#SYTYCD Book Pitch – Music Edition! (@MikeyWax @DANCEonFOX)

So you remember yesterday when I promised another SYTYCD-related treat today? Well this is it!

I was approached* by Kelly, the publicist for musician Mikey Wax, about doing one of my book pitches based on Mikey’s song “Counting On You.” You may know it better as the current guys’ elimination song on So You Think You Can Dance. Here, I’ll jog your memory.

So of course I agreed. I was thrilled someone actually reads my book pitches. And likes them. I tend to think they’re rather nifty, even if you don’t watch the show. I like imagining what these stories would be like. But it’s nice to know I’m writing them for more people than just me and my few loyal commenters.

Plus, you know me. Any excuse to enter “So You Think You Can Dance” into the YouTube search engine is good in my book.

Anyway, I’m happy to help out an up-and-coming artist using my tiny little corner of the Internet, because even though my music degree is sitting on a shelf gathering dust (under a pile of books, of course), I’m still a musician at heart. And even though my tastes over the years have gotten weird (and even though this has been my favorite music video for the last twelve years**), so who knows what I know, I personally really like this song.

Anyway. I’m getting distracted.

While the 50-second clip used on SYTYCD is fun, I thought you may be interested in the whole song. And if you love it, you can check out Mikey’s website, where he has options to purchase this song as well as the album it comes from, Constant Motion. And his other albums too. So here’s the full version:

And here are the lyrics:

Who knows
Crazy as life goes
We’ll write a story 
We’ll tell til were very old
So let’s live lost in the moment
Taking it all in as we go.

You know I’m counting on you not running
Stay with me let it keep on coming
You and I need to hold on through
As the world is in constant motion
You stay with me through this strange emotion
You and I, we will make it through

Lets go into the unknown
Letting our lives flow
Together we’ll lose control
I know that lately
I’ve been acting crazy
We gotta let this feeling roll

You know I’m counting on you not running
Stay with me let it keep on coming
You and I need to hold on through
As the world is in constant motion
You stay with me through this strange emotion
You and I, we will make it through

Close your eyes and dream
Feel the wind on the open highway
All I need is the breeze and your love

You know I’m counting on you not running
Stay with me let it keep on coming
You and I need to hold on through
As the world is in constant motion
You stay with me through this strange emotion
You and I, we’ll make it through

Oh you and I, we will make it through

I would like to state for the record that I listened to this song approximately eleventy billion times on repeat while writing this post, and it will now be stuck in my head for the rest of my life. Good thing I like it.

I tried to take into account the words of the song, in addition to the feel, when considering this book pitch. Here’s what I came up with:

Book Pitch: High school sweethearts Zoe and Hoban*** have the perfect fairy-tale romance, until Zoe’s dad accepts a job on the opposite side of the country. Heartbroken, Zoe tries to adjust to single life at a strange new school on the East coast, but when she meets social misfit Inara, it doesn’t take long for the girls to hatch a plan to run away to California. But while Zoe savors their new-found freedom and imagines her romantic reunion with Hoban, Inara spends their road trip looking over her shoulder, afraid someone might discover her secret.

Suggested Author: Stephanie Perkins

What do you think? Like the song? Like the pitch? Have your own idea for an awesome story inspired by this song? Let me know your thoughts!

Past Pitches:

Week 6 & 7 Book Pitches

Week 5 Book Pitch

Week 3 Book Pitch

Week 2 Book Pitch

Week 1 Book Pitch

The original SYTYCD Book Pitch post

* I was not compensated in any way for this post. It just sounded like fun.

**I just watched it again, and the girlfriend is definitely Shiri Appleby from Roswell, which just made me love it even more. I realize I probably should not be talking this much about a Bon Jovi video in a post about a Mikey Wax song, but I can’t help it.

***10 points if you get the reference.