by Christine Verstraete
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an ebook copy of the book and a link to purchase it on Amazon.
While I’ve been writing a lot of horror and such the last few years, I’ve never lost my love of crime/mystery stories and have been slowly getting back into writing those.
So, when I saw a submissions call for short, music-inspired, crime fiction, it was, shall we say, music to my ears! I knew right away what song I had to write about.
The recently released anthology, (I Just) Died in Your Arms: Crime Fiction Inspired by One-Hit Wonders, (White City Press), is a treasure trove of 12 short stories based on music by bands and singers that are mostly familiar—but often aren’t on the tip of your tongue.
For me, only one song came to mind: the sad 1975 ode, “Wildfire” by Michael Martin Murphey.
Being a horse lover and one-time owner some years back, the song always hit me with its heart-breaking tale of the horse, Wildfire, that was lost in a storm. My short story of the same name revolves around a beautiful, black horse rescued from the auction block, also called Wildfire, by his caring new owner, Stella. But Stella is lucky in rescuing horses and not much else, it seems, providing the basis for my crime story.
No animals are hurt in the story, but as in the song, the horse Wildfire does go missing. I won’t give further details on the why or what happens, but the story Wildfire is a “haunting tale,” according to publisher and editor J. Alan Hartman.
What I hoped to accomplish is to offer a story that, like the song, lingers long after the last note is played. I hope you agree.
But I’m not the only one.
Music seems to provide a lot of inspiration for fiction writers, with this anthology based on a “who’s who” of music, or at least those who have the distinction of being remembered for recording “one-hit wonders.”
And in case some of the bands or singers like ? (Question Mark) & the Mysterians, The Jaggerz, Steam, Terry Jacks, and others, don’t seem familiar at first, the song titles might. Be sure to look them up on YouTube and see how many songs you recognize.
Print and EPub versions are available at mistimedia.com/product/ohw1/MM/17. The anthology is also available on Kindle and through other online booksellers.
Here’s the playlist of authors and the songs they based their stories on, in order of appearance:
Vinnie Hansen (“96 Tears,”) Jeanne DuBois (“Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,”) Josh Pachter (“The Rapper,”) J.M. Taylor (“Seasons in the Sun,”) Christine Verstraete (“Wildfire,”) Sandra Murphy (“867-5309/Jenny,”) Joseph S. Walker (“Come On Eileen,”) Wendy Harrison (“It’s Raining Men,”) Bev Vincent (“Somebody’s Watching Me,”) Leone Ciporin (“Life in a Northern Town,”) Adam Gorgoni (“Bitch,”) and Barb Goffman (“Teenage Dirtbag.”)
Happy Reading – and Humming Along!
To enter to win an ebook copy of (I Just) Died in Your Arms: Crime Fiction Inspired by One-Hit Wonders, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “one-hit” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen on February 10, 2024. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.
Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify.
You can also click here to purchase this book.
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.
This sounds like a fabulous book and bonus is it is the sings I grew up listening too.
Wildfire was not Michael Martin Murphy’s sole hit. He had a number of songs on the country charts through the 1980’s.
But this is pop and rock music, not country… so I think that qualifies.