thesamhensley

I set up a free Substack to share some flash fiction of Asher and Conor ("Your Picture On My Phone") and news about upcoming books. (Including the sequel!)
          	
          	I would love to see you have a look: https://thesamhensley.substack.com

thesamhensley

Episodes 5, 6, and 7 mainly take place in the swimming pool. I know it seems unlikely to find one in an airport, but google it! There are some around the world! I got the idea for it when I encountered a pool in the middle of a shopping center. That absolutely didn't make any sense to me back then, and I wanted to incorporate that feeling into the story.
          
          I didn't choose songs that Ash and Conor can actually hear for these three episodes. Think of them more like a movie soundtrack underlying the story.
          
          Episode 5:
          I imagined the pool to be very warm and stylish, so I chose this song to represent that ambiance.
          https://youtu.be/j3peRYECPVw
          
          Episode 6:
          This episode starts with Ash encountering something he never expected to happen. First, he is pretty shaken and angry, but this fades quickly into other thoughts and feelings that make him see Conor in a different light.
          This song is a classic punk song, and especially the beginning of it represents what I imagine this situation must feel like for him.
          https://youtu.be/AdUBTE9JpgI
          
          Episode 7:
          Ash reflects more on his positive feelings for Conor and stumbles upon an old memory that appears unrelated at the beginning.
          I chose this song to represent the range of emotions he wanders through in his self-discovery process.
          https://youtu.be/uXvkjk0iyV0
          
          How do you like the story so far? Let me know!
          I hope you enjoy reading it!

thesamhensley

Episodes two, three, and four all take place in a Diner located within the airport. The music gets deeper into the pop and rock direction. When Conor and Ash visit it, the bosses already took off because of the blizzard and left the young folk in charge, now playing their favorite music. When I wrote it, I sometimes imagined myself standing in the kitchen and watching the boys trying to find a way to get along.
          
          2: I listened to this song when I was 16 myself. It’s not the music Ash and Conor would usually listen to, but it fits the mood of episode two perfectly for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFKf08us2AI
          
          3: This was another song that accompanied me through my youth and now found its way into this Story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdKfuwy6LUM
          
          4: This is the last song on the Diner Playlist. The episode features two songs, one when Ash walks to the restroom and one shortly before they leave the Diner. In my opinion, this song would fit both occasions, as I heard it while writing the episode. But if this were a movie, it would be played in the latter part. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuzvORd7wiM
          
          Did you notice that Ash comments on some of the music played in the Diner? (With his taste in music in mind, of course.)

thesamhensley

When I start to write a story, I often stumble across new music that inspires me to move my story forward and helps me to get back in the mood when I struggle to proceed further. For "Your Picture On My Phone," I also created a Playlist where every song matches one of the episodes.
          
          For episode one, it's this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLB75cA_cRA
          
          If Ash weren't so stressed out by meeting Conor again, he would listen to this song as it makes him feel at home. "I wanna be" is the first ending of the Anime "Soul Eater." I imagine them watching that together when they were 10—a pleasant memory. But instead, Ash puts his headphones in his ears, listening to absolutely nothing. Typical!

jxhnxxx

@thesamhensley OMFG!!! Soul Eater!?!? I wanna be!!!!! I can hear it now ringing in my ears. Thats one of my favorite anime of all time!
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