DESERT ISLAND CASTAWAYS: Joy Lynn Fielding

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 October castaway, Joy Lynn Fielding!

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The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer. I love Heyer’s Regency and Georgian romances, and this is perhaps my favourite of them all. I’m in awe of the way she was able to write a light, frothy comedy and also create an incredibly tense denouement. The hero, Hugo Darracott, has a wicked and unexpected sense of humour—the mere mention of Amelia Melkinthorpe makes me laugh. The book doesn’t rush, and it’s a world I could disappear into for hours at a time to forget the lack of ships on the horizon.

Royal Air Force 1939-45 by Denis Richards and Hilary St G Saunders. I love aviation history and vintage aircraft, and this official history of the RAF’s war would be a perfect way for me to get my fix while marooned, because it’s one publication in three dense volumes. The first time I read it, I was helping a friend move her narrowboat—a journey of approximately thirty miles that took us three very leisurely days—so whenever I pick it up now to fact-check something, it transports me back to sitting on a sunny deck with water slipping past and a glass of something chilled by my side.

Must Love Demons by Meghan Maslow. Lovely world-building and an unforgettable hero in Nico make this m/m romance delightful. I was laughing from the first page, but I also fell resoundingly in love with Nico. Also, tail sex.

Twelve Letters by Ellie Thomas. This is a short novella, an introduction to a series that I haven’t yet had time to read. But Twelve Letters is more than that—it’s a clever idea, beautifully executed. Set in Regency London, it is, I think, the first m/m Regency I’ve read that isn’t dogged by anachronistic language. I still can’t work out how the author had me caring for the characters in such a short piece, but they managed it.

Other Men’s Flowers by A. P. Wavell, a poetry anthology. “I have gathered a posy of other men’s flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is mine own.”

The book was published during the Second World War, which explains a lot about the choices and Wavell’s introduction and annotations. It’s a treasure chest to keep dipping into, and it introduced me to some new poets.

Not Strictly Ballroom by Jem Wendel. The film Strictly Ballroom is one of my guilty pleasures. This lovely m/m romance has the same setting of competitive ballroom dancing and the same heart to the growing relationship between the two main characters. There’s also pitch-perfect dialect from some unexpectedly loveable secondary characters (I’m not usually a fan of reading dialect, but it works so well here).

The Lord of Shalott by Jay Mountney. A beautifully written fairytale m/m take on Tennyson’s Lady of Shalott. Part of the joy of this is the style in which it’s written. It always draws me so deeply into the world of the story that I emerge surprised to find myself in the modern day.

On the Rocks by Fiona Glass. Rock music was an important part of my life when I was younger, and many of my friends were in bands, their levels of success ranging from securing record deals to enthusiastically practising but never actually playing a gig. I was thrilled to discover this m/m romance because it feels so real in its evocation of that world. Jed is a middle-aged, closeted rock star who made it to the top but who is, in some ways, almost arrested in his emotional development—perhaps because he did make it. Introduce one young and gorgeous lead singer, and Jed’s world is, if you’ll excuse the obvious pun, rocked.

Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart. An utterly damning indictment of the U.K.’s system of government based on his experiences as a candidate, MP, and latterly cabinet minister. I didn’t think I was particularly naïve yet this book shattered my belief that this country’s institutions are fit for purpose. I’d choose the audio book because his impersonations are hilarious and withering.

Why would I want to re-read such an unsettling book? Partly for the insights, partly for his beautifully descriptive writing and sense of humour, and partly to ponder on how to do things differently.

Religion and the Decline of Magic by Keith Thomas. A fascinating look at the beliefs that predominated across all levels of British society before science and rationalism took hold fully. It has detailed accounts of witchcraft, astrology, divination and many of the other forms of magic that were practised.

The book is a wonderful read, written by a master of his subject who knows how to make it accessible and fun without losing scholarly accuracy. One of the many anecdotes he quotes: an officer of the church asked a villager if he knew who were the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The villager thought for a moment before replying that he knew who the father and the son were—they lived in the manor and he looked after their sheep for them. Who that other fellow was, he had no idea—there was no-one in the village by that name.

DESERT ISLAND PLAYLIST:

This is where I out myself as an ‘80s hard rock fan. I used to listen to it all, from thrash through sleaze to hair metal and AOR. These days, I’m more the hair metal/AOR end of the spectrum, with some occasional pop and classical and the merest soupcon of country thrown in. Put on some early Dokken, early Diamond Head, Electric Angels, Skin’n’Bones, Diving for Pearls, Darren Hayes, Kane or Mozart, and I’ll be happy.

LUXURY ITEM

I’m keenly aware I’m asking for two items, but as they go together, I’m hoping to be allowed notepad and pen so I can write. If that’s not allowed, a solar-powered and fully loaded MP3 player so I can yowl along to ‘80s rock.

ABOUT JOY LYNN FIELDING

Joy Lynn Fielding lives in a small English market town, where she indulges her passions for vintage aircraft, horse-riding and gardening (though not all at the same time).

Joy has a tendency to wax lyrical about the fascinating facts she discovers during her research for books. Thankfully she has a very patient Labrador who has a gift for looking interested in what she’s saying while he waits for the food to arrive.

​Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Amazon | Facebook

A big thank you to Joy Lynn Fielding 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

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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