Interview with Rayne Lacko, Author of The Secret Song of Shelby Rey

Welcome to YAOTL, Rayne! Please tell us a bit about The Secret Song of Shelby Rey.

Thank you for welcoming me, it’s lovely to be here with your reading community.

My book, The Secret Song of Shelby Rey, is a story of love, music, addiction, and self-discovery. My protagonist, eighteen-year-old Shelby Rey, has a secret power—she hears people’s deepest emotions as songs when she touches them. But in a world of hidden truths, her gift feels more like a curse. After losing her dad and getting kicked out by her drug-addicted mom, Shelby meets Zac Wyatt, a rock star with a secret only she can hear. Their connection is electric, but fame comes with darkness. As Zac’s jealousy of his bandmate Stanford spirals, Shelby uncovers a devastating truth—one that forces her to make an impossible choice. Caught in a storm of love, betrayal, and heartbreak, she must find the strength to trust her own inner song.

I was fascinated by Shelby and Stanford's unique ability to hear music in others. What inspired this idea, and why did you choose to have these two characters share this gift?

My original idea was about a wounded young woman who wore headphones like armor and spoke only through song lyrics. As I gleaned lyrics from multiple music genres globally for her dialogue, it was both a delight and no surprise to discover there was a song for everything. My research showed that music can speak for any emotion, transcending cultural and linguistic barriers, and connecting people. I wondered if people seeking their true love might be able to find one another by curating a personal playlist. How much could be revealed in the soundtrack of a person’s life?

I also wanted to explore how hearing music in everything might be a gift and a curse. Going further, I pondered whether gaining full knowledge of another person would be welcome or terrifying. Is it invasive or intimate?

I love playing with duality. When I began writing the first draft, I didn’t know Stanford would share Shelby’s ability, but the idea arrived quickly. From the beginning, Shelby experiences immense, heartbreaking loneliness from her ability to hear and witness every vulnerable detail about others without ever being heard or understood herself.

When she finally finds someone who hears as she does, she discovers he is trying to bury his ability by using heroin. Shelby and Stanford can hear other people's most attractive and endearing qualities, as well as their faults and weaknesses, and the many ways we stand in our way and are our worst enemies. It was important to me to show how differently they approach that “gift,” and how they might improve their relationships with themselves and one another if they connected.

You depict both the allure and the dark side of the music industry. How did you create such an authentic portrayal? 

I interviewed people in the music industry—producers, performers, audio engineers—but we spoke about much more than the ins and outs of making music in LA. The author CS Lewis said it beautifully: “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” As a researcher and former magazine editor, I love interviewing people. Curiosity and compassion for humanity are necessary for understanding worlds beyond the one I inhabit.

Beyond just hearing music inside people, your characters can help others express their internal songs. It’s such a lovely idea. And it represents a metaphor regarding human connection, yes? 

Yes, you’ve nailed it, exactly! While Socratic thought emphasizes it is essential to “know thyself,” this book explores self-discovery through being fully, intimately, heard, and understood by another. What’s interesting is that, in reality, how we are seen and understood by others might depend on the other’s opinion, life experiences, worldview, or judgment. Of course, Shelby brings these parts of herself, but the immediate experience of hearing another person’s music is pure, unfiltered, and without judgment. Shelby hears what is, what is true. When I think about how many people seek out self-knowledge by way of therapy, a personality quiz, astrological interpretation, enneagram, or Myers-Briggs test, wouldn’t it be amazing and self-affirming to have your unique personal anthem sung back to you? 

Music is essentially another character in this novel. How did your personal relationship with music influence the writing?

Music as a character--what a dynamic and intriguing interpretation, I love it. It might surprise readers that I’m not a musician or singer. I do feel a deep kinship with music. When I look at the other books I’ve written--A Song For The Road, and my arts-based social-emotional learning journals for kids--I suppose I’ve developed a near-obsessive fascination for the art of music appreciation.

Shelby’s story largely came to me intuitively, drawing from the repeated experience of being stopped in my tracks by a standout song. If you’re like me, and you’ve ever felt comforted, uplifted, or unable to resist dancing to a specific song, I’ll bet you understand music’s ability to alter a mood, create a memory, and even heal an emotional wound. For my protagonist, Shelby Rey, melodies and lyrics reveal the inner landscape of others around her and help her better understand herself.

What I love about music is that it transcends cultural and linguistic barriers and appeals to all ages. Music connects people! My books challenged me to convey in words what music communicates without words. As I explored the healing power of music, I also discovered the profound ways we relate through music. As a social-emotional learning expert, I especially appreciate how music can help people express themselves, be understood, and find like-minded friends.

Shelby's journey involves finding her voice, both literally and figuratively. Was her character arc inspired by any real-life experiences?

Shelby’s story is entirely fictional. No part is even remotely autobiographical. It’s a response to the question, “What if?”

What considerations did you take into account when depicting mental health challenges, particularly in how others perceive Shelby's unique ability as a potential disorder rather than a gift?

I’m thankful to many beta readers, and former creative writing students who were willing to share their experiences with neurodivergent learning and the use of interventions to manage various diagnoses. As I was researching my thesis for my master’s degree in social-emotional learning (SEL), I was able to review case studies and create music and arts-themed SEL activities to help young people express stress, anxiety, and inner turmoil, but also to help cultivate the kinds of feelings we all want to have more often. Studies on music therapy have shown repeatedly, and for decades, that music is a proven treatment for many mental health challenges, both in the release and comfort, but also instilling positive and more joyful feelings overall. Just as music can soothe when in pain, and invigorate an already positive mindset, Shelby’s ability to hear music in others can be looked at as a gift and a strength, even if some might consider it a burden or “disordered behavior.” I’d say almost every difficulty and hardship has its gift, if we look for it.

The mother-daughter relationship in this novel is complex. What made you want to explore this dynamic? 

When I wrote Carter’s journey in A Song For The Road, his relationship with his mother and other women who showed up in his life—Lola May Leggitt and Piper Piedra—were woven with parts of my experience of being a mom. As Carter endeavored on his solo road trip across the American Southwest, I parented him through every word. Sometimes, I found myself crying because I felt proud of the choices he made as if he were writing his own story apart from me. 

But with Shelby, it wasn’t until about three-quarters of the way through that I discovered how Jaclyn and Roland transformed into the parents she needed and how they were the exact opposite of Shelby’s mother. It wasn’t planned that way. The contrast was organic. Your question has me wondering how much of writing is an exercise in discovery. 

What was your writing process like for creating the distinct musical "voices" for different characters? 

Thank you for noticing! When I’m reading, I appreciate distinct voices because it helps me better understand a character simply by how they “sound.” I can lose focus in a narrative if all the characters choose the same kinds of words or phrases or use similar syntax. In truth, I don’t think I could develop any plot or action if I didn’t obsess over who my characters are, how they feel, and what they say or don’t tell. People are interesting; they tend to show others the version of themselves they want them to see and hide their hurts, judgments, and bad habits. But the reader learns much more about the characters than they do! The reader gets to see what a character is thinking or holding back from blurting out. 

With every single line of the story, I ask: What is my character(s) feeling, and why? And then, I decide how each individual will demonstrate their reactions through body language, thoughts, or words. If I feel that more than one person is behaving or speaking similarly (it happens, ugh), I go back line by line and change it up. It can be small, like how Zac Wyatt goes heavy on the profanity, while Shelby rarely swears, to something subtler. For example, Zac is more apt to pull out his college-level vocabulary when speaking with Dr. Gibson. He does that because he can--he wasn't always a rock star. But he also does it because Zac intentionally bends his personality depending on who he's with and because his ego refuses to allow him to feel inferior to anyone.

By the way, Zac was the most fun to write. He and I have precisely zero in common, but writing his dialogue and interior monologue flowed surprisingly easily. 

What's next for you as an author?

That is a twist in the plot I’m still investigating! This summer, I’ll teach creative writing to young YA writers in the Pacific Northwest, and I teach English, Composition, and Speech at a private university. A longstanding idea for a fantasy book is begging for my attention. I read fairly widely, but I’m not familiar with the structure of writing fantasy, so I will have a learning curve to embark on that project. My idea also requires considerable historical research, but reading and learning is the best and juiciest part of writing. Alternatively, I may write another social-emotional learning journal, but for adults.

Where can readers find you online? 

Website: www.RayneLacko.com

Email: raynelacko@gmail.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raynelacko

FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086550446746

Snag a copy of  The Secret Song of Shelby Rey