I’ve never been a country girl. I grew up in a small city. My father covered his back yard in asphalt and made it a half-court basketball court for my five brothers. I listened to WLS radio out of Chicago. My influences were more Saturday Night Fever than Urban Cowboy. My teenage years were spent with The Cure, Duran Duran, and Depeche Mode. So how the heck did I end up with all this country music on my playlists?

I discovered it purely by accident. Earlier this year, I wrote my very first short story featuring a cowboy hero in V Is for Vindicated — my contribution to Love Letters Volume 6: Cowboy’s Command. Where does a certified city slicker trying to write about a rough and tumble rodeo guy turn for inspiration? Music, of course.

And what I found in my own iTunes library shocked me.

I didn’t even notice it was happening. In a true testament to the power of the crossover hit, I found that my playlists were already loaded with country (or country-flavored rock) tunes. Some old and some new, and a few nothing more than a guilty pleasure.  There they were, ready and willing to inspire. Proof that not only could I step out of my comfort zone, but I already had.

Here are just a few of the tunes that fueled V Is for Vindicated. What are some of the surprises lurking in your music library?

Crazy ~ Patsy Cline
Need You Now ~ Lady Antebellum
Look What You’ve Done to Me ~ Boz Scaggs
Grow Old With Me ~ Charles Kelley
Somebody’s Crying ~ Chris Isaak
This Kiss ~ Faith Hill
Witchita Lineman ~ Glen Campbell
Bad Things ~ Jace Everett
Hate To Lose Your Lovin’ ~ Little Feat
Blue Bayou ~ Roy Orbison

Maggie Wells is a deep-down dirty girl with a weakness for hot heroes and happy endings. By day she is buried in spreadsheets, but at night she pens tales of people tangling up the sheets. The product of a charming rogue and a shameless flirt, this mild-mannered married lady has a naughty streak a mile wide.

Fueled by supertankers of Diet Coke, Maggie juggles fictional romance and the real deal by keeping her slow-talking Southern gentleman constantly amused and their two children mildly embarrassed. They are the food purveyors to three dogs, a passel of fish, and one impertinent house rabbit she claims is the love of her life. Shh. Don’t tell her husband.

You can find her online at https://www.maggie-wells.com, on Twitter @maggiewells1, or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaggieWells.