It starts exactly at 9:45 am West Coast time, and the service runs for about an hour (it might be less). For the first song, I’m singing one of my favorites, “Hills and Valleys” by Tauren Wells , which I’m actually rather excited about. It think it’s pretty appropriate for current events, but also I really love the message of the song. I've walked among the shadows You wiped my tears away And I've felt the pain of heartbreak And I've seen the brighter days And I've prayed prayers to Heaven From my lowest place And I have held Your blessings God, You give and take away No matter what I have, Your grace is enough No matter where I am, I'm standing in Your love On the mountains, I will bow my life To the One who set me there In the valley, I w...

I’ve been watching the anime Violet Evergarden on Netflix and it is possibly the most beautiful anime series I’ve ever seen. The animation by Kyoto Animation is top notch, the storyline (based on the light novel series ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン by Kana Akatsuki (暁 佳奈)) is emotional and unique, and the original soundtrack by Evan Call is out of this world. The vocal songs in the series are also really beautiful, but the best one is the opening song, “Sincerely” by TRUE. She not only has a beautiful voice, but the melody and lyrics are absolutely gorgeous. I can’t rave about this song enough. 知らない言葉を　覚えていくたび おもかげのなか　手を伸ばすの Each time unknown words come to mind, I reach my hand toward the traces they leave. だけど一人では　分からない言葉も あるのかもしれない But there may be words That I can’t comprehend all alone. さよならは　苦くて アイシテルは　遠いにおいがした 例えようのない　この想いは とても怖くて　だけど　とても愛おしくて “Goodbye” is so bitter, While “I love you” carries a far-off scent. This incomparable feeling Is so very frightening… bu...

It’s been a couple months since then, but I did the worship music for our church’s Good Friday service. The service is a combination of people from both the English-speaking and Japanese-speaking services, so the worship leader has to sing at least a few songs in Japanese. I could do five songs, but I decided to sing all of them in Japanese while my other singer (in this case, Captain Caffeine) sang the lyrics in English at the same time. It’s a bit confusing, but I wanted the Japanese congregation to feel very included (which they don’t when the songs are in English). The service went smoothly—well, I didn’t make any mistakes, at least! I had been practicing the songs in Japanese for weeks before the service. One of the songs my pianist really likes is “10,000 Reasons”, and while it’s not really a Good Friday song, I thought it would be a good upbeat song to end the service with. So I had to search for the Japanese lyrics for the song and came across this version by Lauren Horii...

Lately I was really impacted by a song I happened to hear on Air1 Radio when we were driving to church. The song is “Hills and Valleys” by Tauren Wells. (Man that guy has an awesome voice!) I’m pretty sure I heard the song before Sunday, but this time the song was really catchy and stuck with me, so I bought it on iTunes right away. The lyrics are simple but so powerful, especially because the one thing I want all my readers to know is that no matter what happens to you, no matter where you’ve gone, Jesus loves you and you are not alone. I've walked among the shadows You wiped my tears away And I've felt the pain of heartbreak And I've seen the brighter days And I've prayed prayers to Heaven From my lowest place And I have held Your blessings God, You give and take away No matter what I have, Your grace is enough No matter where I am, I'm standing in Your love On the mountains, I will bow my life To the One who set me there In the valley, I wil...

My favorite manga right now is Chihayafuru by Suetsugu Yuki (you can watch the anime Chihayafuru for free on Crunchyroll. , it’s also one of my favorite anime series). The series also got two live-action films (a part one and a part two), and I happened upon the promotional video for the movies which features the J-pop song “Flash” by Perfume. It’s a really catchy song and I love it! I bought it on iTunes . The cover art for the single was drawn by the manga artist, Suetsugu Yuki! Flash - Single - Perfume Here’s the PV: I so want to see these movies! Well, subtitled, since I don’t understand Japanese. :)

Yes, anime again. :) I’ve been watching a lot of anime lately, although this one I saw a while ago. It’s called Kyoukai no Kanata or Beyond the Boundary . I loved it so much that I bought it on iTunes . It’s a supernatural humorous romance adventure, which really just hit me in all the right places. Each character has some type of hangup, including some weird perverted ones which the show makes fun of, but which are a bit weird for my American-cultured background. But aside from that, the action and adventure is really entertaining. And the heroine’s sense of being alone, mirrored in the hero in a different way, really resonates with me because I’ve felt that way. I found this AMV video on YouTube, and it just really expresses the tragic/humorous romance of the two characters, Mirai and Akihito. It may not make sense if you haven’t seen the anime show, but it’s still a great AMV.

For those of you who might be having a hard time this Christmas, here’s one of my favorite songs. It was actually the theme song to my book, Treacherous Intent , because of the trauma the hero was going through after he came back from Afghanistan. "Cry Out To Jesus" by Third Day To everyone who's lost someone they love Long before it was their time You feel like the days you had were not enough when you said goodbye And to all of the people with burdens and pains Keeping you back from your life You believe that there's nothing and there is no one Who can make it right There is hope for the helpless Rest for the weary Love for the broken heart There is grace and forgiveness Mercy and healing He'll meet you wherever you are Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on They lost all of their faith in love They've done all they can to make it right again Still it's not enough For the on...

I know, I'm waaaaay behind the times but we recently watched the last few episodes of this past season of The Sing Off (we had taped it on TiVo). I’m so excited because my favorite team won! It was so awesome so see 98 Degrees sing! I always liked how in their music videos they didn't quite seem to take themselves seriously. My favorite song from them was "Invisible Man" which to my teenage mind was just the Most. Romantic. Song. Ever. I dreamed of some hot guy pining after me, as unlikely as that was. I mean, seriously, who is going to pick some other chump over Nick Lachey??? So in A Dangerous Stage , when George sings to Tessa (and makes Charles a bit grumpy) in chapter 7, I had him sing “Invisible Man.” Because, you know, it’s the Most. Romantic. Song. Ever. Aren’t they just adorably cheesy????? Okay, ’fess up. Did any of you also have a secret fondness for 90s boy bands????

I was writing to music and this song came up on my song mix. I have always loved it but I haven’t heard it in a while, and the lyrics impacted me strongly when I was listening to it again. This has been my prayer, that I would be so in love with Jesus that I want to give all of myself to Him. This is my prayer for you, too. “All I’ve Ever Wanted” by Margaret Becker From where I lay I can see the sun Rising through the trees Before I face this morning rush I get down on my knees I lift my eyes and thank You for This life you've granted me I pray that every day I live Your heart will be pleased I pray for hands that hold You Higher than anything else And a heart that loves You More than life itself This is all I've ever wanted This is all I want to be All I've ever wanted Is to love You faithfully From where I stand I can see the dreams That you have fulfilled Such kindness I did not deserve But You gave it still What do I have that You did not give ...

I’m at the Love Inspired Authors blog today talking about my “theme song” for when I was writing Stalker in the Shadows . Click here to read the blog post!

There’s one song I started singing for worship, Desert Song . It was introduced by one of the other youth staff workers this year. It’s very catchy with very good lyrics. I like it. However, on the recording, there is one phrase that doesn’t match the other phrases in the chorus. Rather than being on beat, one note is syncopated instead. If you listen to the recording, on the chorus, you can hear that the words “praise,” “praise,” and the second syllable of “declare” are on the beat, but the second syllable for “rejoice” is not. The second syllable of the word is sung syncopated rather than on beat. I am torn between singing the chorus exactly like the MP3 recording, or not syncopating that one note in order to make the chorus just simpler to learn and to sing for my church congregation. So what do you think? Should I sing it according to the recording, or should I sing it a little differently to make it easier for my church congregation?

I lead worship music for my church’s Sunday service twice a month, and my team is mostly junior high, high school, and/or college students except for me and Captain Caffeine. (The Captain plays electric guitar, I play acoustic guitar.) One Sunday, one of my high school singers arrived at church and instead of bringing printed out pages with the lyrics, she had the music on her iPad. I thought that was brilliant! So this past Sunday, I took the chord sheets (they have the lyrics and the guitar chords on top of the words where you change chords) and put them all in one document. Then I made the document into a .pdf file and loaded it into the iBooks app on my iPad. I had my iPad on the music stand during service and used that instead of sheet music. It worked great! I had to make sure my iPad’s settings had it falling “asleep” at 15 minutes and not 5 minutes, or else I would spend time needing to wake up and unlock my iPad, and I didn’t want to do that in the middle of a song! T...