Foreword
When editor Holly West contacted me about an anthology of crime fiction stories based on the titles of the Go-Go’s songs, I was intrigued. How did Holly come up with this idea? Why crime fiction? Why the Go-Go’s?
The human brain is an endless source of wonder and curiosity to me. It will make random connections and generate genuinely original creative ideas if we just step aside and let it do its thing. At least, that’s been my experience these last forty years of being a songwriter. My favorite and best songs I’ve helped create always seemed to pop into my head out of nowhere. When you’re in an inspired groove, it doesn’t feel like work, and it certainly doesn’t feel like anything you did. More like The Universe opened that secret trapdoor at the top of your skull and dumped some magic inside. I like to imagine that the writers of these tales had a similar experience; that once they chose their song title, the ideas just flowed.
I’ve been a lifelong bookworm. When I was just a kid, my mom would drive my siblings and me to the library once a week during the summer. I’d check out the maximum number of books allowed, ten. Then I’d plow through those ten books like a starving man getting his first square meal in ages. Ten books a week, for years and years. There was/is nothing like that feeling of being swept away and engulfed by another world. Many other worlds. I lived to get lost from myself and my life. Not that my life was bad, it’s just that my brain wanted and needed more than my typical suburban life in a typical house in the San Fernando Valley. Books. Words. Stories. Ideas. That’s where it’s at, baby. That’s what feeds the soul. I still feel the same way today. Reading these stories let me disappear into unknown places, where I got to meet interesting people doing strange and sometimes disturbing things.
It is fascinating to me that this group of talented writers looked at the titles of our songs and came up with what they did. Before reading each story, I’d try to guess what the story would be about, based on the song title. I was wrong every time. It reminded me of how often people have totally “misunderstood” what our songs were about. For a long time, that used to bother me. Now, I see it as a weird and wonderful thing. My brain interpreted the words this way, your brain sees them that way. And it’s all good!
It is a wonderful honor that the Go-Go’s were chosen to inspire this anthology. I hope you dive into this cool pool of creativity and get lost in these tales. I know you will totally enjoy their crime-y goodness!
Jane Wiedlin
Oakland, California
April 2018