(This really was intended to be a Thursday Thirteen, but…who’s counting?)

So if the Devlin Group series was a movie, it would have to have a soundtrack, right? Here are the songs I associate with the Group—not necessarily all of the song, but sometimes just a few lines or the chorus or the background music. And sometimes the song belongs to one character or one scene. With the exception of one of these songs, I don’t usually listen to them while I’m actually writing. I listen to the song ahead of time and it conjures the scene or the mood, and then I write.

Invincible by Pat Benatar — This is Carmen’s song. After hitting her head in 72 Hours and then being cut out of the loop in On the Edge, she’s got something to prove. And she does, too. Y’all will like her. — We can’t afford to be innocent/Stand up and face the enemy/It’s a do or die situation/We will be Invincible

Remember the Name by Fort Minor — The chorus and the music of this song just put me in a DG mood. — This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill/Fifteen percent concentrated power of will/Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain/And a hundred percent reason to remember the name

Headstrong by Trapt — This started out as Rossi’s song, but it’s become the unofficial DG theme song. — Back off I’ll take you on/Headstrong to take on anyone/I know that you are wrong/Headstrong we’re Headstrong

Blaze of Glory by Bon Jovi — I have to be careful not to have this song on my playlist when I’m writing something else, because this one brings Gallagher so totally to life for me I then have to write him. There’s this one scene where…never mind. — I’m going out in a blaze of glory/Take me now but know the truth/I’m going out in a blaze of glory/Lord I never drew first/But I drew first blood

Savin’ Me by Nickelback — Another of Gallagher’s songs, and rather literal in this situation — And oh I scream for you/Come please I’m callin’/And all I need from you/Hurry I’m fallin’

Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N’ Roses — Another one the entire Group likes — Welcome to the jungle/We take it day by day/If you want it you’re gonna bleed/But it’s the price you pay

Starts with Goodbye by Carrie Underwood — This one’s Charlotte’s, and I listened to it over and over again while getting ready to write the scene in the shed where Tony’s being held. — But I knew I had to do it/And he wouldn’t understand/So hard to see myself without him/I felt a piece of my heart break/But when you’re standing at a crossroad/There’s a choice you gotta make.

Bitch by Meredith Brooks — This one’s Grace’s song, for probably obvious reasons — I’m a bitch, I’m a lover/I’m a child, I’m a mother/I’m a sinner, I’m a saint/I do not feel ashamed

Holding out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler — Oh, my sweet Tony. I can’t tell you how loud I played this song while writing the scene in which he rushes Anetakis’s house to get to Charlotte. I had it on repeat play so it just blasted time after time while he ran and the bullets flew. — I need a hero/I’m holding out for a hero ’til the end of the night/He’s gotta be strong/And he’s gotta be fast/And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight/I need a hero/I’m holding out for a hero ’til the morning light/He’s gotta be sure/And it’s gotta be soon/And he’s gotta be larger than life

Still not sure if Connor O’Brien gets to live or not, so his song is Who Wants to Live Forever by Queen.