About TJ Klune
TJ KLUNE is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author (Into This River I Drown) and an ex-claims examiner for an insurance company. His novels include the Green Creek series, The House on the Cerulean Sea and The Exraordinaries. Being queer himself, TJ believes it's important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.
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6 years ago Read more
The Joys of Crack and Dust Or, Why I went Apocalyptic
(Note: This post was supposed to appear on another blog as part of the Withered + Sere blog tour, but since the blog never wrote me back and never posted it, I'm doing it here. What can you do?)
I did something no one else has ever done. I wrote a book set in a post-apocalyptic future. I
Withered + Sere Releases!
Withered + Sere is out today!
*confetti and junk*
This book (and it's sequel, Crisped + Sere, out in August) has taken up the last three years of my life. I am so please to finally see it published, and can't wait for you all to read it.
Here is where you can buy it:
Dreamspinner Press Publications
Also! There are several stop
What's Next; Or, How I'm About To Go Dark
Can we all agree that I know comedy?
That's not meant to sound like I'm bragging. It's really not. I can be funny. I can write funny stories. I have an ear for whip crack dialogue and snark. I like it. I like being able to make people laugh. I love having people feel the warm fuzzies when they read my books.
The last three books I've released were part of what I considered to be my "Happiness Trilogy." The Lightning Struck-Heart, How to Be a Normal Perso
Pre-Release Thoughts on The Queen & the Homo Jock King
I hate fake/pretend relationships. Honestly, in books, in movies, anytime the focal point of the plot is a pretend relationship between the main characters, it's usually a turn off. And the reason for the fakeness is typically ludicrous, and I tend to roll my eyes at it. I hate enemies to lovers stories too, because of that first word enemies. I don't like reading
First Two Chapters of Queen!
Dudes. You guys are ridiculous. The Queen & the Homo Jock King is not even out yet, and you've already put it in the top ten on boy DSP's and Amazon's bestseller lists from the pre-orders alone. I'm so fortunate to have readers like you all who get just as excited about these characters as I do. I know it's taken three years to get here, but I think it'll have been worth the wait once you get your hands on the book on February 29th.
So! As a thank you, I give you the first
Pre-Release Thoughts On How To Be A Normal Person; Or, Love Isn't Always A Dick In the Butt
Once upon a time, I was on the internet and was stuck in a Wikipedia spiral (which often happens when I'm reading a Wiki article and click on a link to another page and then somehow, three hours have passed, and I've gone from reading about Hamburger Hill to ending up on an article about the mating of flatworms, I don't even know), when I came across the most magical website in the world.
http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page
&nb
Tales From Verania: The Tragic Life of Lady Tina DeSilva
So, this was supposed to be five thousand words.
Instead, there is backstory, drama, and now it's sixteen thousand words.
I don't know how it happened.
Oh my gods, someone send help.
This is my way of saying thank you to everyone who has read The Lightning-Struck Heart. I don't know how or why, but you guys have made it one of my biggest bestsellers. A book about that has dragons rimming unicorns. I don't know what that say
Release Date, Blurb, First Look at How to Be a Normal Person
Coming Friday, October 16th 2015, TJ Klune's asexual stoner romantic comedy featuring ferrets named after dead presidents, an elderly female biker gang who meddle in everything, a 1995 Ford Taurus, discussions on how Michael Bay ruins childhood dreams and a grumpy video store clerk who may or may not have a crush on the hipster at the coffee shop, even if said hipster does Instagram every thing he eats. Like an asshole.
Official Blurb:
Gustavo Tiberius is not normal. He
Asexuality & Me; Or, How I Can Be 33 Years Old & Come Out Again
My name is TJ Klune. My real name is Travis Klune. I answer to both. I'm an author. I write books about dudes falling in love with other dudes, having heart boners for each other, an
Post-Release Thoughts on The Lightning-Struck Heart & What's Next
There was a moment in The Lightning-Struck Heart that I knew there was no going back. It was a point in which I had to decide if I wanted this to be crack or if I wanted this book to be mega-crack. It really should have been a harder decision than it was. Frankly, I am a little embarrassed about how easily I caved into mega-crack. &nbs
Pre-Release Thoughts on The Lightning-Struck Heart; Or, How I Learned To Like Myself Again
On September 21st, 2014, I texted author S.A. McAuley:So, this morning I started writing a medieval fantasy comedy that uses modern language and has a sassy gay unicorn named Gary and I just stopped. It is already 12K words and is so far beyond crack that it might was well be black tar heroin.She responded, Please tell me there will be plague jokes.To which I had to say, I ALREADY WROTE TWO.Black death for the literary win. Lambda repeat here you come!! &
First Look At The-Lightning-Struck Heart
Good, I hope.
It's been a long time since we've been in this position, huh? The one where I'm about to release a book and get to relentlessly tease you about it for the next thirty days.
God, how I have missed that feeling.
Don't lie. I know you have too.
What can I tell you about The Lightning-Struck Heart?
It's the first thing I wrote after the shit storm that was life l
Beauty In The Breakdown: A Redux
Things are different now.
I last wrote on this blog ten months ago, right at the time when I was at my bleakest. It was a culmination of events that began in December of 2013 and led to me not recognizing myself anymore, or even in a position capable of doing so. I felt lost, unsure of what I was doing or where I was going.
I tend to not take care of myself during highly stressful times. Usually, I'm so focused on making sure everyone and everything else is
Beauty In The Breakdown
It's all right 'cause there's beauty in the breakdown--Frou Frou
It started with a pressure behind my eyes a couple of months ago. I should have recognized it for what it was. Maybe part of me did and I just chose to ignore it. Fake it until you make it, I think the saying goes.It was probably inevitable, really. I am just surprised it didn't happen sooner.When I was nine, I was diagnosed with a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. When I was eleven, I
Pre-Release Thoughts on BOATK3: Or, What To Expect When You're Expecting
It's been a while, hasn't it? Since I've been able to say we're only a few days ahead of the release of a new BOATK book. Far longer than I actually planned it to be, but life gets in the way. You probably know that now, how life got in our way, so there's no sense in rehashing it. We're looking forward, Eric and I. Still, it's been a while. When Who We Are ended, I knew I was going to set the boys aside f
The First Look At BOATK3, The Art Of Breathing
Wow. It sure has been a long time since I've written on my own blog. Too long in fact. I may have to make this a more regular thing. Time has gotten away from me, as I'm sure you understand.
As a way of saying thank you for the release of the anthology Grand Adventures, I wanted to give you the first look at BOATK3, The Art Of Breathing. This excerpt is not spoilery (and damn if it didn't take me a while to find one that wasn't spoilery), so don't worry about
Pre-Release Thoughts on John & Jackie
Once upon a time, I wrote the following words:
…It may not yet be legal/but it's better than eating a beagle/so won't you please marry me?
I was thrilled. I was elated. I'd done it! I'd finished my first novel. Jesus Christ, I thought. I am badass. I AM A MOTHERFUCKING ROCKSTAR! I AM KING OF MY DOMAIN!!! I… need to start working on my next book.
I've said before, and I'll say again: I am one of those writers who can only work on one th
After Thoughts On Into This River I Drown
Warning And Threats
To proceed, know that I will be discussing key plot points for Into This River I Drown and (surprise!) another of my novels, Burn. There is also a brand new short story at the end of this post. If you haven't read River and are planning to, you shouldn't read this as it will be filled with a lot of spoilers. If you haven't read Burn, that's okay, but some of this might not make sense. St
Into This River I Drown Pre-Release Thoughts
If the relationship of father to son could really be reduced to biology, the whole earth would blaze with the glory of fathers and sons. --James Baldwin
Benji is the narrator for Into This River I Drown.You're not going to like him very much, at least at first.Strange thing for an author to say about their own creation, right? Yeah, I am aware of that. But I am also aware what happens in the book, where it ends up, the secrets it has waiting for you. Th
Into This River I Drown Playlist
You are sixteen days away from drowning in the river.
Into This River I Drown is not structured like a traditional novel. It's divided into four parts, and then within each of these parts comes the headers you'll see listed below. I was very careful when writing this book to not have the headers give away any part of the story, so you can read on knowing there aren't any spoilers ahead. Instead, I hope it increases your anticipation for River.
Music has always playe
Tell Me It's Real: Pre-Release Thoughts (About Stuff And Things)
Wow. Haven't had a pre-release blog in some time, now have I? You know, it's funny. When I finished Who We Are in late 2011, I didn't think it would take this long for me to be published again. My plan was to immediately start on Elementally Evolved Book II: Break, knowing that when Burnwas released a few months later in February 2012, people would be clamoring for the sequel as soon as they finished the first on
The 10 Month Lapse
By the time my next novel is released, it'll have been 10 months since I've published a book. 294 days. 7,056 hours.
Now, to some, that may not seem like a long time. To my long suffering readers, it probably seems like decades. However, in the m/m world, it's probably like a lifetime, given how literally hundreds of m/m books have been released since April 2012 when Who We Are came out. It also seems like some authors have releases every few weeks, as if they are
The Epic BOATK Holiday Poem Part II
Okie dokie, friends and neighbors! Here we are again, entering into the holiday season, a time of love and joy and family and blah, blah blah. That's all bullshit, right? We know the real meaning of Christmas, don't we? It's about how Santa is really Satan and tries to take over the world. That's the true meaning of the holidays. Good thing there's a kick-ass vegetarian who rises up to fight the Devil. &nbs
The Shenanigans of GRL 2012
So, in case you couldn't tell by the overabundance of posts regarding the matter, GayRomLit 2012 was held in Albuquerque NM last week. Yes, I attended. Yes, there were shenanigans of the highest order. There were smiles and hugs and tears and hickies and tattoos and gross strippers and carpel tunnel syndrome and alcohol and getting stuck in elevators and ghosts and more alcohol and legitimate psychos and books and authors and readers. And so much, much more. Here's
Titles By TJ Klune
Under the Whispering Door Sep 21, 2021
A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND INDIE BESTSELLER
An Indie Next Pick!
A Man Called Ove meets The Good Place in Under the Whispering Door, a delightful queer love story from TJ Klune, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The House in the Cerulean Sea.
Welcome to Charon's Crossing.
The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through.
When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.
And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he's definitely dead.
But even in death he's not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.
Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Sold by: Macmillan
The House in the Cerulean Sea Mar 17, 2020
A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER!
A 2021 Alex Award winner!
The 2021 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner!
One of Publishers Weekly's "Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2020"
One of Book Riot's "20 Must-Read Feel-Good Fantasies"
Lambda Literary Award-winning author TJ Klune's bestselling, breakout contemporary fantasy that's "1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." (Gail Carriger)
Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world.
Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.
The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
"1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." —Gail Carriger, New York Times bestselling author of Soulless
Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Preloaded Digital Audio Player
Wolfsong (Green Creek Book 1) Sep 24, 2019
Ox was twelve when his daddy taught him a very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn't worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.
Ox was sixteen when he met the boy on the road, the boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the boy hadn't spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the boy belonged to a family who had moved into the house at the end of the lane.
Ox was seventeen when he found out the boy's secret, and it painted the world around him in colors of red and orange and violet, of Alpha and Beta and Omega.
Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his bloodred eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces.
It's been three years since that fateful day—and the boy is back. Except now he's a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.
Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback
Ravensong (Green Creek Book 2) Sep 26, 2019
Gordo Livingstone never forgot the lessons carved into his skin. Hardened by the betrayal of a pack who left him behind, he sought solace in the garage in his tiny mountain town, vowing never again to involve himself in the affairs of wolves.
It should have been enough.
And it was, until the wolves came back, and with them, Mark Bennett. In the end, they faced the beast together as a pack… and won.
Now, a year later, Gordo has found himself once again the witch of the Bennett pack. Green Creek has settled after the death of Richard Collins, and Gordo constantly struggles to ignore Mark and the song that howls between them.
But time is running out. Something is coming. And this time, it's crawling from within.
Some bonds, no matter how strong, were made to be broken.
Brothersong (Green Creek Book 4) Oct 13, 2020
In the ruins of Caswell, Maine, Carter Bennett learned the truth of what had been right in front of him the entire time. And then it—he—was gone.
Desperate for answers, Carter takes to the road, leaving family and the safety of his pack behind, all in the name of a man he only knows as a feral wolf. But therein lies the danger: wolves are pack animals, and the longer Carter is on his own, the more his mind slips toward the endless void of Omega insanity.
But he pushes on, following the trail left by Gavin.
Gavin, the son of Robert Livingstone. The half-brother of Gordo Livingstone.
What Carter finds will change the course of the wolves forever. Because Gavin's history with the Bennett pack goes back further than anyone knows, a secret kept hidden by Carter's father, Thomas Bennett.
And with this knowledge comes a price: the sins of the fathers now rest upon the shoulders of their sons.
Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Paperback , Audio CD
The Extraordinaries Jul 14, 2020
An Indie Bestseller!
A Gold Nautilus Book Award Winner!
Some people are extraordinary. Some are just extra. New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune's YA debut, The Extraordinaries, is a queer coming-of-age story about a fanboy with ADHD and the heroes he loves.
Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right?
After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City's mightiest hero (and Nick's biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he'll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick's best friend (and maybe the love of his life).
Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl meets Marissa Meyer's Renegades in TJ Klune's YA debut.
Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Audio CD
Heartsong (Green Creek Book 3) Oct 22, 2019
Sequel to Ravensong
All Robbie Fontaine ever wanted was a place to belong. After the death of his mother, he bounces around from pack to pack, forming temporary bonds to keep from turning feral. It's enough—until he receives a summons from the wolf stronghold in Caswell, Maine.
Life as the trusted second to Michelle Hughes—the Alpha of all—and the cherished friend of a gentle old witch teaches Robbie what it means to be pack, to have a home.
But when a mission from Michelle sends Robbie into the field, he finds himself questioning where he belongs and everything he's been told. Whispers of traitorous wolves and wild magic abound—but who are the traitors and who the betrayed?
More than anything, Robbie hungers for answers, because one of those alleged traitors is Kelly Bennett—the wolf who may be his mate.
The truth has a way of coming out. And when it does, everything will shatter.
The Lightning-Struck Heart (Tales From Verania Book 1) Nov 12, 2019
Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.
Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam's pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the king's wizard, Morgan of Shadows.
When Sam's 14, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.
At 15, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle - Knight Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.
Naturally, it all goes to hell when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can't control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the king sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan's boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have.
Or, so he thinks.
Flash Fire: The Extraordinaries, Book Two Jul 13, 2021
First editions of the Flash Fire hardcover come with a reversible jacket!
Flash Fire is the explosive sequel to The Extraordinaries by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author TJ Klune!
Through bravery, charm, and an alarming amount of enthusiasm, Nick landed himself the superhero boyfriend of his dreams. Now instead of just writing stories about him, Nick actually gets to kiss him. On the mouth. A lot. But having a superhero boyfriend isn't everything Nick thought it would be—he's still struggling to make peace with his own lack of extraordinary powers.
When new Extraordinaries begin arriving in Nova City—siblings who can manipulate smoke and ice, a mysterious hero who can move objects with their mind, and a drag queen superhero with the best name and the most-sequined costume anyone has ever had—it's up to Nick and his friends Seth, Gibby, and Jazz to determine who is virtuous and who is villainous.
And new Extraordinaries aren't the only things coming to light. Long-held secrets and neglected truths are surfacing that challenge everything Nick knows about justice, family, and being extraordinary. Which is a lot to handle when Nick really just wants to finish his self-insert bakery AU fanfic.
Will it all come together in the end or will it all go down in flames?
The Bones Beneath My Skin Oct 26, 2018
In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he's been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family's summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction.
The cabin should be empty.
Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader.
Artemis, who isn't exactly as she appears.
Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible.
Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.
A Destiny of Dragons (Tales From Verania Book 2) Nov 12, 2019
Once upon a time, the wizard's apprentice, Sam of Wilds, got his happily ever after in the arms of his cornerstone, Knight Commander Ryan Foxheart. A year has passed, and while Sam's been captured five or six more times since then, things are pretty great. His parents are happy, Gary and Tiggy still eat sass for breakfast, Randall is somehow alive despite being older than the gods, the King rules with a gentle hand, Kevin the dragon is as gross as ever, Morgan sighs a lot, Ryan continues to be dashing and immaculate, and Sam is close to convincing Prince Justin they will be best friends forever. Life is good.
Until it's not.
Because Vadoma, the leader of the gypsy clan and Sam's grandmother, has come to the City of Lockes with a dire prophecy written in the stars: a man of shadows is rising and will consume the world unless Sam faces his destiny and gathers the five dragons of Verania at his side.
And she brings along her second-in-command, a man named Ruv. Ruv, who Vadoma says is Sam's true cornerstone.
Heat Wave (The Extraordinaries Book 3) Jul 19, 2022
Heat Wave is the explosive finale to the thrilling and "uproariously funny" (Sophie Gonzales) Extraordinaries trilogy by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author TJ Klune!
Nick, Seth, Gibby, and Jazz are back in action bringing justice, protection, and disaster energy to the people of Nova City.
An unexpected hero returns to Nova City and crash lands into Nick's home, upturning his life, his family, and his understanding of what it means to be a hero in the explosive finale of the thrilling and hilarious Extraordinaries trilogy by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune.
Praise for The Extraordinaries
"Half a love-letter to fandom, half self-aware satire, and wholly lovable. I haven't read anything quite like this before!" —Sophie Gonzales, author of Only Mostly Devastated
"The most down-to-earth book about superheroes I've ever read. I laughed, I cried, and I had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading it." —Mason Deaver, bestselling author of I Wish You All the Best