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Playlist
The Second Verse playlist is totally random (and insanely long, apparently!) A little something in here for every type of scene.
1. I Could Die For You………………Red Hot Chili Peppers
2. Awake My Soul………………Mumford & Sons
3. Hard To Concentrate………………Red Hot Chili Peppers
4. Mayonaise………………Smashing Pumpkins
5. Something I Can Never Have………………Nine Inch Nails
6. Hurt………………Nine Inch Nails
7. Only Time………………Enya
8. Moonlight Sonata………………Ludwig van Beethoven
9. Ghost Song………………Max Ablitzer
10. I Will Possess Your Heart………………Death Cab for Cutie
11. Deep Shadow………………TTL
12. Mysteries of the Night………………Nox Arcana
13. Iridescent………………Linkin Park
14. We Must Bury You………………Katatonia
15. Over The Hills And Far Away………………Led Zeppelin
16. Anna Begins………………Counting Crows
17. Soul To Squeeze………………Red Hot Chili Peppers
18. Romeo And Juliet………………Dire Straits
19. I Could Have Lied………………Red Hot Chili Peppers
20. Venice Queen………………Red Hot Chili Peppers
21. Brendan's Death Song………………Red Hot Chili Peppers
22. Me & Bobby McGee………………Janis Joplin
23. All Along The Watchtower………………Jimi Hendrix
24. Castles Made Of Sand………………Jimi Hendrix
25. Look Around………………Red Hot Chili Peppers
26. Factory Of Faith ………………Red Hot Chili Peppers
27. Mellowship Slinky in B Major………….Red Hot Chili Peppers
28. The Righteous & The Wicked…………..Red Hot Chili Peppers
29. Jessica………………The Allman Brothers Band
30. Blue Sky………………The Allman Brothers Band
31. The Eternal Forest………………BrunuhVille
32. Fallen Tears………………BrunuhVille
33. The Everlasting Symphony………………BrunuhVille
34. Our Farewell………………BrunuhVille
35. You and I ………………BrunuhVille
36. Memories………………BrunuhVille
37. Can’t Stop………………Red Hot Chili Peppers
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Discussion Questions
Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
What significance does the title Second Verse have? What do you think the author’s meaning was behind it?
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During the séance, when Lange first hears the words in the barn, what did you think they meant?
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When Vaughn first sang his song, Abyss, for Lange, did you find any of the lyrics foreshadowing for the events that occur later in the book?
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Who did you suspect was behind the threats Lange was receiving?
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Vaughn is a songwriter and musician and Lange is a visual artist. Discuss what roles their art plays in helping them discover their past and secrets.
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How does Lange initially react to the truth about her past? How do those feelings and beliefs evolve by the end of the book?
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When Lange discovers Ginny’s letters and journals how does she feel? How does that change once she knows the truth?
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Discuss the similarities between Lange and Vaughn’s relationship and Ginny and Beau’s. Also, the differences.
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What was your favorite part of Second Verse? Least favorite?
The story behind the story
Novel ideas often appear out of nowhere, as if by magic. Yet others are inspired by chance things that cross my path and set my mind reeling.
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For Second Verse, it was the December 2010 issue of Rolling Stone – it was the thirtieth anniversary of John Lennon’s death, and the magazine featured a never-before-published interview that had been recorded just days before his murder. The interview, along with the sidebar article by Yoko Ono, struck me on a variety of emotional planes, but it also planted a kernel of an idea. Although it had nothing really to do with the article itself, a what if scenario – about love, death, the blueprint of person, and the ways these things might fit together - began to burrow into me, and it quickly grew into a plot. Within days there were characters and a setting and a mystery brewing. Weeks later the plot was completely different, some characters had changed, others were introduced, and still others had been removed. Nothing stayed the same in that first draft – the genre shifted, the mystery bobbed and weaved as it unraveled, and little paranormal elements bubbled to the surface. After a few more months, I had a very rough draft that would change countless times and in extreme ways over the course of the following year. But at its heart, the same early ideas and ideals, the basic what if questions, had been woven into Lange’s and Vaughn’s story and were very much still present.
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It should be said that Second Verse has absolutely nothing to do with John Lennon, Yoko Ono, or the murder of a famous rock star. But, there was something in that article, some quote or line or small detail, that opened a certain emotional well and thought stream that led me down the road of telling the story that would eventually be Second Verse.
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