Bon Jovi Inspired

I am currently working on Book 3 of my fantasy trilogy, the Roesia Chronicles; since this is the first time I've written a trilogy, I assigned a song from Bon Jovi's album Have a Nice Day to each novella to help me keep the themes of each distinct.

Bon Jovi was hugely popular when I was a teen. I wasn't much of a fan (if I remember correctly, I was listening to A-Ha , Elvis Costello, and Billy Joel while listening to my siblings play Pink Floyd, Queen, Neil Diamond plus Bruce Springsteen and to my friends play The Pogues and Duran Duran).

In the middle of all this, Bon Jovi produced the song "Wanted Dead or Alive" which led, circuitously, to him creating the soundtrack for Young Guns II and making a cameo appearance in the movie. THAT led to Bon Jovi doing an interview on the radio, which I heard. Bon Jovi was so adorably, well, dorky (I admire dorkiness) and self-effacing during the interview, I decided I liked him.

Approximately 15 years later, I saw him on American Idol looking adorably bemused ("Why am I doing this?") and decided I still liked him.

Every now and again, I listen to his music.

From Have a Nice Day, I assigned "I Want to Be Loved" to Aubrey: Remnants of Transformation:

So who I am now?
Who do you want me to be be?
I can forgive you but I won't re-live you
I ain't the same scared kid I used to be
I'm gonna live, I'm gonna survive
I don't want the world to pass me by
I'm gonna dream, I ain't gonna die
Thinking my life was just a lie
I wanna be loved
I wanna be loved

I assigned "Welcome to Wherever You Are" to Richard: The Ethics of Affection:

You're caught between just who you are and who you want to be
If you feel alone and lost and need a friend
Remember every new beginning is some beginning's end
Welcome to where you are
This is your life; you made it this far
Welcome, you got to believe
That right here, right now
You're exactly where you're supposed to be
Welcome to wherever you are.

To put it in Buckaroo Banzai's terms: No matter where you go, there you are.

And I assigned the signature song "Have a Nice Day" to Lord Simon: The Dispossession of Hannah:

Take a look around you; nothing's what it seems
We're living in the broken home of hopes and dreams
Let me be the first to shake a helping hand
Anybody brave enough to take a stand
I've knocked on every door on every dead-end street
Looking for forgiveness and what's left to believe
When the world gets in my face, I say

Have a nice day