Rock on! What Song would YOU Choose?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: The  link between music and mystery is marvelously universal. It's storytelling, isn’t it? For a good story you need a character you care about. A problem that needs to be solved. You need a good guy and a bad guy. You need emotion. You need to lure the reader along until the irresistible end. Just like in a song.

How many stories are written as songs? From the doomed love of Greensleeves (Alas, my love, you have done me wrong) to Miss Otis Regrets (She pulled a gun and shot her lover down, madam); to Frankie and Johnny, when Frankie walks into the bar room, and pulls out her old .44. The Ode to Billy Joe, when Billy Joe McAllister throws something off the Tallahatchie Bridge. In the Cher classic Bang Bang, it’s all about murder. (Isn’t it?) Oh, and in the sprightly Copacabana, right? A murder mystery (and psychological thriller) in three verses and three choruses. And, in my teenage years at least, we learned you won’t come back from Dead Man’s Curve, and understood that if you dated The Leader of the Pack, it would not end well. And poor Teen Angel.

And if you are laughing now, and singing in recognition, that’s exactly the point. No matter when and where we grew up, it was the music that brought us together. And it still does.

That’s why I was so delighted (and incredibly honored) to be asked to write the introduction to the Triangle Chapter of SIsters in Crime’s new short story anthology. It’s about–well… Here's the wonderful Karen Pullen to give you the scoop. 

Rock, Roll, and Ruin Makes Three

by Karen Pullen

A loooong time ago (2014), the Triangle chapter of Sisters in Crime produced our first short story anthology, Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Lust, Love, and Longing. Our sex-themed collection. I had the honor of editing it, and even wrote a Jungle Red post about our anthology journey. (Ever notice how every activity is a “journey” these days?) I swore I’d never do it again because it was a lot of work and I am lazy.

In 2017 we produced a second anthology, Need, Greed, and Dirty Deeds (the drugs collection), edited by Nora Gaskin Esthimer, but I stayed out of the fray for that one.

Fast forward a few years, and certain Triangle chapter members (I won’t name them) pestered asked me to do it again. The chapter had, after all, promised a trilogy of anthologies around the three themes of sex, drugs, and rock & roll. I caved; it was now time for our musically-themed anthology.

Write a crime story about rock and roll. That was the guidance we gave to prospective authors, either chapter members or Sisters in Crime members who live in the Carolinas. The rock & roll theme was to be interpreted loosely and could include any form of music. Music is so significant in our lives. It can raise your mood, contribute to relaxation or excitement. It can provide an escape, or increase tension, as in a movie. Most importantly, music like lullabies or romantic ballads or the rock & roll of your teen years will trigger memorable emotions. Music truly is the soundtrack to our lives.

Dozens of writers submitted original, never-before-published stories around a musical theme. A blind judging selected the finalists, and then the fun began: the back-and-forth of revisions. The final result? A collection of twenty-seven musically-themed crime stories around situations as unique as your fingerprints. Carolina Crimes: Rock, Roll, and Ruin, edited by me, with an introduction from the inimitable Hank Phillippi Ryan, published by Down & Out Books on October 3, 2022.

 I wish I had room in this post to include each author’s name, title, and logline. Let me just say that the musical score to murder, malice, and mayhem includes Elvis, church music, tribal drumming, a Broadway show tune, bluegrass, opera, the Stones, Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks, and, of course, the Beatles.

Why does a SinC chapter undertake such a project? For some chapters, it might result in revenue. For ours, an anthology offers a publishing credit and opportunities for fledgling writers. We are particularly proud of three who were brave enough to submit their good work, resulting in their first-ever stories in print:  Pamela Raymond, James Michael McGuffey, and David Goldston. Remember their names!

Tell me in the comments about your first published short story—whether in an anthology, online, or in a journal or magazine. Was it fun to write it, easy to work with an editor, thrilling to see it in print?

In one week, a lucky commenter’s name will be drawn at random, to win a copy of Carolina Crimes: Rock, Roll, and Ruin.

HANK: Or an alternative question: What  song is your anthem? What song changed your life? What song would YOU like to write a short story about? (You don't have to write it, even better!) Right now, I’m going  with Defying Gravity. But wait, that's not rock ‘n roll. Okay–how about–The Waiting?

How about you, Reds and readers?

 

Karen Pullen is a proud founder of the Triangle chapter of Sisters in Crime, celebrating ten years in 2022. She edited the Anthony-nominated Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Lust, Love, and Longing. Her first story in print won a Derringer award; her story collection Restless Dreams was published by Bedazzled Ink. She has also published two mystery novels, Cold Feet and Cold Heart. She lives in Chapel Hill, NC.