Travis John Klune (born May 20, 1982) is an American author of fantasy and romantic fiction featuring gay and LGBTQ+ characters. His fantasy novel The House in the Cerulean Sea is a New York Times best seller and winner of the 2021 Alex and Mythopoeic Awards. Klune has spoken about how his asexuality influences his writing. His novel Into This River I Drown won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Romance in 2014.
TJ Klune | |
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_(cropped).jpg) Klune at the 2023 National Book Festival | |
| Born | Travis John Klune May 20, 1982 Roseburg, Oregon, U.S. |
| Occupation |
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| Language | English |
| Genre | |
| Literary movement | LGBT literature |
| Website | |
| www | |
Personal life
editKlune was born in Roseburg, Oregon.[1] He was eight years old when he first began to write fiction. His young works in poetry and short stories were the first to be published.[2] Klune's writing influences include Stephen King, Wilson Rawls, Patricia Nell Warren, Robert McCammon, and Terry Pratchett.[3]
Klune, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,[4] has been open about his lived experiences with asexuality, queerness and neurodiversity, and how they influence his writing. The historical absence of these communities in fiction has motivated choices in Klune's character development.[5][6]
In 2013, Klune proposed to author Eric Arvin at the GayRomLit Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The two had met for the first time in person one year earlier at the 2012 GayRomLit Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[7] Arvin endured many years of health struggles and died on December 12, 2016.[8][9]
Career
editKlune's love of writing began when, as a child in the 1980s, he wrote fan fiction about his favorite action-adventure video game Metroid. Later in his childhood, he began writing original stories. His teachers encouraged his work, saying they looked forward to seeing his writing in bookstores one day.[2]
Klune's first book, Bear, Otter and the Kid, was published in 2011. Due to the prevalence of pen names in M/M romantic fiction, he wrote under the name TJ Klune.[10] His motivation for this first book came from a realization of the poor, often offensive stereotypes of queer characters within stories. He wanted to be able to write a novel that had an accurate representation of queer relationships, that were not stereotypical but relatable and positive.[2] Amazon noted Bear, Otter and the Kid as one of the top LGBTQ+ books of 2011.[11]
In 2013, Klune wrote a magical realist novel, Into This River I Drown, while processing the death of his father.[1] A supernatural tale about grief and love in a small town, it won the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Romance.[12] Other novels written by Klune include the queer werewolf series Green Creek, the queer superhero series The Extraordinaries, the contemporary romance How to Be a Normal Person and the comedic fantasy series Tales from Verania.
The House in the Cerulean Sea, published with the Macmillan Tor imprint, was partially inspired by the Sixties Scoop, in which the Canadian government removed Indigenous children from their homes and placed them with unrelated white, middle-class families. Seeing the similarities to events taking place in the current-day Southern United States, Klune felt a need to write a story celebrating children's differences and to show the positive effects of giving children a safe and supportive place to be themselves.[2] The book is about a man named Linus Baker who travels to Marsyas Island as a representative of the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. The island is home to six magical kids, including Lucifer aka "Lucy" - the son of the devil.
Klune is signed with the Macmillan Tor imprint, Tor Teen, for two more stand-alone Young Adult novels.[13]
Awards and critical reception
edit| Year[a] | Work | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Into This River I Drown | Lambda Literary Award | Gay Romance | Won | [12] |
| 2020 | The House in the Cerulean Sea | Goodreads Choice Awards | Fantasy | Nominated—3rd | [14] |
| 2021 | Alex Award[b] | — | Won | [16] | |
| Mythopoeic Fantasy Award | Adult Literature | Won | [17] | ||
| RUSA CODES Reading List | Fantasy | Won | [18] | ||
| Under the Whispering Door | Goodreads Choice Awards | Fantasy | Nominated—2nd | [19] | |
| 2022 | Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | Nominated | [20] |
Klune's Young Adult debut, The Extraordinaries, is praised by Kirkus for its use of superhero and fan fiction tropes, while Publishers Weekly compliments Klune on writing a teenaged character with ADHD in a positive and supportive light.[21][22]
The House in the Cerulean Sea, is a New York Times Best Seller and has been named by The Washington Post as one of “2020’s Best Feel-Good Reads”.[23][24] Publishers Weekly calls it a “thought-provoking Orwellian fantasy” in its starred review.[25] Kirkus praises Klune for his art of creating enduring characters.[26] The novel was named one of Amazon's Best science fiction and fantasy books of 2020.[11]
Klune was nominated as an all-time favourite M/M author on the book review website Goodreads in 2017. He is also an advocate for better LGBTQ2+ representation in novels, wishing to see more asexual characters like himself reflected in books.[5]
Publications
edit| Series | Title | Year | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seafare Series | Bear, Otter and the Kid | 2011 | [7] |
| Who We Are | 2012 | [7] | |
| The Art of Breathing | 2014 | [27] | |
| The Long and Winding Road | 2017 | [28] | |
| Tales from Verania | The Lightning-Struck Heart | 2015 | [1] |
| A Destiny of Dragons | 2017 | [1] | |
| The Consumption of Magic | 2017 | [1] | |
| A Wish Upon the Stars | 2018 | [1] | |
| Fairytales from Verania (collection) | 2021 | [1] | |
| The Damning Stone | 2022 | [29] | |
| How to Be | How to Be a Normal Person | 2015 | [30] |
| How to Be a Movie Star | 2019 | [30] | |
| Immemorial Year | Withered + Sere | 2016 | [1] |
| Crisped + Sere | 2016 | [1] | |
| Green Creek | Wolfsong | 2016 | [1] |
| Ravensong | 2018 | [1] | |
| Heartsong | 2020 | [1] | |
| Brothersong | 2024 | [1] | |
| Cerulean Chronicles | The House in the Cerulean Sea | 2020 | [1] |
| Somewhere Beyond the Sea | 2024 | [30] | |
| The Extraordinaries | The Extraordinaries | 2020 | [1] |
| Flash Fire | 2021 | [1] | |
| Heat Wave | 2022 | [30] | |
| Standalone novels | Burn | 2012 | [1] |
| Into This River I Drown | 2013 | [7] | |
| Murmuration | 2016 | [1] | |
| The Bones Beneath My Skin | 2018 | [1] | |
| Under the Whispering Door | 2021 | [31] | |
| In the Lives of Puppets | 2023 | [1] |
Explanatory notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "TJ Klune: The Idea of Kindness". Locus Magazine. Vol. 87, no. 2. August 2021.
- ^ a b c d Uphaus, Adele (March 18, 2020). "Local author TJ Klune's new book is 'a slice of happiness'". The Free Lance-Star. Gale. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Interview With an Author: TJ Klune". Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ Koehler, Mimi (August 2, 2022). "Q&A: TJ Klune, Author of 'Heat Wave'". The Nerd Daily. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
- ^ a b Carter, Ellen (August 18, 2020). "Asexual Romance in an Allosexual World: How Ace-Spectrum Characters (and Authors) Create Space for Romantic Love". Journal of Popular Romance Studies. 9: 1–19.
- ^ Jaroudi, Iman. "Queer Joy and the Politics of Storytelling: An Interview with author TJ Klune". Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Romance Writers Engaged!". Lambda Literary Foundation. November 26, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ Klune, TJ (December 9, 2016). "Eric Arvin". Goodreads. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- ^ "Obituary for Eric Anthony Arvin at Madison Chapel". www.morgan-nay.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ Klune, TJ (January 31, 2017). "Men in Romance: What's In a Name?". Open Ink Press. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "Best science fiction and fantasy of 2020". Amazon.com. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ a b "Winners of the 26th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Announced". Lambda Literary Foundation. June 3, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Book Deals: Week of June 18, 2018". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Fantasy!". Goodreads. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "Alex Awards". American Library Association. February 27, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ "An Interview with Alex Award Winner TJ Klune, author of The House in the Cerulean Sea". The Hub. Young Adult Library Services Association. May 7, 2021.
- ^ "Mythopoeic Awards — 2021". The Mythopoeic Society. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ "The Reading List". RUSA Update. March 19, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Fantasy!". Goodreads. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "2022 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists". Locus Magazine. May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ "The Extraordinaries". Kirkus Reviews. February 26, 2020.
- ^ "The Extraordinaries (The Extraordinaries #1)". Publishers Weekly. March 20, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ Haupt, Angela (October 20, 2020). "15 feel-good books guaranteed to lift your spirits". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Paperback Trade Fiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - Week of January 31, 2021". The New York Times. January 31, 2021. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021.
- ^ "The House in the Cerulean Sea". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "The House in the Cerulean Sea". Kirkus Reviews. November 11, 2019.
- ^ Klune, TJ (2014). The Art of Breathing. Dreamspinner Press. ISBN 978-1-62798-925-1. OCLC 892707353.
- ^ Klune, TJ (2017). The Long and Winding Road. TJ Klune. ISBN 978-1-39329-716-1. OCLC 1150884652.
- ^ Klune, TJ (2022). The Damning Stone. Tj Klune. ISBN 979-8-20150-482-3. OCLC 1312288785.
- ^ a b c d "TJ Klune Books". Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ Goldschlager, Amy (February 9, 2022). "Amy Goldschlager Reviews Under the Whispering Door and Empire of the Vampires". Locus Magazine.