Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Anne Cain - Guest Blogger - Day 2

Thanks so much for having me on the DIK blog, everyone! It’s exciting to be here, especially when I see a lot of my favorite authors have stopped by or will be making a visit soon. (*Insert brief fangirl interlude here: Kelly Armstrong, squeeeeeee!*)

Photography by Anne CainBut talking about “Desert Island Keepers”, I was reminded of a series of ‘what if’ conversations I’ve had with my sister and friends over the years. What if you were leaving Earth forever on a space shuttle and you could only take five of your favorite movies—what would they be? What if you were stuck on a desert island, what would be the three sweets you wish you could take with you? Yes, we end up with some pretty goofy lists while playing this game, but it’s a lot of fun and you never know what someone is going to say.

5 Dessert Island Keepers

If one is going to be stuck on an island where coconuts and pineapples may potentially be the staples of your diet for the rest of your life, make sure you grab some treats out of cooler as reach for the life preserver before jumping ship! Life without Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream would be bland, and Dilettante’s Champagne Truffles are essential for survival. I’d also try to make off with some Milano cookies and, hell, anything chocolate for that matter. Let’s not forget to reach for some drink mixers, too—might as well make some piña coladas while lazing on a pristine, abandoned beach.

5 Books to Carry Ashore

All-time faves are the books you can read and re-read, and it’s like revisiting a favorite haunt or chatting with an old, dear friend. There’s something about these stories that really sparkles to me, and I can’t go more than a year or so without picking them up. Some people have comfort food—these are comfort reads. “The Lives of Christopher Chant”, “Comfort & Joy”, “Phantom”, “Jurassic Park” (whoever laughs at this point just doesn’t get the power of chaos theory!) and the good, ole Bible (food for the soul, ‘ya know). Eclectic tastes, no?

5 Must-Not-Be-Without DVDs

I don’t know how in the hell I’d manage to get a DVD player and a large screen, High-Def LCD TV off the boat, but somehow I would. And I’d also manage to take these must-have DVDs too: “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Matrix”, Torchwood season 2, Buffy:TVS Season 2, and the Cowboy Bebop collection. I wonder if I could manage to salvage a home theater audio system while doggy paddling to shore while I’m at…

Illustration by Anne CainThese lists could go on and on: 5 favorite manga, 5 must-have salty food items, 5 electronics you can’t live without (my laptop!!!!). Please share some of your faves here! I’ll be randomly picking winners for some goodies:

· A “Pawprints” Tshirt (featuring this artwork: http://annecain.deviantart.com/art/Cover-Art-Pawprints-69242303)

· Choice of a download from my backlist

· Loose Id $5 Gift Certificate

But I guess the really interesting part about a stay on a desert island is that you have no idea what can happen and what sort of adventures you might get swept away in. Every writer gets caught up in imagining the possibilities at one point in their career, and sometimes the resulting stories are fun or dramatic or just plain naughty. *wicked grin* For those whose ears perked up at the latter prospect, I have an excerpt from an m/m story of mine entitled, “Getaway”:

Warnings: contains adult language & situations.

Dean raked a hand through his close-cropped, sweat-soaked hair. He raised a hand to block the glare of sunlight on the pristine bone-white sand and scanned the ocean. There was no sign of the rented catamaran anywhere near the beach, no flicker of red, blue and white sails on the razor-straight horizon line. The only sign of human life anywhere around him was the trail of oblong footprints his water shoes had left over all two miles of shoreline wrapping around the edge of the island in his pointless search for the boat. Dean had consciously kept the lush jungle on his left, the crystal aqua blue waters on his right, and he’d covered the entire tiny island. He was sure of it.

Stephen had dumped him here. The fucker.

“Son of a…” Dean swallowed, saving his spit for the next time he caught up with his ex-lover. He could imagine the man was probably tucked behind a cove on one of the dozens of nearby smaller islands doting the ocean a couple of miles off coast, laughing his ass off at Dean’s expense. Dean’s younger brother had been right.

Two weeks ago, Neil tried to warn him. “It’s not a smart idea to go on vacation with your ex, Dean. He’s either going to screw you over or screw you. Either way, you told me you never wanted to deal with his shit again.”

“The trip is paid for,” Dean argued over the phone. “I’m not squandering a chance to enjoy a Mediterranean getaway just because Stephen will be there.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s no possible way to enjoy a vacation with an ex. It’s a law of nature or something.”

Dean rolled his eyes, knowing his brother couldn’t see him miles away in Austin. Neil proceeded to give him more than a dozen more reasons not to take the joint vacation, and Dean filed them away in the back of his mind under the label, “Irrelevant”.

Stubborn, proud, and a whole mess of other things besides that officially classified Dean as a dumb-ass, he’d already convinced himself that he was going to have the fucking time of his life in Greece. He wouldn’t care what Stephen did and who Stephen did it with because Dean would be there for his own pleasure. He’d go. Enjoy. Have fun. Maybe find a nice piece of European cock in a club somewhere and not think twice about his ex-lover.

What he’d never expected was for the sexual tension to be so damned potent. As soon as they boarded the flight out of Houston, the old emotions and desires were there to drive him goddamn crazy. Stephen knew exactly all the right buttons to push, and boy, he liked banging at them. Dean hadn’t looked to hook up with another man since their breakup, and now it seemed so obvious that he’d worn the need for sex on his body like a second skin.

Stephen noticed the frustration right away. Two days after landing in Greece, he’d made sure to flaunt his ass as much as possible. If Dean didn’t already have an erection before Stephen ‘accidentally’ brushed against him during a hike or dropped a hand into his lap during dinner, Dean found himself with a hard-on that tented the front of even the most loose piece of clothing he had. A fucking muumuu wouldn’t have been able to hide his stiff rod.

This morning, they’d set out for a private sail around the dozens of islands along the coast. Stephen was a skilled boatman, and he looked good in shorts and a cotton shirt unbuttoned all the way down the front of those nicely shaped pectoral muscles and abs. Ex or not, Dean would’ve ended up taking him in the boat, on the sand, anywhere. At least twice.

When they landed on the beach, Dean took off for a jog to loosen up after the tense sail. The jog was supposed to tame the boner in Dean’s swimming briefs and keep his cock safely tucked in under the nylon. He never imagined Stephen would abandon him here, with nothing but a water bottle.

Dean found a weatherworn, black rock near the shade of clustered, swaying palm trees. He took a seat on the span of warm, smooth stone and sighed.

“Am I moron or what?” Dean shook his head. He swallowed a mouthful of water and set the bottle down on the ground, pressed his hands against his eyes. Spots of light dotted the back of his lids, leaving an impression of the gleaming sand. Tired, pissed, sexually frustrated, Dean leaned back across the flat rock and resolved himself to wait until Stephen decided the joke was over.

Dean’s breath caught in his throat. The pink underside of a thick, erect cock blocked the view of the palm fronds overhead and the cloudless sky beyond. Sunlight glowed through the slip of foreskin peaking over the rounded head. A skilled hand cupped the heavy sac at the base of the erection, massaging the tightening mounds.

Heat exhaustion had set in worse than Dean thought. He rubbed his eyes with the flat of his palms, not that he minded such a great hallucination. Wondering if the rest of this dream man looked as good as that cock, Dean tore his gaze away from the hardening shaft.

The stranger was younger, maybe twenty or twenty-two-years-old to Dean’s thirty. Hazel eyes, chocolate colored hair with golden streaks, full lips. Tan skin seemed to run for naked mile after mile over the man’s beautiful body. Brown nipples were already formed into peaks and a trail of light brown hair dusted the inside of his legs, leading toward that fat, beautifully arched cock. One hand rested at his side while the other continued to work over his ball sac.

Fuck…Dean could almost feel that expert stroking on his own package. He sucked in his breath, his cock lifting from sheer thought alone.

He rolled in to a sitting position. His mouth leveled dangerously close to the tip of the luscious-looking dick, he licked his lips. Wanting to suck that cock off so badly, Dean fondled the throbbing bulge at his groin and swallowed a mouthful of spit along with a groan.

Beads of water trailed all over the mystery man’s body, as if he’d been swimming. The droplets traced the rounded edge of his shoulders and pecs, every sharp cut of muscle at his abdomen and groin. He shook off his head, splattering Dean’s face in a cool spray.

The water tasted sweet.

This was no hallucination.

“Getaway” ©2008, Anne Cain. http://www.annecain-art.com

Previously published in “Island Boys: Tropical Gay Erotica” from Alyson Books

16 comments:

jessewave said...

Wow Anne, that's some excerpt. I'm sweating already. :)

T.A.Chase said...

Okay, Anne...so when is "Getaway" coming out or did I miss that it was already out? Great excerpt btw.

Oh...good morning, Anne. :)

If I had to list some of my favorites:

For movies: Hitman, Chronicles of Riddick, and Ironman. Yep, love that Alpha hero..lol.

For books: Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey, What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris, and Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey.

For electronics: my laptop (of course...can't be without it unless I had pen and paper. It goes with that need to write...lol), my Kindle (to be able to take even more books to this island with me), and a blender (for all those drinks I'll be making with pineapple and coconuts)

Anne, you are such an awesome artist. Thank you for giving me covers I love each and every time.

HUGS!!!

Anne Cain said...

@Wave - *fans* Here, let me get you a margarita...*giggles*

@TA - Hiiii, TA! Thanks so much for stopping by, and I'm so glad you liked the excerpt for "Getaway"! A print version of the short story is in the "Island Boys" anthology, but I'm hoping to have it collected with other short stories in an e-book edition later this year. :D

You picked GREAT movies! Man! Now I wish I'd added Ironman and Riddick to my list. Maybe I can built a rudimentary canoe out of coconut shells and paddle out to your desert island for a movie night every once in a while. (And we can have fun mixing drinks with your blender!) LOL Same for the books--love, love, love Mercedes Lackey. I think it was Luisa Prieto who introduced me to her stories.

And I'm always, always thrilled when I get to work on one of your covers. (OMG, have I squeeed at you yet? I'll be doing the art for Dreaming of Dragons! Squeeeeeee!) Thank YOU for writing the great stories that inspire the art and that I love to read.

Jean Marie Ward said...

*user waves*
Unless I can take my complete libraries with me--and Internet--I'm toast. So I try to stay away from desert isles. The way I sunburn, it's probably a good thing too. :-)
Even better though, is the prospect you'll be attending RWA this summer. I decided not to spring for it, but it IS just down th road a piece. Any chance we could get together for lunch, dinner or tea?
Hugs and smiles,
Jean Marie

LesleyW said...

As soon as someone says to me think of five things you really like, my brain becomes a complete blank.

But carrying on from yesterday, here are my 5 favourite Xena episodes. lol (Which will mean nothing to you if you never watched it, but hey.)

The Ides of March, Between the Lines, Adventures in the Sin Trade I & II, Friend in Need Pt1 (before it went to cr*p), and When Fates Collide (which should have been the last episode - so says ME!)

JenB said...

5 electronics I couldn't live without: 1)laptop, 2)cell phone 3-5) top secret ;)

5 DVD's I couldn't live without: 1)The Little Mermaid, 2)Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 3)American Wedding, 4)Life is Beautiful, 5)Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

1 book I couldn't live without: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

I don't think I can do any more lists. I have commitment issues and this hurts my brain. LOL

Kassa said...

That excerpt is wonderful! I'm looking forward to reading the story. I'm a rather big fan of your artwork and must say it's simply stunning.

Lists gah... here goes:

The absolute one thing I would have to survive is mountain dew. I can handle most anything else if the nectar is provided.

Books : Enders's Game by Orson Scott Card, Out of The Closet by Sean Michael, The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.

DVDs: La Femme Nikita tv series, Ocean's 11, Clue, The Princess Bride, The Little Mermaid.

Electronics: Ipod, If I say a computer or e-reader do I get to bring more books? Something requiring batteries of course.

Now I have to soothe all my books and electronics which weren't named. Not to mention my cat, who as much as I love deeply I would not bring because she would without a doubt kill and eat me on day one.

Kris said...

*gulp* Nice excerpt... okay focusing now. Nope, I'm stuck cos now I feel a desperate need to watch 'Cowboy Bebop' followed by another awesome series of Shinichiro Watanbe's 'Samurai Champloo'.

Unlike Kassa, I would HAVE to bring my boy kittens. Mostly because I would be unable to escape, umm, leave without them. No fear though. I have trained them to get a ball and sit and stay; I could probably get them to climb a tree and fetch coconuts for us.

jessewave said...

I would only bring a few things:

DVD - Field of Dreams with Kevin Kostner

Books - Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin; The Dreyfus Affair by Peter Lefcourt;

and a dog if I had one.

Renee said...

Thanks for the excerpt, Anne!

I, too become like a deer in the headlights when asked to pick only 5 books. However,

5 electronics: my little workhorse MacBook, my iPod, my Palm, my digital camera (to snap pics of all the the island inhabitants,) my trusty little book light (for late night reading)

5 beverages: diet Coke (reg or Zero), loose leaf Lipton tea, amaretto sours, club soda w/Rose's lime juice, cappuccino from my favorite coffee house (I can dream, can't I?)

Caffey said...

Oh, thanks for that peek and treat of the excerpt!!!

Gosh its hard limiting this to five, but its fun too! So I use the first five I think of!

Five Favorite Snacks: Chereoes!, SmartFood White Popcorn, Carrots in Ranch Dip, Sugar Free Ice Cream Sandwiches, Sugar Free Swiss Colony Coconut Macaroons!

Five Favorite Game Shows: Family Feud, Match Game, Deal Or No Deal, Catch 21

Five Favorite Old TV Shows: Andy Griffin Show, Bonanza, I Dream Of Jeannie, Courtship Of Eddie's Father, The Munsters

Tracy said...

Great topic!

5 movies - My Cousin Vinny, The Mexican, Enchanted, Serendipity, LOTR Trilogy. ok that last one's cheating but still! lol

Drinks - margarita, coffee, diet coke, captain morgan and coke, baileys

Sarah said...

I LOVE Jurassic Park. Read when I was working up north. Had a huge glom on Criton.(sp). Loved Disclosure and Eaters of the Dead. So good!

Movie - at the moment it is a toss up between 16 Candles and Shelter. Gone off sci fi. Feeling mushy.

Book - ummmmm.

Electronic - my macbook Boo.

Have to say, love your art work too. It is just stunning and I cannot wait to see more of Pride High!! Have 1st two, not read yet.

T.A.Chase said...

Anne,

Woot! I was really hoping you'd get to do Dreaming's cover. That will make at two more Anne covers I'll get this year. Maybe more if I can convince Samhain to let you do Tabloid Star for me. :D I'll do my best.

You're more than welcome to come and visit me on my desert island, Anne. There will always be drinks available and adorable cabana boys to serve them. ;)

Tracy said...

Anne - I finally got a chance to read the excerpt you posted - wonderful! Is this available on its own or only in the print book from Alyson books?

Kytaira said...

My favorite TV shows - CSI, Criminal Minds, Bones, Physch, Monk

Favorite candy bars - snickers, toblerone, heath, carmelo, symphony

BTW the book sounds great!

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