Music inspires and compliments everything I do. It runs in my family on my mom’s side. My mom handed down her mom’s guitar to her when I was a teen, bought me a new guitar when I graduated college (which I still own and love), and since her passing in 2018, I’ve inherited two more of her guitars; a baby Taylor and a beautiful 12 string.
But more than the ability to hear, to play, to sing, I value the beauty of lyrics. Sometimes words that are harsh or paint ugly pictures of reality are as powerful and moving as lyrics that paint a beautiful portrait of feelings, places, people, or God.
Along with worship music, Contemporary Christian Music often speaks to my soul; I find I can express myself so much better to my Father in Heaven in song. I find words I otherwise struggle to speak aloud outside of the realm of music. I love it when artists turn bible verses into songs.
This is a photo of me when I graduated college and was gifted a new classical guitar by my parents.
It should come as no surprise that music inspires and compliments my novels. Maybe you can relate! Numerous authors keep playlists on YouTube and Spotify of music they listen to that inspires them while they write, or that inspired specific characters or story ideas.
Music also influences many of my novels. In 2021, I released Anchor My Heart, a contemporary Christian Romance that centers on a worship leader whose companionship and love with a fellow singer became so tangled up together with his musical aspirations that after her unfortunate death, he finds he can no longer play guitar without experiencing overwhelming grief. This is the story of Matt’s journey through healing so he can continue to do what God called him to do.
There are two songs that really spoke to me while writing this novel. One of them was Broken Hallelujah by The Afters. See the lyric video here:
I remember hearing this song while writing and immediately I knew: this was Matt’s song. This encapsulated how Matt felt right then and there as he was so broken and yet he was still willing to cry out to God in the most difficult time of his life. These lyrics express both the heartbreak of our present human reality and the hope we have in our relationship with Christ.
Check out Anchor My Heart and my other novels on Amazon here. Most are free in Kindle Unlimited. Anchor My Heart – Kindle edition by Williams, Sara Beth. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Does music inspire you? How does music inspire you? Comment here, on X (Twitter), or on Facebook!
Today’s guest post was written by Sara Beth Williams.