By Adam Kovac

I wrote a novel called The Listening Post. It’s about a wounded veteran who gets called up from the reserves and sent to Iraq. The book is not based on my experience in Iraq or in Afghanistan. Still, I couldn’t have written the story without having been through the experience. The Listening Post is unpublished, but perhaps that’s a good thing. I never intended to write about the war, at least not for my first novel. But a writer doesn’t always get to choose his or her subject.

Full confession: I can’t write to music. If I did, I’d never put a word on paper. It’s the same with the silence of the library or home. Instead, my writing soundtrack is comprised of coffee shop noises—the grinders, that gizmo that whips the milk and the conversation of strangers.

That’s why I was thrilled and confounded when Daniel Ford asked me to contribute a music list for Writer’s Bone. A moment that reminded me of my days as a newspaper reporter, when we’d play a game at press conferences called, “Stump the Chump.” But I do like music before writing or after I’ve shut down the laptop for the day.

Here’s a selection that gets my juices flowing, helps me plow through those tough times. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for letting me share.