When I first started writing Try Not to Breathe, one of the first thing I did was create a playlist of songs from 1995 that helped me write the scenes set back then.
It soon snowballed and as I found my protagonist – broken journalist Alex Dale – I added songs that I thought represented her or helped me get into her noisy, messy head.
I still listen to this playlist to remind me of the characters that I really enjoyed spending time with (and because it’s full of songs I love, obviously!)