“Over the years, I’ve discovered that a major key to reaching the varying levels of emotional intensity I hope to reach in a novel is to have a really strong soundtrack to listen to as I write. This was no different for Smoky Mountain Dreams.The following Spotify list has the eight most important songs I listened to when writing Smoky Mountain Dreams.”
Head on over to listen to the playlist if’n ya are curious!
Guest Post: Leta Blake for Smoky Mountain Dreams | 3 Chicks After Dark.

Christopher Ryder and Jesse Birch are two men hanging on to the past. While Christopher has let go of his failure as a country singer in Nashville, he’s still trying to please his narrow-minded, non-accepting family. His beloved Gran loves him the way he is, but Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. He’s happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee, but even when Christopher is center stage he aches for someone to see the real him.
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to bisexual Jesse. He’s raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children’s mother. There’s no room in his life for dating, his kids are his priority, and he doesn’t want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn’t want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.