For me, a nascent story idea is nothing but a dream and a vibe, snatches of color, a glimpse of a setting… and then I hear one song, and everything falls into place. I often joke that a book idea doesn’t become a capital P Project until there is a playlist, and THE POSSESSION OF ALBA DIAZ was no different.
“First Light,” Hozier
I was on deadline for the first full draft of Alba Díaz when Hozier dropped Unreal Underneath and damn, it came at precisely the right moment (I must resist the temptation to make this entire list songs from this album). “First Light” is both gloomy and bursting with color and light; that juxtaposition was just what I was chasing as I crafted my book’s atmosphere. And the yearning! Chef’s kiss.
“Amigos (con Maria Becerra)”, Pablo Alborán
My brain and body are hardwired to adore Latin pop; it’s what I grew up with and what I always turn to when crafting book playlists. For a book with a Spanish protagonist, I gravitated toward Spanish pop. “Amigos” is bittersweet and full of longing, and the chorus soars with forbidden love and a crooning, repeated “you cure me of this loneliness.”
“Heaven,” Jordan Suaste
I’m a sucker for moody pop that plays with Catholic imagery. Suaste’s yearning (a theme in this playlist!) is palpable when he sings “I don’t want heaven, I want him” and the lack of contrition in his voice when he chants “pray for my soul!” For me, this encapsulated Alba and Elías’s relationship. They don’t want heaven, they want one another.
“Abril y mayo,” Valeria Castro
Another Spanish singer, glorious Spanish guitar to set the mood, flamenco flourishes, and rich lyricism full of anger, regret, and gorgeous imagery. The restrained anger simmering in Castro’s voice had me playing this song on loop as I drafted.
“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” Taylor Swift
The soundtrack of the cathedral scene at the end. At risk of spoiling a grisly finale, I will say no more.
When a demonic presence awakens deep in a Mexican silver mine, the young woman it seizes must turn to the one man she shouldn’t trust…from bestselling author Isabel Cañas.
In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family’s isolated mine for refuge. But safety proves fleeting as other dangers soon bare their teeth: Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. She senses something cold lurking beneath her skin. Something angry. Something wrong.
Elías, haunted by a troubled past, came to the New World to make his fortune and escape his family’s legacy of greed. Alba, as his cousin’s betrothed, is none of his business. Which is of course why he can’t help but notice the growing tension between them every time she enters the room…and why he notices her deteriorate when the demon’s thirst for blood gets stronger.
In the fight for her life, Alba and Elías become entangled with the occult, the Church, long-kept secrets, and each other… not knowing that one of these things will spell their doom.
Paranormal Historical [Berkley, On Sale: August 19, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593641071 / eISBN: 9780593641095]
Isabel Cañas is a Mexican-American speculative fiction writer. After having lived in Mexico, Scotland, Egypt, and Turkey, among other places, she has settled (for now) in New York City, where she works on her PhD dissertation in medieval Islamic literature and writes fiction inspired by her research and her heritage.
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