DESERT ISLAND CASTAWAYS: Karenna Colcroft

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

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Let’s welcome our July castaway, Karenna Colcroft!

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Thank you to neverhollowed for hosting me!

DESERT ISLAND BOOKS:

Ten books I would NEED on a desert island:
This was a tough list to put together. I’ve read a lot of amazing books in my life, and choosing just ten wasn’t easy. It did occur to me that even though I’m a male/male romance author and, as such, I read male/male romance among other things, if I were stranded alone on an island, I might not be interested in romances. So most of the books on my list are not romances. In fact, the majority are young adult fiction, some from my own childhood and teen years and some more recent titles. Several of the books on my list have LGBTQ+ characters (though given that I grew up in the 1980s, none of the books from my childhood fall into that category, unfortunately).

1. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper. This children’s/young adult fantasy novel is directly responsible for what I write. I was given this book to read as part of a Saturday morning program for gifted kids that my parents enrolled me in during fifth and sixth grade, and I fell in love with the idea of a “typical” kid discovering that the “normal” world includes magic and good vs. evil, and that they themself are part of that magic and conflict. Over forty years later, this is one of my top comfort reads.

2. The Night Wolf by Parker Williams. I recently discovered this male/male romance novel and absolutely love the dynamics between stern, gruff Alpha Gareth and traumatized Omega Sean. The depiction of Sean’s trauma and its repercussions felt authentic to me as a trauma survivor, and I loved seeing how Sean ultimately triumphs. (Full disclosure: Parker told me about this book because it includes a shout-out to Kyle Slidell, the vegan werewolf hero of my own Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat series. But I love The Night Wolf on its own merits, not because it shouts out Kyle.)

3. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. While the Chosen Ones are off fighting vampires, soul-eating ghosts, and immortal bad guys, what are the not-chosen-ones doing? This excellent YA novel answers that question. The humor in the narration, the well-fleshed-out characters (including a gay God of Cats!), and the engaging storyline have held my interest through three-and-counting rereads of this book.

4. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk. This well-written, well-researched nonfiction book clearly explains what trauma does to the brain and body. It’s been a huge help for me in my own trauma recovery journey, and while I wouldn’t want too many brainpower-dense books on a desert island, I suspect I would want to do some research. If I’m on a desert island, with no interruptions, what better time to continue my healing journey? And do some writing, for that matter.

5. Dogsbody by Dianna Wynne Jones. This is another comfort read that was introduced to me in the Saturday program I was in during fifth and sixth grade. In a universe where celestial and planetary bodies are sentient, Sirius the Dog Star stands accused of murdering another star’s denizen and, in the process, losing a weapon that could destroy entire star systems. As punishment, he’s sent to Earth to recover the weapon—in the form of a puppy. Katherine, a little Irish girl forced to live with her English relatives who bully and abuse her, finds puppy-Sirius and undertakes raising him. With Katherine’s unknowing help, Sirius finds the weapon and uncovers a conspiracy against him that’s spearheaded by the last being he would have suspected. I can’t even count how many times I’ve read this book since I was ten years old, and I would definitely need it on this island.

6. Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar. My younger offspring introduced me to this book, and I was immediately captured by Felix’s journey and the authenticity of the narration. Felix is transgender and being targeted by a transphobic fellow student. The pain the experience brings, along with Felix’s determination to live his life as himself, are heart-striking.

7. Blood Ties by Tanya Huff. A no-nonsense former police detective who’s losing her vision to an untreatable health condition. A streetwise young gay man who’s seen far too much for someone not quite out of his teens. And their mutual partner, a polyamorous, bisexual vampire—who happens to be the illegitimate son of Henry VIII. Together, they solve crimes! Honestly, for my time on the desert island, I would want the entire Blood Books series, but I’m forcing myself to stick to just one for the sake of this list.

8. If We Shadows by D.E. Atwood. When I was ten, my dad took me to see a local production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and I was instantly enamored of the story and the characters, especially Puck. I memorized Puck’s final speech from the play, and the character made an appearance in more than one of the stories I wrote during junior high and high school. So finding a novel that incorporates Puck, the play, and a transgender teen navigating his final year of high school was a reader’s dream come true.

9. Spiral Dance by Starhawk. I’m a witch, spiritually speaking, and this is one of the books I go back to time and again in my spiritual practices. Being on a desert island surrounded by nature, I would definitely want to spend some time focusing on witchy stuff!

10. And my number one comfort book, which I’ve read so many times I’ve lost count and just finished rereading yet again: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. I “met” Anne Shirley, the orphan who is brought to Prince Edward Island and changes the lives of almost everyone in the town of Avonlea, as a child—and wanted to be her. Her imagination, including imaginary friends, and her constant search for “kindred spirits” felt like a depiction of an older-day version of myself. I absolutely could not manage this desert island without my kindred spirit Anne!

DESERT ISLAND PLAYLIST:

Being stuck on a desert island, I would want happy songs but would also want some that I can sing along with. I do karaoke on a regular basis, so I would want to keep practicing my karaoke songs in case I ever get off this island. Here are the top ten songs I would have on my playlist:

LUXURY ITEM

And the one luxury item I would absolutely need is my laptop. Now, I know the instructions for this say that the luxury item can’t be any use in communicating with anyone off the island, but if it’s a desert island, there probably isn’t any internet connection. The laptop would only be useful for writing more stories. I could use it to write about getting off the island, but not to actually get off the island. And I would definitely want to take advantage of the lack of interruptions to write!

ABOUT KARENNA COLCROFT

A writer since childhood, Karenna Colcroft delved into the world of romantic fiction in 2009 and brought numerous novels, novellas, and short stories into the world until 2016, when various circumstances combined to enforce a hiatus. Now Karenna is resurrecting herself and some of her previously-published books along with new books set in the same universe.

Karenna lives just north of Boston and has been in love with the city since childhood, though she has yet to encounter any werewolves, vampires, or other paranormal beings in her travels. (At least none that she knows of.) Though since in her non-writing life, under another name, she offers services as a channel and energy healing practitioner, it could be said that she herself is a paranormal being. The jury’s still out on that.

Karenna is a polyamorous, nonbinary human who splits time between the home she shares with her husband and the one she shares with her committed partner. She also has two adult children and a bonus son, three grandchildren, and two and a half cats. (Half in terms of time the cat lives with her, not in terms of the cat itself…) 

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A big thank you to Karenna Colcroft for joining us on this month’s Desert Island Castaways!

Check out our other Castaways:
Natalina Reis
V.L. Locey
 J.P. Jackson
A.E. Wasp
Elle Keaton.
Elouise East
J.K. Jones
Colette Davison
B.A. Tortuga
Casey Cox
Amanda Meuwissen
A.M. Johnson
Becca Seymour
Alexa Piper
Rick R. Reed
C.P. Harris
K.L. Hiers
A.E. Lister
S. Rodman
Kaje Harper
M.A. Church

Hope you enjoyed this post. Don’t forget to check out next month’s Castaway.

What books would you take with you to a desert island?
What’s on your desert island playlist?
Who would you like to be the next Castaway?

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