I never, ever start a book without creating a playlist first. Even if it’s only a few songs and I add more as I explore the story, I need to have some songs to set the mood and get me inspired. Here are a few songs from the playlist of WRITING MR. RIGHT!
Pretty Woman (Shankar Ehsaan Loy, from the Kal Ho Na Ho OST)
One thing about me is that I love being multicultural. Karan Johar’s Kal Ho Na Ho has a perfect soundtrack, and no song from it fits Writing Mr. Right better than Pretty Woman. A remake of Roy Orbison’s 1964 “Oh, Pretty Woman,” it perfectly captures how Aashiq, the love interest, tries to get Ziya, the main lead, into appreciating herself and her own life. It’s also a song that encompasses his feelings toward her, and in my opinion, is a way you can tell he becomes enamoured with her pretty quickly. If Writing Mr. Right was a musical, Aashiq would sing this song to Ziya while he inspires the whole neighborhood to join him, just like in the movie. Also, if you’ve seen the movie, let me tell you: Aashiq is sooooo Aman Mathur coded (except he has a better ending, I promise!).
Spring Snow (10CM, from the Lovely Runner OST)
10CM has the magic touch when it comes to K-drama OSTs. Some of the best come from his soothing voice. This song wasn’t on the playlist for Writing Mr. Right when I wrote the first draft, but I watched Lovely Runner during the summer I was revising, and after listening to the song I became inspired to write a whole speech from Aashiq that actually ended up making it into the book (and if you’re curious, it’s on page 269). The lyrics are about the narrator falling in love and comparing the object of their affection to the spring, which they’ve been waiting a long time for, and since this book takes place in the transition between autumn and winter and then well into the latter, it works so well for Ziya and Aashiq.
Superman (Taylor’s Version) (Taylor Swift)
So much of this playlist is made up of Taylor Swift songs, but I didn’t want this entire recommendation to be her discography. So, while it was hard picking just one Taylor song, I’m happy with my decision—Superman (TV). It’s not actually a song I listened to much before she re-recorded it, and it was only when I was writing some special bonus content that I realized how much this song suited Ziya and Aashiq. From Ziya’s perspective, Aashiq is someone who can do anything, who always finds his way into wacky situations but knows just how to handle them. Now that he’s no longer just in her own mind, she has to learn to let him go and allow him to be his own person, which isn’t always easy for her because of how protective of him she becomes. She watches her own superman fly away to save the world, but she knows that he’ll come back to her at the end of the day, no matter what.
Life Goes On (Agust D)
This is a song I listened to a lot while writing some of the final chapters to really dive into the angst-factor. For those who don’t know, Agust D is the alternate name of Suga from BTS, and this song specifically samples Life Goes On by BTS, which released in 2020. While the lyrics of the original song explore the confused feelings we all experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Agust D delves into the distance created when the relationship between two people falls apart. That doesn’t necessarily happen with Ziya and Aashiq, but they both go through the same dread the song conveys. Agust D’s soulful voice adds an extra layer of melancholy, something that definitely lingers in the latter half of the story. But, as Ziya and Aashiq learn, even if lots of time passes, you can still try to find each other. Life, after all, goes on. Plus, this song is extra special to me because I got to hear Agust D sing it live on his D-Day Tour in New York, and every time I remember that I want to cry because what a blessing that literally wouldn’t have happened had I not become an author. Life is great.
Daylight (Maroon 5)
I may have felt my back crack when I added this song to my playlist, which when I realized how long ago this song came out (2012… Lord take me out now) but it fits WMR so well I have to ignore it. Ziya and Aashiq’s biggest obstacle in the novel is that he’s simply not real, not in the same way she is. The more she starts to fall in love with writing again, the more Aashiq disappears, and it’s something they have to grapple with. I think the lyrics of this song matches their predicament quite well. Adam Levine lamenting that once the sun rises, he and his lover will have to part, but choosing to spend the time they have tonight holding each other close is a sentiment that Ziya and Aashiq share. But when the daylight comes, will Aashiq have to go? Guess you’ll have to read the book to find out!
A Magical Rom-Com of Love and Inspiration with a Writer and Her Grumpy Muse
In this charming, delightfully original rom-com, a struggling writer’s muse suddenly comes to life, but can they create their own happily-ever-after?
Legal secretary by day, aspiring novelist by night, Ziya Khan pours herself into writing stories featuring the kinds of diverse characters she loves. In exchange, she’s got a growing pile of rejection letters. When yet another “thanks but no thanks” arrives on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Ziya decides to throw her novel and her dreams in the trash. End of story.
Except that when Ziya wakes up, there’s a flesh-and-blood version of her muse standing in her kitchen. His name is Aashiq, and it’s his job to inspire Ziya to write again. From singing karaoke to standing up for herself at work, he’s pushing Ziya out of the sidelines and into the world, showing her how to live and love fully.
Even more impossibly, something starts to blossom between them. But as Ziya rediscovers the joy of writing, Aashiq starts to disappear. His job is almost done. And it seems soon Ziya will have to choose: Her art…or her heart?
Women's Fiction | Romance Comedy [MIRA, On Sale: June 10, 2025, Trade Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9780778368663 / eISBN: 9780369761255]
Alina Khawaja is a Canadian-Pakistani author. A graduate from the University of Toronto with a BA in English, History and Creative Writing and from Toronto Metropolitan University with an MA in the Literatures of Modernity, it’s been clear from day one that the only thing Alina could be is a storyteller. Alina lives in Ontario, Canada, where she spends the summer at theme parks and the winter cozying up inside with a ridiculously expensive coffee. When she’s not writing, she’s either reading or trying to keep up with her endless list of k-dramas.
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