There are a lot of things I enjoy beyond cozy mysteries and pickleball and rocking out to my favorite tunes is one of them.
As a mother, sharing my kid's journey with music in the age of streaming has been an incredible learning experience as I see them discover some of the most iconic musical acts in history across all genres. I’ve got them reciting rap lyrics while they’ve got me hooked on classics - including irresistible old-time country twangs like Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins and the Heavy Metal hitters I was too girlish for (Ozzy!) the first time around.
Now, I listen to everything and anything, and my playlists are numerous and named aptly.
Writing Dinked: The Secrets of Serenity Acres was an intense process, and for the first time in years, I swapped my usual virtual elliptical training program for music on my morning runs. Many of the earworms I woke up with had the same driving beat.
They felt like the perfect soundtrack to my characters—their personalities, desires, and fears woven through the lyrics. You might notice many of the songs included are voiced by female singers. I chose them specifically to emote the raw female anger and deception that drives many of the women in Serenity Acres. Like The Beaches, who doesn’t want to “Blame Brett?” Or the slow low build in Carly Simon's You’re So Vain, with the symphonic crescendo that we all know is meant to take one actor down half a peg. Additions from the likes of Garbage and Charlotte Gainsbourg add more gritty depth.
How many can you find?