Yearning on Repeat: The Secret Soundtrack Behind My Steamiest Scenes
Okay, confession time. My family thinks I write in serene silence, maybe with a candle flickering and a cup of chamomile nearby. Absolutely not. When I'm writing the scenes that make you fan yourself on the couch, I've got headphones clamped on my ears and a playlist that would make my book club blush.
Music is my scaffolding. A certain bassline can tell me a hero is about to surrender. A specific bridge of a song can carry me through a breakup I've been dreading for 300 pages. So today, I'm sharing the actual tracks behind the yearning — song by song — and yes, there's a Spotify-ready list at the end. Consider it my love letter to your earbuds.
The Warm-Up: Songs That Get Me in the Mood (to Write, Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter)
Before any steam, I need to feel the tension building. That's where the slow ones live.
"Take My Breath Away" — Berlin. Yes, it's from Top Gun, and yes, I'm that predictable. This one fueled the elevator scene in Midnight Reckoning — the one where neither of them says a word for eleven floors. Silence plus this song? Devastating.
"Slow Hands" — Niall Horan. This track scored the porch scene in Sweet Tea and Second Chances, and I cannot hear it now without picturing Georgia's fingers hovering over Cole's hand. Small towns, warm nights, unresolved feelings — it's basically the musical version of my brand.
The Kiss: Where the Playlist Gets Dangerous
"Earned It" — The Weeknd. I wrote the rain-soaked kiss in Hard Fall almost entirely in one sitting, and this song was on loop so many times my daughter banged on my office door and asked if I was "listening to that sexy sad music again." I was. I always am.
"Wicked Game" — Chris Isaak. For the almost-kiss in Burning Down the Ranch that readers still email me about. You know the one. He pulled back. She cursed. The song made me do it.
The Breakup: Pass the Tissues and the Whiskey
Not every song on this playlist is about heat. Some of them are about the ache.
"Someone Like You" — Adele. I know, I know. Cliché? Maybe. But when I wrote Lila walking out of Dane's apartment in The Long Way Home, this song was playing, and I made myself ugly-cry through the whole scene. If a breakup doesn't hurt the writer, it won't hurt the reader.
"Skinny Love" — Bon Iver. This one scored the letter scene — the letter that doesn't get sent. My husband found me at 1 a.m., headphones on, mascara everywhere, and just handed me a glass of water like he'd done it before. He had.
The Reconciliation: Bring It Home
"Landslide" — Fleetwood Mac. Stevie Nicks has repaired more of my fictional marriages than any couples therapist could. The kitchen scene at the end of Back to Bluebonnet Hollow? Written to this, start to finish, with tears streaming down my face and my cat judging me from the windowsill.
"At Last" — Etta James. The granddaddy of all finally-songs. When my heroes stop fighting fate and just give in, Etta is singing them down the aisle.
Your Turn: Press Play
Here's the full list, ready for your Spotify queue — I've named it "Yearning on Repeat" over on my profile:
- Take My Breath Away — Berlin
- Slow Hands — Niall Horan
- Earned It — The Weeknd
- Wicked Game — Chris Isaak
- Someone Like You — Adele
- Skinny Love — Bon Iver
- Landslide — Fleetwood Mac
- At Last — Etta James
But here's the thing — my playlist is only half the story. Music is personal, and the song that makes you fall head-over-heels for a brooding cowboy might be totally different from mine. Maybe it's a heartland rock anthem. Maybe it's a pop girlie ballad. Maybe it's something embarrassing you'd never admit at brunch (no judgment — this is a safe space, and I just admitted to crying to Adele at 1 a.m.).
So drop a comment or slide into my inbox: What song makes you fall in love with a hero? The best answers might just end up on the playlist for my next book. And fair warning — if a certain someone sends me the right track, there's a scene in the WIP that hasn't been written yet, and it might get scored by you.
Until then, turn it up, grab a bookmark, and thank me later.
XOXO, Mackenzie
