Let me start by admitting I’m not the type of person to listen to music while writing. I find it too distracting, especially when the lyrics don’t match the words I’m putting on the page. However, that isn’t to say I’m not above a bit of song searching procrastination. I love to create a good playlist that’ll keep me thinking about my plot and characters while I’m away from my laptop. That’s how I ended up with a 12-song playlist themed around the world and story of TO DROWN A WITCH. Below are five songs from that playlist that I listened to on repeat in the early stages of drafting.
1. DARKSIDE by Neoni – This song was added to my brainstorming playlist because I felt it brought out the heaviness of both Nes and Toran’s pasts while also explaining how that past has shaped their present.
There’s no heroes or villains in this place
Just shadows that dance in my headspace
Leaving nothing but phantoms in their wake
Neither Nes nor Toran is the hero or villain of the story. Because of their pasts, they both operate in a gray area. The losses they’ve experienced, especially Toran’s, haunt them and the tone of this song brought that emotion to the forefront for me.
There’s parts of me I cannot hide
I’ve tried and tried a million times
If you’ve read the book, when it comes to Toran and Nes, I think those two lines say it all, don’t you?
2. Play with Fire (feat. Yacht Money) by Sam Tinnesz – The reason this song ended up on my TO DROWN A WITCH playlist (which is actually just called “The Witch” on my phone) is twofold. One: the whole “play with fire” sentiment from a plot standpoint. Once Nes and Toran team up to hunt the Witch every step they take in their search/investigation feels like they are playing with fire. Gadore is full of dangerous magic and people and Nes and Toran run into a great number of them. Two: just by agreeing to work together Nes and Toran are playing with fire. They each recognize a danger in the other person and yet they team up because they think they can best their new partner. And then, once feelings start to develop between them, they play with fire even more.
3. Animal by AG & MOONZz – I dubbed this song Nes’s unofficial theme song. The slow build to when the beat drops gets me every time. The way the lyrics are a sort of warning of the danger the narrator possesses felt right for the character I wanted on the page. This song served as a reminder of that as I waded through Nes’s changing emotions. If I ever felt like she was getting too soft or I was putting too much of myself on the page, I’d listen to this song and remember Nes is a bada**. She might not be an animal, but she will go for the jugular.
4. Restless Sea (feat. Opia) by Louis Futon – Like a riptide, the first time I heard this song it pulled me in. It’s sensual while also giving off a feeling of danger and the more I listened to it, the more I began to understand Nes and Toran’s relationship. This song embodied the exact feeling I wanted for the more intimate scenes between them while the lyrics were nothing short of perfect. I mean, how much better can you get than that?
But when the weight got heavy to hold
I pushed you away when I should’ve pulled
I couldn’t stay when you kept me afloat, so we’ll never know
5. Thing of Beauty by Danger Twins – This is probably the song I listened to the most while planning. There isn’t much I can say about the lyrics, but the music and the beats sent my imagination soaring. Oh, did I mention I listened to this song while plotting TO DROWN A WITCH’s sequel? No? Well, make of that what you will…
TO DROWN A WITCH by Lindsey Olsson
A criminal and a royal guard are drawn into the hunt for a dangerous witch—and an unexpected romance—in this YA enemies-to-lovers romantasy, perfect for fans of Heartless Hunter.
In Orlonea, the Witch is feared above all else. Reborn into each generation, she is the only person with magic running innately through her veins, able to wield magic with a single thought.
So when guards across the city begin to drop dead, gruesomely murdered by violent and vicious magic, everyone knows the Witch has returned—and no one will be safe until she’s killed.
Toran is the Prince’s Crown, the most highly skilled fighter in the King’s Guard. Tasked with the responsibility of leading the hunt for the Witch, Toran tries to focus on his assignment to forget the ghosts of his past. And after he learns of Nes, a thief with an uncanny ability to sniff out magic, he forcibly recruits her into joining his hunt.
As the two face deadly magic and otherworldly threats, their mutual dislike soon turns to something more electric, and they find themselves drawn to each other in ways they’d never imagined. But the Witch is always a step ahead of them, and with bodies piling up, secrets threaten to come to light—secrets that could destroy everything from the fragile trust between them to the very city of Orlonea itself.
Young Adult Fantasy | Young Adult Romance [ G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, On Sale: July 14, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9798217004799 / eISBN: 9798217004805 ]
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About Lindsey Olsson
Lindsey Olsson grew up in central New Jersey where she searched for magic in the mundane. From a young age, her stories were filled with magic wands, vengeful ghosts, and swoonworthy shapeshifters (even when she was instructed to write non- fiction).
After studying creative writing at Elon University, she went on to receive an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Hamline University. When she isn’t covering the walls of her home with book ideas, she can be found skiing and snowboarding, climbing rock walls, or adventuring alongside her husband. She has yet to say no when offered a doughnut…or a dozen.
TO DROWN A WITCH is her debut novel.
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