DESERT ISLAND CASTAWAYS: Ashlyn Kane | Never Hollowed By The Stare

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’.

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 March castaway, Ashlyn Kane!

DESERT ISLAND BOOKS:

Let’s get to it.

1. Island Survival Guide – Heather C. Hudak

Look, is this a kids’ book? Apparently. But I am a pampered little princess and I don’t wanna die, so my first choice of book to take with me on a deserted island is something that’s going to keep me alive if I’m in it for the long haul. What do I eat? How do I build a shelter? What if that gnarly cut I got fighting a crab gets infected? I can worry about my sanity later as long as I’m still breathing to do it, which I won’t be if I get hangry and try to fight a shark.

2. Men at Arms – Terry Pratchett

When you’re stranded on a desert island, what you want most in the world is comfort. And for me there’s nothing more comforting than the gentle satire and humor of Terry Pratchett, an author who shaped my writing style and worldview when I was a teenager. There’s so much to love about the Night Watch books in particular. I love the contrast between Vimes and Carrot, one deeply cynical, one seemingly Pollyanna-esque, and the different ways they weaponize their decency against people who aren’t. I love the fact that they don’t always get it right, but they try again. When I need a little faith in humanity, this is where I turn. And since I’ll be the only human for miles around, I’m going to need a lot of faith.

3. The Sun and the Star – Mark Oshiro and Rick Riordan

I started reading the Percy Jackson series last winter by accident after I watched the TV show on Disney Plus. I don’t write or edit children’s books or YA, so reading them doesn’t feel like work. Obviously I was delighted as the series went on and more and more queer characters were introduced. And then son of Hades Nico and son of Apollo Will—the pinnacle of the grumpy/sunshine dynamic—got a book where they literally go through hell together. Excuse me while I cry.

4. Pride & Prejudice – Jane Austen

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a romance author on a desert island must be in want of something to aspire to. This is it, folks. The way Austen brings side characters’ story arcs together and weaves them into Lizzie and Darcy’s happy ever after is pitch perfect. The snark? Impeccable. The feels? Swoonworthy. The vibes? Immaculate.

5. Potential Energy – Kim Fielding

I had a hard time choosing a Kim Fielding novel. I love so many of them. But I went with this one because it reminds me of my first love (Star Wars. Yes it counts). But again, it’s a story about the human condition, perseverance, the transformative power of love, choosing to do hard things even when that means sacrifices—and it’s sci-fi, which is a level of escapism I’m going to need on a desert island. The tag line for the book is “sometimes a hero is just a scoundrel with his back against the wall.” I mean, who isn’t rooting for that guy?

6. Cross My Heart – Darcy Archer

If you believe, like I do, that flirting should be fun, this is the book for you. It’s a slow burn, which means there is so much page time devoted to flirting—and it’s adorable flirting. There are costumes. A sword fight. Flirting through books, through working out. And through the book, Tyler, a pro football player, has to contend with the idea that his career might be over and how he’s going to reinvent himself if it is. It’s like self-care in a romance novel.

DESERT ISLAND PLAYLIST:

I love music. I don’t listen to it when I write because I am compelled to sing along and I love to sing along. But I love a variety of music, and I have a different favorite for every attitude. So along with the complete works of Simon and Garfunkel, Taylor Swift, Queen, and the soundtrack to every animated Disney film, here are some particular tracks I’ll be bopping to as long as my battery/solar charger hold out:

Old Town Road – Lil Nas X

Run Away to Mars – TALK

Texas Hold ‘Em – Beyonce

We Didn’t Start the Fire – Billy Joel

My Maria – Brooks & Dunn

Hey Cowboy – Devon Cole

Fireworks – The Tragically Hip

9 to 5 – Dolly Parton

Benny and the Jets – Elton John

LUXURY ITEM

I debated a lot of possibilities here (a bar of soap? A notebook? My guitar?), but at the end of the day the Swiss Army knife won out. If I find a buried cache of rum, I can get those babies open. I can fillet a fish or tap a coconut. I can pull out a splinter. But mostly—and here’s where the luxury aspect comes in—I can cut my nails. I hate when they get long. It drives me crazy. I once told my brother that cutting your toenails is like changing the sheets on your feet. I stand by that. So it’s the Swiss Army knife for me and my desert island life of luxury.

ABOUT ASHLYN KANE

ASHLYN KANE was born and raised in a small town in Southern Ontario and has spent a fair portion of her life living abroad. She has been a teacher, a bookseller, an administrative assistant, and a farm labourer, but now she spends her time writing, editing, fixing things around the house, and walking the dog.

On any given day she can usually be found walking her ninety-pound baby chocolate lapdog, Indy, or holed up in her office avoiding anything that resembles cleaning. She has a deep and abiding love of romance novel tropes, a habit of dropping too many f-bombs, and—fortunately—a very forgiving family.

A big thank you to Ashlyn Kane 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
Karenna Colcroft
Aiden Ainslie
J. Hali Steele
Kristian Parker
H.L. Day
D.K. Girl
Jackie Keswick
Crea Reitan
Beth Bolden
Chloe Archer
Paulina Ian-Kane
Sam Burns
David Lawrence
Lance Lansdale
Marshall Thornton
Joy Lynn Fielding
Ellie Thomas
Megaera C. Lorenz
Kit Barrie
Dann Hazel

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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