Hi peeps, we have Kelly Jensen visiting today with the tour for her new release Counting Down, we have a brilliant playlist and a fantastic giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Counting Down
Kelly Jensen
It’s been a week since a Christmas Eve blizzard changed the course of Marcus Winnamore’s life. Plan A is now Plan B, and the first item on his new agenda is taking Henry Auttenberg on a date. They’ve been invited to a New Year’s Eve party, and Marc is counting down the hours until midnight… until he can kiss Henry in front of his colleagues and friends.
Things don’t quite work out to plan. Finding the elevator out of service, Marc and Henry check the stairs, only to choose the wrong door, and become locked in the basement. Close quarters once again make for close conversation, and as they explore every avenue of escape, they also explore the deepening attraction between them. For Marc, this isn’t an experiment. Will he still feel that way when he has to admit to someone other than Henry that he’s gay?
The Basement Playlist!
I don’t write to music, so when I build playlists for my books, it’s usually after the fact. For Counting Down, I considered a couple of themes. I could have given Henry and Marc a dance party in the basement, or gone with New Year’s Eve classics. But whenever I write a character, they become a real person to me. After two stories, I know Henry and Marc pretty well. They’re not dance party kinda guys. They’d tolerate the classics, but they don’t feel them. These guys are contemporary and a little quirky. So I looked for songs that suited them, personally, and then tossed in a couple of my favourites because those songs worked too!
If Henry and Marc had a radio in the basement, these are the songs I’d want them to hear. 🙂
When considering a playlist for Counting Down, this was the first song that came to mind. I’m sure the guys would roll their eyes at me for suggesting it, but come on, it’s perfect!
The Goo Goo Dolls version of this song has just the right tone for Henry and Marc. There’s a lightness and brightness to the plea to “just give a little bit,” which is perfect for this stage of their relationship, even if it is only a second date. 😉
Okay, their situation isn’t this dramatic, but… (U2 should be on every playlist. Seriously.)
So, I was considering “Funky New Year” for this list, but while I was listening to it, I kept hearing one line from that other Eagles song, which just happens to be my favourite Eagles song: you can never leave. I laughed. Because I’m evil. So, yeah, let’s say the basement is Henry and Marc’s own version of a trippy desert nightmare.
Honestly, these guys are better together. They’re still figuring that out though. This one is for all the tension and attraction between them.
I’d never heard of Basement before I started looking for songs for this list. I’m now officially a fan. Also, I could have used any song on this album. I chose this one for a few reasons. First, the title. Secondly, the tone and the lyrics totally suit the theme of this playlist! Thirdly, it’s just a great song.
Thanks for following my tour! At the end of every post, I’ll be asking a question. Leave a comment with your answer (and your email address). Every comment throughout the tour counts as an entry in my giveaway. One winner will receive $15 (US or equivalent) to spend at the Dreamspinner Press store.
About Kelly!
If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.
Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.
Connect with Kelly: Twitter | Facebook | Website
Giveaway!
One winner will receive $15 (US or equivalent) to spend at the Dreamspinner Press store!
Question: Is there a song that says “New Year’s Eve” to you? (Or, alternatively, is there a song that says “stuck in a basement”? 😀
Check out the other blogs on the blog tour!
The song that says ‘New Year’s Eve’ to me is ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen. Where I live a radio station started the Top 2000 in, yes you guessed it, 2000. They played all 2000 songs non-stop, starting on December 26th with #2000 and ending on New Year’s Eve with #1. This was such a huge success, that every year since then there is a Top 2000. People can vote for their favorite song. In the past 18 years Bohemian Rhapsody was #1 fourteen times. Talking about a New Year’s eve tradition.
oops forgot my email: tankie44 at gmail dot com
That sounds fantastic! Great choice, too.
No special sound for New Year’s Eve, but I’m not big on traditions, so that’s not strange…
Congratulations on the release, Keyy
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New Year’s Eve song for me has always been Auld Lang Syne, pretty old school eh. 😉 I don’t have any “stuck in a basement” songs, basement for me equals dark, dusty, creepy place! *shudders*
Thanks for sharing your playlist, though – saw a couple of new to me artists there!
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Auld Lang Syne is the song that says “New Year’s Eve” as every year we watch the fireworks on TV from London and it’s always played.
ShirleyAnn(at)speakman40(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk
I have to go with Auld Lang Syne too. Thanks for sharing your list of songs.
Jen(dot)f(at)mac(dot)com
ways think of celebration for new years eve
forgot my email
jmarinich33 at aol dot com
For me it will be “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” by Harry Connick Jr.
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Of course Henry and Marc can answer that question with “stuck in the basement” *LOL*
amie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com
Lol! 😀
Great playlist, makes me nostalgic. Haven’t heard Kryptonite in ages, but still could sing along *g*
I don’t really celebrate the turn of the year. But if I had to think of a fitting song, The Final Countdown by Europe would be my choice.
kragthang AT aim DOT com
Oh, I need to add that one to the list!
I admit the first thing I thought of was the song from that old SCTV “Five Neat Guys” sketch: “It’s December the first…and I’m starting to hurt…’cause I caaaan’t…get a daaaaate…for New Year’s.” Or, even though there are other Sloan songs I prefer (they have a ton of very varied albums), their “Down In The Basement” seems appropriate…
vitajex(At)Aol(Dot)com
Ooh, or the Ramones’ “I Don’t Wanna Go Down To The Basement”! The guys could probably use some punk by then…
Perfect.
Congrats and thanks for the post & playlist. The book sounds great. The song that immediately came to mind was Auld Lang Syne, but go beyond that, it’s a stretch, refering to winter, but I’ve always liked it – Baby It’s Cold Outside (good for staying in or going out on News Years) –
TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com
Stuck in a basement song? There’s a short song Will Smith sings in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when he gets stuck in a basement with his gf. It goes like this “I’m stuck in a basement, sitting on a tricycle, girl getting on my nerves. Going out of my mind. I thought she was fine I don’t know if her body is hurt….” also Trapped in a Basement by Black Lips.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Hahaha!
Oh boy, my parents are from the ex-USSR so every New Year’s we would watch the same film – the Irony of Fate. That film contains multiple songs but the one about not having an aunt (Eсли у вас нету тёти) will always remind me of New Year’s events. I moved out over a decade ago but I always go back for the winter holidays and we always either have that film playing in the background on the 31st or the soundtrack.
(gali.giving [at] gmail [dot] com)
Love it.
My New Year’s Song is 1999 by Prince. Because we should always party like it’s 1999. And I can’t really think of a stuck in a basement song, maybe Help by the Beatles?
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Thanks for all the comments! This giveaway is now closed.