Music from the books

One reader wrote to ask me, What Katie Melua song were Lochan and Maya dancing to in that pivotal scene in Forbidden? Good question, because the artist but not the song title is mentioned in the book. It is the scene where Maya pesters Lochan into being her partner so she can practise the salsa, and then the music on the radio changes to a soft crooner and they find themselves slow-dancing in each other's arms. And it is the first time that both Lochan and Maya realise that their feelings for each other are more than just fraternal. So Katie Melua's The Closest Thing to Crazy plays an important part in the book.

The next two songs on the playlist: Lemon Incest and Charlotte Forever are by the notorious French singer Serge Gainsbourg and his then 12-year-old daughter Charlotte. They are about a fictional incestuous relationship between father and daughter but even have music videos. I was about 12 and on holiday in France when they came out and I remember being slightly taken-aback but nothing like as shocked as I would have been had I first encountered them as an adult. Which goes to show to some extent how accepting and open-minded children are compared to adults. All the same, it is amazing that these songs, along with a short film about the same subject, were released at all, and is also an interesting example of how France is a very tolerant society in many ways. I recently learned that France is one of the few countries where consensual incest is legal.

The final three songs I have included in the playlist above were nominated by readers in a competiton I ran on my Facebook Fanpage. Readers were asked to vote for the song that to them best represented the story - a soundtrack to the book if you like. There were loads of fantastic suggestions but I had to choose my top three for the purposes of the competition, and the winners each received a signed copy of Forbidden. If you feel strongly about a song that you think represents the book, drop me a line and I will consider it for inclusion in the playlist above!

Panis Angelicus, Summertime, Laudate Dominum and On My Own are sung by Jennah in 'A Voice in the Distance'. On My Own is even sung by Flynn and Jennah in a psychiatric hospital with the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar! I chose these songs because they were my favourites to sing back when I was having singing lessons as a teenager. I still remember my last recital, organised by my teacher to showcase her students much like the concert Jennah's teacher asks her to sing in at the end of 'A Voice in the Distance'. Laudate Dominum was my favourite, I remember, but a real challenge to sing. Panis Angelicus was my signature song and the one that got me a scholarship for the Italia Conti School of Performing Arts where I spent a couple of years.

Flynn plays the fiendishly difficult Rach Three (Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto) in 'A Note of Madness' and the equally challenging Rach Two in 'A Voice in the Distance'. My brother Tiggy performed the Rach Two for the first time in concert in 2010 - a day which I believe will always remain one of the most thrilling and poignant of my life. For his studies at the Royal Academy, Tig has chosen as his focus piece the Rach Three - arguably the most technically challenging piano concertos of all time!

As I mention in the acknowledgements, the character of Louis, a talented ballet and street dancer, was heavily influenced by the boys who played the title role in Billy Elliot The Musical when it first opened in London. The songs from the show, as well as the incredible dances from such young, talented performers, were a huge inspiration to me. I went to see the musical about five times during the course of writing the book and the songs were an almost continuous soundtrack to my work. Freestyler also features in the book - it is the song that Louis and his dance partner Tess perform to, winning a prestigious dance competition which paradoxically threatens Louis's new-found freedom and ultimately forces him to make the most difficult decision of his life.

I vividly remember the night I finished writing the book. It was around 3 am (I am notorious for writing through the night!) and I was genuinely surprised to find myself typing the final lines with tears running down my cheeks. I was listening to a song without lyrics, Concerto Pour Deux Voix, performed by French choirboy and star of the movie 'The Chorus': Jean-Baptiste Maunier, then aged just fourteen.