Author Interview: Mandy Roth

Listen to the interview here!

Tell me a little about yourself and your writing.
I’m an odd bird who found a home with writing paranormal. Yep. I said it. I think admitting it is really the first step to total acceptance.

Tell me about the story that you've created a soundtrack/playlist for.
I’ll talk a little about DEMONIC DESIRES (from Ellora’s Cave) and the soundtrack I listened to for it. DEMONIC DESIRES centers around a group of demons, right hand men to Lucifer, who broke ranks and saved lives rather than taking them. It’s the first book in the stories of the Lost Warriors redemption. The opening scene is a really dark, twisted sex one. My playlist needed to reflect this so I went with Danzig’s Underbelly of The Beast to kick it off. The story then takes a lighter note, introducing you to the characters out of their normal element. I brought in a good deal of Celtic flare for this because the heroine is a warrior from Valhalla.

What is your playlist? Why did you choose these particular songs?
I’ll give you a snippet of the list because there over 3500 items in it with 230 hours of play time… and this is JUST for DEMONIC DESIRES. I make a new list for every book.

Danzig-Underbelly of The Beast
Rob Zombie- Living Dead Girl (Naked Exorcism Remix)
Rob Zombie-Dragula
Prodigy—Smack My Bitch Up
Prodigy—Firestarter
Marilyn Manson—The Beautiful People
Marilyn Manson—The Dope Show
Marilyn Manson—Man That You Fear
Nine Inch Nails—Head Like a Hole
Nine Inch Nails—Terrible Lie
Nine Inch Nails—Closer
Smashing Pumpkins—Tonight, Tonight
Queensryche - Silent Lucidity
Stained - It’s Been Awhile
Silverchair- Wait Til Tomorrow
Faith No More – Epic
Billy Idol-- Eyes Without A Face
Stabbing Westward - Waking Up Beside You (Remix)
Gregorian-- Se Eu Fosse Um Dia O Teu Olhar
Gregorian-- Meditazione- Christus Factus Est
Danzig—Cantspeak
Massive Attack & Mos Def-I Against I
Pigeonhed - Battle Flag (Lo-Fidelity Allstars Remix)
Alice in Chains-- Man In The Box
Red Hot Chili Peppers-- Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Santana-- Put Your Lights On
Everlast-- Babylon Feeling
AFI-- The Leaving Song Pt II
Live-- I Alone
Disturbed-- Down With The Sickness
Rob Zombie -- The Lords Of Salem
Blue Oyster Cult—Don’t Fear The Reaper
Limp Bizkit-- Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)
Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
Katie Melua—Just like Heaven
The Cranberries—Zombie
The Cranberries—Ode to My Family
Triniti – Nocturne
Triniti-- Glen Of Imaal
Enya—Only Time
INXS—Afterglow
INXS—Never Tear Us Apart
Black Lab—Learn to Crawl
Back Lab—Keep Myself Awake
Led Zeppelin—Kashmir
Heart—Magic Man
Three Doors Down—When I’m Gone
Styx—Renegade
Andy Gibb—Shadow Dancing
The Corrs-- Brid Og Ni Mhaille
Trapt—Echo
When in Rome—The Promise
Twisted Sister—We’re Not Gonna Take It
Jay-z & Linkin Park - Numb/Encore
Alanis Morissette – Uninvited
Black Sabbath — Paranoid
Black Sabbath — Iron Man
Berlin - Take My Breath Away
DHT- Listen To Your Heart (Edmee's Unplugged Vocal Edit)

What does music mean to you? To your writing?
I don’t watch many movies or much in the way of TV. Music has always been a love of mine. I can still remember the day MTV came on air for the first time. I was six and it totally wiped the floor with Sesame Street. I watched faithfully from that day forward until they started on the reality shows. I had to put up a white flag then. Let the record state that I miss Martha Quinn. Oh, and MTV actually playing music.

To me, music is another form of escapism. It can set the mood for you or it can fix the mood you’re in. It’s what you make of it. I love all music, from classical to the rhythmic beating of Native American drums. You name it, I like it—Rock, Classical, Dark Metal, MallCore, Pop, Country, Jazz, Rap/Hip-hop, Foreign (I’m a huge lover of the Italian music scene), Oldies.

What kind of music do you like to write to?
I’ll make the playlist as I write. If I know I’m entering a really dark scene, I’ll incorporate that vibe into the playlist. When I’m coming out of it, I lighten the mood. I do have one rule, if a Bee Gees song cannot be incorporated into the mix then I’m doing something wrong. Yes. I do have playlists with AC/DC and The Bee Gees sharing airtime.

If this story was made into a movie, who would you want to do the soundtrack?
I’d like to see Rob Zombie team up with The Cranberries (who can tell me where they are and if they’re still putting out records… I’d love to buy them). I think the collaboration would be odd but I’m betting it would work.

Anything else you'd like to say about music and writing/creating?
I have a lot of respect for anyone who can create music. It’s their story, put out there for the world to hear.

To learn more about Mandy, visit her website.

Next week, I interview author Paul Liadis, AKA The Struggling Writer.