Musical Moments: Book Inspires Song

Taken from press release:

Bestselling thriller writer Harlan Coben releases his first Young Adult novel SHELTER. The novel, the first of a series with high school student Mickey Bolitar, has inspired a haunting song by the singer and musician David Berkeley also entitled Shelter.

Harlan Coben has been a fan of David Berkeley’s for several years and mentioned one of his songs in an earlier novel CAUGHT. When Berkeley got in touch to thank him for the plug they two became friends and have often talked about collaborating on a project. It was on reading an advance proof of Coben’s novel SHELTER that Berkeley came to write his beautiful and heartbreaking song.

David Berkeley says:

“As a songwriter, I am often trying to create a musical story out of an emotion or an experience. With "Shelter," Harlan provided me with the story and experiences, and I had to just create a sonic mood that matched, using enough details to make it relate while still allowing the song to be broad. I was inspired by how big Mickey’s heart is, by his courage in the face of all the world throws at him. Once I got my head into his, the song basically wrote itself.”

Harlan Coben says:

"I love David's music so much that I had a character in my novel CAUGHT listening to him. The fact that SHELTER inspired David to write one of his most beautiful and haunting hit songs, well, I couldn't be more pleased.   The first time I heard the song, I started to well up."

Title: Shelter

Series: Mickey Bolitar #1

Author: Harlan Coben

Publisher: Indigo

Publication Date: 15 Sep 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

Mickey Bolitar's year can't get much worse. After witnessing his father's death and sending his mom to rehab, he's forced to live with his estranged uncle Myron and switch high schools. A new school comes with new friends and new enemies, and lucky for Mickey, it also comes with a great new girlfriend, Ashley. For a while, it seems like Mickey's train-wreck of a life is finally improving - until Ashley vanishes without a trace. Unwilling to let another person walk out of his life, Mickey follows Ashley's trail into a seedy underworld that reveals that this seemingly sweet, shy girl isn't who she claimed to be. And neither was Mickey's father. Soon, Mickey learns about a conspiracy so shocking that it makes high school drama seem like a luxury - and leaves him questioning everything about the life he thought he knew. With this new series, Coben introduces an entirely new generation of fans to the masterful plotting and wry humour that have made him an award-winning, internationally bestselling author.

I am always saying music and books go together, this just proves me right [ ; D ]