DESERT ISLAND CASTAWAYS: J.P. Jackson

Our favorite MM authors a.k.a. castaways are asked, what books, songs and luxury item would they take to a desert island?

This is a new monthly series inspired by LezReviewBooks.com’s ‘Desert Island Books’, which in turn is based on BBC’s ‘Desert Island Discs’.

The rules are fairly simple:

List up to ten books, a playlist and one luxury item that you couldn’t do without on a desert island.

Any type of book can be selected, but I ask that at least half are LGBT+ books. Choices should be justified in a paragraph or two. Any number of songs and any type of music is allowed. The luxury item must be inanimate and of no use in escaping the island or allowing communication from outside.

Let’s welcome our November castaway, J.P. Jackson!

DESERT ISLAND BOOKS

1.) The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
a. Believe it or not, I read this when I was in grade eight, at the tender age of thirteen. Scared the livin’ bejesus out of me. This jumpstarted my love affair with all things that go bump in the night – even though I’m terrified to death of them.

2.) Carrie by Stephen King
a. There was something about this story that resonated with my life. Carrie was suppressed into being something other than she truly was by an overbearing, overly religious parental figure. Not that I can make the same claim, but when I read this in the 1980’s, society was definitely attempting to suppress gay rights. The amount of hatred towards LGBTQ folks back then was certainly a contributing factor in my late coming out. Secretly I wished I could explode like Carrie did and make them all pay for their cruelty and hate. Go Carrie, Go.

3.) Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice
a. Oh, Anne. I fell deeply in love with Louis and Lestat, and these books (but the first one in particular) had an overwhelming subtext of homoeroticism which stoked some deep passionate fires within me as a young adult.

4.) Contact by M.D. Neu
a. A New World series by Neu is about first contact with an alien species. Through circumstance, the main character, Todd, who is just your ordinary everyday kind of guy, is thrust into the international spotlight when he ‘does the right thing’. It’s through his kind-hearted nature he is rewarded by the alien species and given a position of prominence being the first human ambassador to the alien nation. Todd is also gay. This is one of the first books I ever read where a gay man is the hero – and I thought – why the hell not. Why can’t we be heroes? And the rest of the world needs to know that LGBTQ+ folks are heroes every single day.

5.) Thorns and Fangs by Gillian St. Kevern
a. This first installment of the Thorns and Fangs series was one of the first LGBTQ Urban Fantasy books I read. Over the years I have come to love Urban Fantasy the most out of all genres, and to find such a well written story set in my favorite genre, with gay men (and one who can control plants no less!) took me by surprise. I was smitten. Still am.

6.) Grumpy Bear by Slade James
a. This is a brand new book, by a first time author. I was so enthralled with this story I wanted to live at the camp where this all takes place. Sweet and romantic, with decidedly bearish men, James took me on a romantic journey that I will go back and read every year. There are more coming out in this series, and I cannot wait.

7.) The Palisade by Rosalind Abel
a. Rosalind Abel is the pen name for Brandon Witt. This is the first book in the Lavender Shores series and when I picked this up I was relatively new to the Romance world. I had no idea that entire universes were created with lavish settings, engaging characters, family connections – this series has it all – and the way Abel writes the books, a gingerbread house located in on the seaside vacation resort town of Lavender Shores is where I want to live!

8.) Honey From the Lion by Jackie North
a. In this mystical time-travel M/M Romance, North takes us to the wild west, a period in our history where the rules on how to survive are vastly different than today. North envelopes the reader in the past, puts a rather grumpy character together with an attitudinal modern guy who gets pulled back through time and magic happens.

9.) Chaser by Rick R Reed
a. Reed writes either horror or M/M Romance – an odd combination – but he does both brilliantly. This is by far my favorite from him. Chaser is all about body perceptions, individual preferences, how we see ourselves and how others see us. As much as you root for the romance, it also makes you ponder how others might see us as opposed to what we think others see in ourselves. A brilliant read.

10.) The Moth and Moon by Glenn Quigley
a. In this historical fantasy, Quigley takes us back in time to a sea-faring town and drapes us sea-salted air, creosote soaked docks, maritime vessels and big burly fisherman. I hesitate to call it a M/M Romance, because there’s no romance arc per se, but you will absolutely fall in love with the main character, Robin Shipp, a bear of a man who uncovers secrets about his family history. The entire series is brilliant.

DESERT ISLAND PLAYLIST:

OMG. I mean….ah…okay?

I create a playlist for every project I write. I usually post them up on my YouTube channel so you can go check them all out here.

But here’s the playlist for Summoned:

If We Ever – David Guetta feat. Makeba
The Good Side – Troye Sivan
Numb – Tyminski
Devil is Downtown – Tyminski
Haunted Heart – Tyminski
Wrapped Around Your Finger – Denmark + Winter
I Found – Amber Run
Paint It, Black – Ciara
Hindi Sad Diamonds – Nicole Kidman, Joh Leguizamo & Alka Yagnik (Moulin Rouge Soundtrack)
Somebody Told Me – Eurythmics
This City Never Sleeps – Eurythmics
The Other Side – Ruelle
When The Day Goes Down – Eurythmics
Lovely – Billie Eilish & Khalid
Take It – Dom Dolla
Animal – Troye Sivan
Sylvia – Eurythmics
Sense8 Title Theme – Johnny Kilmek & Tom Tykwer
Love Theme from Twin Peaks – Angelo Badalamenti
Sad Clown (CBC Session) – Sarah McLachlan
Rororo – Of Monsters and Men
Possession – Denmark + Winter
Southern Gothic – Tyminski
Pax Deorum – Enya
Isn’t it Bromantic – Christopher Lennertz (Supernatural Soundtrack)
Wild Roses – Of Monster and Men
Jenny of Oldstones (Game of Thrones) – Florence & The Machine
Bad Guy – Billie Eilish
Silence (Radio Version) Delerium & Sarah McLachlan

this one’s not available in Spotify

LUXURY ITEM

Coffee.

You do not want me anywhere near regular folks without being caffeinated.

It’s not pleasant.

It’s actually rather demonic.

ABOUT J.P. JACKSON

J.P. Jackson is an award winning author of dark urban fantasy, paranormal, and even paranormal romance stories, but regardless of the genre they always feature LGBTQ+ main characters.

J.P. works as an IT analyst in health care during the day, where if cornered he’d confess to casting spells to ensure clinicians actually use the electronic medical charting system he configures and implements.

At night, the writing happens, where demons, witches and shape shifters congregate around the kitchen table and general chaos ensues. His husband of 22 years has very firmly put his foot down on any further wraith summonings and regularly lines the doorway with iron shavings and salt crystals. Imps are most definitely not house-trainable. Ghosts appear at the most inopportune times, and the Fae are known for regular visits where a glass of wine is exchanged for a good ole story or two. Although the husband doesn’t know it, Canela and Jalisco, the two Chihuahuas, are in cahoots with the spell casting.

J.P.’s other hobbies include hybridizing African Violets (thanks to grandma), extensive travelling and believe it or not, knitting.

Check out J.P.’s latest release, Summoned, Book 1 of Magus Malefica.

Bookshop: US
Amazon: US | UK

Follow JP Jackson on the following social media platforms:

A big thank you to J.P. Jackson for joining us on this month’s Desert Island Castaways!

Check out our first Castaway, Natalina Reis and our October Castaway V.L. Locey.

I’ll be featuring more authors next time. Hope you enjoyed this post.

What books would you take with you to a desert island?
What’s on your desert island playlist?

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DESERT ISLAND CASTAWAYS: J.P. Jackson