I was watching a video today and thinking: “No one would ever guess that song was in heavy rotation on my iPod the year I wrote I’d Know You Anywhere

Psst -- time to play "Secret Soundtrack"

. And then, because my mind is a scattered, strange thing, I started thinking about what a neglectful blogger I’ve been and how I really had hoped to post more often once the new site was up. My role model is Terry Teachout, a friend who blogs almost daily at Arts Journal and offers up a horn of plenty — videos, quotes, links to his journalism (he’s the theater critic for the Wall Street Journal) and fascinating reports from his own creative life, which includes biographies, operas and now a new play.

Then I thought, well one thing I can do is blog regularly about songs that have been key to the books. Here’s one. I’ve posted the Amazon link, which includes only a snippet, but I don’t want to give away Kevin Johnson’s music for free. (Kevin, in his other life, runs the marvelous Royal Books here in Baltimore, whose catalogs are drool-worthy works of art unto themselves.) Anyway, if anyone ever asked me what Tess’s theme song would be — are you listening, TNT? — this would be my choice.

I’ve written only — only! — seventeen books, so I’m not sure how long I can post “Secret Soundtracks.” But I’m going to try and do it every Monday for a while, although future posts may be more of a guessing game.