Ally Blue ~ Untamed Heart
From: Samhain
I had a hard time deciding which one was my favorite. I love all my guys, and all my stories, in different ways and for different reasons. But in the end, I think this is the one I’m the most proud of. Probably because Leon and Grim are by far the most difficult, fucked up characters who have ever emerged from the murky depths of my psyche to say howdy. Figuring those two out was hard. Particularly Grim. Getting his actions and reactions just right in the light of his past was absolutely necessary, and it took a lot of work to make sure he was believable and sympathetic. I think I did pretty darn good, and yeah, I’m proud of how this book turned out :)
1. Astrid Lindgren ~ Pippi In The South Seas I’ve been a voracious reader ever since I learned to read way back in pre-school, but this? This is the book I read to absolute tatters as a child, and the one I credit with instilling in me an early love of adventure, fun and a touch of magic. Not that you’d know it from reading the angst-fests that are most of my published novels, LOL. But, yeah. I used to climb the magnolia tree in our backyard as high as I could go, sit on a branch and read this book from cover to cover. I’d pretend I was Pippi, sailing the south seas or defeating pirates or just screwing with people’s minds at home in her little Swedish town. I guess all authors have a book somewhere in their past that flipped that “I wanna write one day” switch in their heads. This was mine. Goofy, I know, but there you have it :) ***Teddypig ~ Not In eBook***
2. Robert A. Heinlein ~ Stranger In A Strange Land Anyone who’s read this knows it’s not a romance, never mind a gay one. ***Teddypig ~ Hell No!*** But this is one of my favorite books ever. It was my first exposure, as an innocent teen, to a world of sexuality beyond “get married and have babies.” Beyond even monogamy, which was what I was brought up with to the exclusion of all else. To virginal little teenage Ally, this book was all about Free Love. Not just sex, though there was certainly that. It was about love. Free love. Really, truly love, for anyone and everyone. It might sound weird, but when I read this book, it was the first time I’d ever thought of sex and love as being truly intertwined, and thought of both as something to share rather than hoard. It blew my world view wide open. Nothing was the same afterward. Looking back, I think in a way it helped shape me into who I am today, not just as a writer but as a human being.
I haven’t re-read it in a long time. I’m almost afraid to. Would I see it the same way now as I did then? Who knows…***Teddypig ~ Available In eBook***
3. Clive Barker ~ Books Of Blood Volume One “In The Hills, The Cities” from Books of Blood (I forget which volume) ***Teddypig ~ Volume One*** This is a short story. Like most of Clive Barker’s best work, this little gem is horror, but not your typical horror. No, this is horror on mind-altering drugs, with a healthy dose of sensuality thrown in. Barker writes gay and straight alike equally well, but in this one his couple happens to be gay. The guys in this story were the first gay characters I can remember reading having sex “on screen” in a horror story in a matter-of-fact way. Not to titillate or shock like in some horror stories I could name, but just as part of who they are. The relationship between the two men is imperfect, too; they snipe at each other and give each other the silent treatment, just like any couple you might meet who are getting to know one another just well enough to rub the shine off their relationship. That adds to the normalcy of it. I never paid much attention to how that affected me at the time; I didn’t say to myself, “wow, look at this gay couple in this story being all average just before stumbling right into the freakin’ Twilight Zone because this is a Clive Barker story after all”. But that’s the message that sunk in anyway. I love that, especially after all the horror stories I’d read in the past that used gay sex and gay relationships for some kind of shock value. (WTF’s up with that, anyway??)
BTW, for anyone who thinks they’re gonna go out and get this for the sex, nuh-uh. There is ONE “sex scene” and it’s not explicit. More of a “we made beautiful, life-affirming love in a meadow” kind of thing. But it’s lovely in its very own, Clive Barker-ish way. The man does have a knack for stringing words together. [/fangirly squee] ***Teddypig ~ No eBook for Books Of Blood but my favorite The Hellbound Heart is available in eBook***
4. Annie Proulx ~ Close Range: Wyoming Stories “Brokeback Mountain” Not to be a big old copycat or anything (this story keeps on popping up on everyone’s “faves” lists lately!) but this is the story that turned the tide for me. I was already writing by the time I read this for the first time, but it lit a fire in me. Made me want to create something even a tenth as powerful. I’ve never. Ever. Read anything quite like it. This story hits you like a kick in the gut. I’ve read it I don’t know how many times, and I still can’t get through the last couple of paragraphs without crying like a little weenie baby.
“There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can’t fix it you’ve got to stand it.”
That one sentence is perfection. Just. Pure. Perfection.
My mascara’s running now.
**sob** ***Teddypig ~ Available In eBook***
5. Josh Lanyon ~ The Dickens With Love Yes, Josh’s brand spanking new Christmas story, just released from Samhain this very month. I have a whole mile-long list of favorite gay romances. Every one of them has given me something of worth, and some of them are particular favorites of mine. So why did I include this brand new book on my list of influences? Not because it’s a particular favorite, even though I suspect it will become just that. I fell in love with the story right from the start. It’s sweet, simple and completely charming. And what kind of bibliophile can resist the idea of a long-long Dickens book? Exactly. But that’s not the reason. The reason, friends, is because this captivating little tale gave me a jolt of Christmas-flavored magic at a time when I desperately needed it. Josh, thanks for that :) ***Teddypig ~ Looks up the stock price for Josh Lanyon***
Tags: Ally Blue, Five FavesTags: Ally Blue, Five Faves
Chris wrote,
Oh, I totally grok loving Stranger in a Strange Land and being sort of afraid to go back and read it now… Can it possibly be as good as I remember? Will I destroy my love of it by reading it again?
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 7:21 am
Ally Blue wrote,
I know, right?? But I really want to read it again. Sigh. One day, one day…
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Sarah wrote,
Pippi!! My nickname and mentor as a kid. hehe.
I need some Christmas spirit and I have the Lanyon gem. I think I might go read it after shopping with mum this arvo. :)
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Ally Blue wrote,
LOL Yay, another Pippi fan! She was totally my hero as a kid :D
You NEED to read Josh’s story immediately, if not sooner! OMG. Soooo sweet. You are going to LOVE it!
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Tam wrote,
Okay, I read Josh’s and I watched Pippi the TV show. LOL Never read the books. However Babar and I had a close relationship. (Get your mind out of the proverbial bestiality gutter.) But I wanted to be Pippi too. I wanted to live alone, wash my floor with scrub brushes on my feet, not go to school and have Mr. Nielson for a pet.
I don’t do horror, too chicken and I don’t do sad stories, too …. I don’t know, just don’t. Nice list though Ally. Thanks for sharing.
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
TeddyPig wrote,
I read Pippi Longstockings along with Eleanor Cameron and the Mushroom Planet books.
Waaaay early 50′s kids sci-fi.
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Chris wrote,
I forgot about the Mushroom Planet books! I read those, and Pippi, of course. And lots of my dad’s pulp scifi pbs from the 50s and early 60s. Wish I still had those!
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
TeddyPig wrote,
You forgot the mysterious Mr. Bass and Basidium X?
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
TeddyPig wrote,
5 Thallo St. ALL SPACE SHIPS WELCOME!
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
kelgar01 wrote,
Good choice for your own book! I had read the BCPI books and enjoyed them, so I went looking for others by you. This was the first one that I picked and I thought it was just incredible. Very moving.
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Ally Blue wrote,
Tam, OMG you have to read the Pippi books!! Do you know I didn’t even realize there was a TV show? LOL. I saw the movie though.
**resists comment about Tam’s illicit affair with underage elephant**
Mr. Piggy, you and Chris have me curious about these other books. Mushroom Planet??? I feel I have missed out O_O
kelgar01, thank you very much! Glad you liked the books :D Untamed Heart kicked my ass, it really did, but I do think it was worth it in the end.
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
TeddyPig wrote,
Very early 50′s kids sci-fi with build it yourself space ships and mysterious mushroom men from invisible worlds that orbit our planet. Just great fantasy sci-fi stuff and pretty nicely written too.
Link | December 11th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
LBea wrote,
Pippi. My sister and I loved her. And my sis looked just like her–so Halloween costume for Kimmy was always a snap.
Honest, I thought I’d see Lovecraft on your list–but this rocks. :)
Link | December 12th, 2009 at 7:25 am
Dakota Flint wrote,
Pippi! I loved seeing what writers read as children/young adults. There was such magic in the reading experience then, wasn’t there? Not to say there isn’t now, as well, but it’s a different kind of magic, isn’t it? And rarer. I never thought as a kid, the pacing is off in the middle or the characters felt one-dimensional. *g*
Thanks for sharing your list, Ally!
Link | December 12th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Wave wrote,
Ally
You know how I feel about Untamed Heart – it made my Top 10 last year.
Stranger in a Strange Land is an annual re-read for me. I can’t bring myself to re-read Brokeback – too sad.
Link | December 12th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Ally Blue wrote,
Mr. Pig, I’m totally looking that stuff up. Thank you :D
LB, I swear, I had a REALLY hard time coming up with stuff for this list. Ask the piggy-man, he had to keep poking me. Not like that!! But yeah. The thing is, as much as I love me some Lovecraft, I think that in the end, his writing didn’t really influence mine much. If that makes sense O_O
BTW, OT but not really, but anyone who hasn’t seen Re-Animator really should. Is genius *g*
Dakota, I know just what you mean. What we read as children takes on an extra dimension, because it’s new to us. It’s all purer somehow.
Link | December 13th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Ally Blue wrote,
Oh and Wave! Thank you, mwah! And you’re right, Brokeback Mtn is SO sad. It’s just that the way it’s written is so astoundingly GOOD. Plus I’m a total masochist that way. Sometimes I just need a good cry and man, that one always does it for me.
Link | December 13th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
josh lanyon wrote,
PIPPI. Heh. Great one.
Barker has been on my TBR forever.
Thanks, Ally, for adding my little Christmas story to your list. I’m so glad it was there for you at the right time! Hope the holidays are bright and happy from this point on. *g*
Link | December 14th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Ally Blue wrote,
Josh, your story totally brightened my day, week, month and year, and I really did need it. You have no idea :)
You have to have to HAVE TO read some Clive!! OMG. I <3 him like whoa, for real. He's a wonderful novelist — I picked up Abarat at a used book store and ate it up, and I loved The Damnation Game — but I am still quite partial to the Books Of Blood series. I've said it before, but "Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament" is my favorite, though I didn't list it here because I didn't feel it was an actual influence. That's one of the few female-protag stories of any description where I read it and went "OMFG how did he get in my BRAIN like that???"
And if you read it don't let that freak you out either because I swear I can't kill people with my mind O_O
Link | December 16th, 2009 at 7:12 am