Karen Foley
Lynn Raye Harris
Ellen Hartman
Diana Holquist
Samantha Hunter
Shirley Jump
Dee Tenorio
Jeannie Watt
Welcome Guest Author Elle Kennedy!
Desert Island Reading
First off, I wanted to thank the wonderful ladies at Cigars for having me with them today! I’m thrilled to be here, and even more thrilled that my debut Blaze, Body Check, is officially out in stores. It’s been a long and trying road to publication, so finally seeing my name on a Blaze is a dream come true!
And now, the topic of today’s blog—desert island reading.
The other evening, a friend and I were talking, and she says, “If you could pick one book (and ONLY ONE) to have if you’re stranded on a desert island for the rest of your life, what would it be?”
Now, here’s what you should know about me. I am the worst person to have a hypothetical discussion with. My first reply was, “Will I need to burn the pages of this book for warmth?” Because come on, if that’s the case, I’d pick a medical textbook, or the Bible. Then again, I’m also a hypochondriac, so any book about medicine is probably not the best thing to choose, and even though I’m not religious, I don’t think I could burn the Bible. That’s just sinful.
She says no, you can’t burn it. My next question: “Do I have basic survival skills, because if I don’t, I’ll bring a wilderness guide.”
She says yes, you have basic survival skills. The book you bring has to be one you will read—for the rest of your life.
Wow. What a dilemma, huh? I couldn’t answer the question, not that night anyway. I actually thought about it for a few days after, looking at my scary amount of books and trying to think about it logically. Do I pick a mystery? A romance? Something deep and inspiring?
In the end, my choice surprised me. Danielle Steel’s Wanderlust. The book features a heroine with a lust for travel, who abandons her responsibilities and goes on the biggest adventure of her life, one that brings her love, pain, heartache, triumph. It’s weird, because I don’t read a lot of Danielle Steel anymore, but when I glanced at my shelves, I realized of all the books I re-read every year (and I constantly re-read my books) Wanderlust is the one I read the most.
Which made me wonder, why? The answer is simple—that book inspires the most emotions from me. Joy, anger, frustration. It made me laugh. It made me cry. And it contains elements of all the different genres I enjoy—romance, mystery, comedy, historical.
So I called my friend a few days later and said, “I pick Wanderlust!” Of course, she’d already forgotten about our chat and was like, “Huh?”
Is there a moral to this story? Probably not. I tend to ramble about things. But the idea of picking one book to read for the rest of my life was huge, and it made me think about what it is that makes a book truly great—and re-readable. Then it made me want to work harder with my own writing, and produce stories that could capture all those emotions and reactions out of my readers.
I hope Body Check does some of that. It’s got a hot one night stand, a super sexy hockey player hero, a scandal, a mystery, some comedy. It was definitely a blast to write, and who knows, maybe for someone, it’ll be a desert island book…
So now, my questions to all of you—what desert island book would YOU pick? What do you think makes a book great? Am I the only one who reads certain books over and over again? One lucky commenter will win a copy of Body Check, so even if these questions don’t get you going, comment anyway, about anything, for a chance to win! Don’t forget, you must be registered at Cigars to be eligible to win.
Elle
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Welcome Elle!
Congratulations on your first Blaze! Love the cover. ;)
As for your question... I have no idea.
I love reading, but I am the odd-reader out in that I don't keep too many books, or re-read much, and my favorite book is usually the one I am reading at the moment (good thing I'm not like this with men, LOL). I can probably name the stuff I have re-read on one hand.
In general, most of the books I keep or re-read are reference books, like McKee's STORY, which does inspire me, but I wouldn't want to bring that unless I have my computer with me on the island so I can write. ;) Or non-fiction.
But you want me to choose one, huh? How long do I have to be there? Will I be rescued? LOL Aiy... these desert island questions drive me batty...
I suppose I would bring almost any earlier Nora Robert's novel, pre-2004, maybe one of the Chesapeake Series or one of the Three Sisters Island, or one of the Irish Trilogy, because those books did inspire me, I would re-read them again, and I would have time on the desert island to really pick them apart and see how they work.
So... that's the best I can do for you... but glad to have you here, and can't wait to check out Body Check -- I just got a Kindle2, so it will be downloaded very soon!
Sam
Thanks for having me, Sam!
So your favourite book is usually the one you're reading, huh? Love the one you're with, and all that LOL!
I like the idea of bringing a book that you can pick apart. That way, you can use the ashes from the fire to make charcoal, find something to write on, and start writing the longest novel on the planet...
Gonna cheat a little
Wow, what a great cover, Elle! Congrats!
I have to cheat a little on the desert island reading. Before I board whatever transport is going to strand me on the isle, I'm going to overcome my innate cheapness and buy a Kindle, like Sam's--which is technically one object that affords a reading experience.
Might need a generator too, after some battery time!
LOL
I was going to say I'd bring my Kindle, too, but then I thought Elle wouldn't let me get away with that! LOL
Sam
Great minds...
LOL, Sam, but will we have wireless over our island? Might need a couple of pre-travel shopping days!
Oh, good point...
But if we load up before we go, we should be okay... for 2 weeks w/out wireless, LOL.
Cheaters!
Nope, the book has to be a print copy. But I do love how your minds work, trying to weasel some technology onto the island!
Rules, rules, rules! :-)
Okay, Elle. Then I guess I choose Green Darkness by Anya Seton. But as I'm typing that, I'm thinking, wait--there are others!
Congrats again on your beautiful new debut!
Hi Elle, Congrats on your
Hi Elle,
Congrats on your debut Blaze! One book? Probably The Three Musketeers. I'd then pen other stories in my head featuring the characters, which I love.
Jeannie
I think I'd need paper...
and a pen more than a book. I have a photographic memory, so while I LOVE rereading the books themselves, I can generally just relive the book in my head, lol. (Now THAT is cheating.)
I guess I can make my own paper out of leaf mulch, if necessary, lol. But I'd have a giant folder, with reams of paper in it and a supersize box of 500 pencils, lol. With a built in sharpener.
Oh, I should ask, too...is there anyone ELSE on the island that I'm stranded with? Because they can really intrude on the writing/reading time, lol.
Dee
See, this is why I hate desert island questions
because there's so many variables? Am I alone? If not, can Brad Pitt come with me? Was I in a plane crash meaning I have a suitcase with stuff in it?
Maybe it's a writer thing, needing to hammer out all the details before answering a simple question LOL!
Awfully sorry, Elle, but...
I like Dee's rules! LOL! She is clearly seeing the big picture! :-)
Eeek!
Only one book?? I definitely have a few that I enjoy re-reading--usually something with a combination of humor and hot and emotional connection. Some that come to mind are SEP (especially Ain't She Sweet), Jennifer Crusie (just about anything!), and Julia Quinn's Bridgertons. I've also reached for Sarah Mayberry's Blazes on more than one occasion (I have a special fondness for Anything For You).
Body Check sounds very fun and rereadable--congrats on your Blaze debut, Elle!
But only ONE? It'd have to be the Bible. And you're right--I probably couldn't bring myself to burn it--hopefully there'll be random shrubbery to provide fuel for those cold nights! ;)
SEP
Fedora, I considered an SEP - but it would have been Natural Born Charmer...love that book!
NBC
I have heard more good things about Natural Born Charmer... I have never read an SEP, but maybe will now...
Sam
definitely read SEP
I absolutely love her books. You won't be disappointed!
Congrats on your book!!
I loved your book. Can't wait for the next one! Now to the question....which book to take. I have a stack of favourites that I do like to read again and again. I think I'd pick A Knight in Shining Armor. It has a little of everything...romance, humor, time travel. Congrats again! Linda
Thanks Linda
Wait - is Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux? I remember that book - it was fantastic! Good pick!
hmmmmmmmmm.....
first of all, congrats Elle!!!
okay, now for the serious stuff...what book would i bring? that's one of the hardest questions anyone has ever asked me.
I'm going to say The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - I absolutely loved that book and I could read it over and over and over again.
But right now I'm reading The History of Love by Nicole Krauss and I'm pretty smitten with it at the moment. I haven't finished it so I can't say for sure, but right now, I'd consider considering it being my desert island book - it's that good.
Good Choice!
I also loved the Time Traveler's Wife - did you hear that they made it into a movie (not sure when that's coming out though, but it's starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams).
Hi
Hi Elle,
Congrats on the release of "Body Check." My desert island book would be "The Bride" by Julie Garwood. Actually any of Julie's historicals would serve me well on the island.
Woo hoo!!
Congrats on the new release!! I'm so happy I dropped in here today :-)
I'm one of those freaks who almost never rereads stuff. Even my very favorite books of all time. I prefer to keep them in my head just the way I loved them the first time. I do, however, keep copies, just in case.... Maybe I'd take the Harry Potter series, since they're so darn long I haven't worked up the nerve to pick one up and read it yet.
People, Body Check rocks! Adorable hero and lovable heroine. highly entertaining and sexy read :-)) And, er, Leeanne/Elle, didn't I send you a signed copy of my first book??? Just sayin...
Jen
http://www.jenlewis.com
I'm a terrible CP
Jen, my only excuse is that I've had the stomach flu for the past week and didn't make it to the post office. You still love me, right? Haven't I read like a million of your books already and offered my brilliant advice? LOL!
Oh, and I"ve never read any of the Harry Potters either. Don't know why, just never got the urge to read one. Though I did jump on the Twilight bandwagon a while ago, and loved that series.
Ah, the desert island....
Whenever I leave town, I feel like I'm making that life-or-death decision over which book to bring. I usually end up with a suitcase full of books and then no pajamas or socks or something essential. Then I lug a huge, heavy suitcase all over creation, and never touch a single book.
That is to say, I love your post, but I'm not answering your question. It's just too fraught with memories of sockless vacations.
And I'm leaving town tomorrow! Yikes!
Socks are overrated
books, on the other hand, you can never go wrong with!
so true...
who needs socks...
or shoes....
I guess I'll have to get me that new hockey book....I never could resist a hockey player :-)
The Magic of You by Johanna
The Magic of You by Johanna Lindsey. It is one of my fave books and I do reread it.
Huge Congrats on the Debut Blaze book
And many more to come!! I hope now with having this book out that the future books and their publishing goes so much more faster than the first one did. Its probably already so worth it!
What desert island book would YOU pick?
*** This is hard because some reads are so much a comfort kind of read for me, that there's a bunch of different kinds of comforts I get from various books/themes! I'm thinking of a recent one that really lifted my mood and the author too had that voice that brought some laughter to the story but too had a so real of a romance in it. It was one of Jillian Hunter's Bocastle series books (Histoical).
What do you think makes a book great?
***Its the fit to the reader for one, and too its the emotions that it pulls from you and so real that I think they are real persons to me with their stories in some ways.
Loved your questions!! Again congrats!
Thanks for the congrats, Caffey!
And I totally agree about a great book having the ability to make the characters feel real. Right now I'm reading JR Ward's brotherhood series, and I swear, her heroes fly off the pages. I'm loving it so far...
Wow Elle!
If the book is as good as the cover looks then you'll make several island lists im sure.can't wait to read it.
As for my book it would be "I do, I do, I do!" by Maggie Osburne. I have two copies and have read it at least five or six times. I love all three female heroines in the book but realte to Clara Kalus so much.
She a shall we say sturdy german gal who knows what she wants and grabs it by the horns so to speak. I laugh a lot, cry and cuss the wiener that hurt her and her friends every time i read it. Plus its a sobering look at what life was like in the Klondike during the gold rush.
I highly reccomend that book.
Agains congratulations of your first Blaze, and a happy many more to come.
jody lynn.
more books to read
I'm going to have to put some of these books in my TBR pile. I've never read Maggie Osbourne before. Does she write contemporary?
I think she writes primarily
I think she writes primarily historical, but she's very talented.
Like i said one of the lovescenes in the book with Clara i laughed so hard i almost fell off the couch. pretty cool!
jody
Desert Island Book
Oh my gosh, it would have to be "Lover Awakened" (Zsadists's Story) by J.R. Ward...LOVE IT!!! :)
I"m actually reading that right now!
Just got sucked into the series. Last night I finished Rhage's story, and today I"m starting Zsadist's. Now I'm even more excited to read it!
You'll love it!
Rhage and Zsadists' stories are the best! There is a continuation of Zsadists' story in the Dark Hunter compilation too, if you interested. Hope you like it :)
Only One?
Gosh, that's like Sophie's choice for a voracious reader! I'll read two books a DAY when I'm on vacation, LOL. But I guess it would have to be Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer, because I've reread that several times. Love it.
But if you give me a bunch of paper and a pen, I won't have to be stuck with just one book...I'll keep writing my own, LOL.
Shirley
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
In Stores Now: THE BRIDESMAID AND THE BILLIONAIRE
www.shirleyjump.com
The winner of my random draw for a copy of Body Check is...
Linda!
Congrats, Linda! Send me an email at elle@ellekennedy.com to claim your prize.
and everyone else, thank you for coming by and commenting! I had a great time chatting on Cigars with everyone. And don't worry, if you want another chance to win, stop by my blog next Wednesday, where I'm holding another contest...