Playlist for Shift of Destiny

The audiobook for Shift of Destiny, book 2 in my Ice Age Shifters series, is out and ready for however you like to listen to books. Including, by the way, via Spotify (if you're in the U.S., UK, AU, NZ, and IE). I like to collect songs that express the emotional challenges for the characters in a given book. Also, looking for songs helps me discover new artists instead of listening to. This is the playlist for Shift of Destiny.

If you like these, check out the playlist for Shifter Mate Magic, book 1 in the series.

Playlist Track #1

Terrified by Katharine McPhee featuring Jason Reeves.

You know that feeling when you're suddenly falling for someone and you can't believe your luck? That's how Chance feels when he meets Moira. He's an unusual lion shifter whose inner beast tells him she's The One. In his life, his luck has mostly put him in the right place and time for extraordinary events, and he's not sure this isn't one of those. For one, she's human, and for another, she believes there's no such thing as magic. Even when they're in a town with magic on every corner.

Nota bene: McPhee found fame as a near-miss winner of the American Idol television show in 2006. The manufactured drama of the various talent shows is way too much for me, but I love that they help some musicians make their careers. McPhee turned out to be admirably multi-talented and has TV series and Broadway musical credits, too. (It also helps that her parents were in show business and knew which doors opportunity was likely to knock on.)

Illustration of a car with mismatched parts, for Shift of Destiny's playlist — *Moira's beater of a car breaks down in Kotoyeesinay, Wyoming. She named it Frankie, short for Frankenstein, because of its mismatched parts.*

Playlist Track #2

This song, Green & Gold, by Lianne La Havas, is sung by a woman who wondered as a child where she would fit in, and finding her power as an adult. This is Moira's life. Her father vanished before Moira was born, and her mother succumbed to addiction, so Moira ended up in foster care. Her foster parents loved her, but never understood her unconventional view of life and willingness to take the oddest of jobs. Before meeting Chance, she spent years ducking the minions of a crazy billionaire who wants her gifts for himself. Chance gives her respect, which fuels her courage to take a stand.

N.B. The foster-care system in the U.S. isn't perfect, but all the click-bait headline horror stories are annoying. Most adults who sign up to foster do so because they truly want to help kids who come from really, really tough situations. Moira's loving foster parents are my tribute to my friends who have given their foster kids the support and freedom to become whatever they wanted and needed to be.

Playlist Track #3

Scotch and Chocolate by Nickel Creek. I love this instrumental with its bluegrass roots and rock-infused beat. It starts out slow, then kicks into infectious waves of rhythm that make you want to dance. I think this is how both Moira and Chance feel when their relationship heats up, and then events have them going at ninety miles an hour. It's the kind of terrifying and exhilarating experience they'll someday look back on and say “what a ride!”

illustration of a storefront with a sign that says Turn of the Cards, as generated by MidJourney and additions by Carol Van Natta — In Kotoyeesinay, Moira gets a job at Turn of the Cards, a store that sells Tarot cards, crystals, and magical objects… none of which she believes in.

Bonus Playlist Track

I love My Destiny (catchy title, am I right?) written and performed by Katharine McPhee. Both Moira and Chance have been dodging their destiny. Together, they can face anything. I understand that in concert, McPhee used to put this song together with Somewhere, Over the Rainbow. I hope to hear it someday because it sounds like the perfect choice.