A winner! And Jeri's DIKs

And the winner of a signed copy of Wicked Game is...Mary Kate! Yayyy!! Mary Kate, just send your mailing address to me at jeri AT jerismithready DOT com, and I'll get it right out to you tomorrow during my weekly post office run (they love me there--NOT!).

Now for my Desert Island Keepers. This hurt a lot, because I am indecisive and a total book hoarder. Only 6? *weeps*

Well, here goes (in alphabetical order by title):

1. Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore. It's fall-off-the-couch-funny, but unlike a lot of comedies, the characters are richly drawn, and the romance is sweet and unexpectedly hot. At least, that's how I remember it.

2. Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones. My favorite book when I was a kid. It's about the dog star Sirius, who does something to piss off the gods, so they make him come to earth and live the complete life of a dog. Since then, Sirius has been my favorite star (not to mention my obvious choice in satellite radio).

3. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. I love it for the music, but also for the ultimate guy's perspective on romance.

4. Ill Wind by Rachel Caine. Because I'd have to have me some David.

5. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Favorite book in the world! His later novels are probably more polished, but having lived in London for six months, I loved the idea of a magical, terrifying world in the Underground.

6. Stupid and Contagious by Caprice Crane. I pulled so many muscles laughing at this book. It's considered 'chick lit' but really it's a romantic comedy. The two main characters are so neurotic and lovable. And as you can probably tell from the title, there's a healthy dose of Nirvana in there, too.

Since I spoke about my favorite hero (David from Ill Wind) on Monday, and my own hero Shane McAllister yesterday, and since I'm a huge music fan, I'll do my 6 Desert Island Keeper CDs instead of heroes.

Alphabetical by artist, since that's what Shane would do:

1. The Doors, The Best of the Doors - Is it cheating to bring a double album? The Doors, to me, are one of the few "classic rock" bands that sound timeless.

2. Eve 6, Eve 6 - The perfect album. It contains my favorite song of all time, "Inside Out." The riffs are infectious and the lyrics are phenomenal, especially when you consider that they were still in high school when they wrote them. (Anyone who can use the words "origami" and "abstruse" in a song and make it catchy has my vote.) "Open Road Song" has the best use of homonyms ever: I crack the window and feel the cool air cleanse my every pore/as I pour my poor heart out.

3. The Go-Gos, Beauty and the Beat - I used to listen to my LP of this every night when I was a preteen. I just bought the CD a couple of months ago, and I'm thrilled to say it's even better than I remembered.

4. Bob Marley and the Wailers, Legend. Hey, it's a desert island. Gotta have some reggae.

5. Nirvana, Unplugged in New York - You can really appreciate Kurt Cobain's voice and guitar work here without all the distortion. Plus, the repartee among the band members shows that they had a lot of fun together. A heartbreaking reminder of what was lost.

6. The Pogues, Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash - Because I need at least a little bit of Ireland wherever I go (though if we were on the island at Christmas time, it would have to be The Chieftains' Bells of Dublin).

7. Various artists, O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Sundays = bluegrass.

Thank you SO much for making me feel welcome here on the Island! I think this'll soon be the coveted new gig among authors, and I'm honored and flattered to be the first.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend, and enjoy your time with Evangeline!