“The best revenge a queer person can have is to live happily and live successfully.” – TJ Klune
I have been to many, many panels at comic conventions over the past few years, but one of the most enjoyable I’ve ever experienced just happened at Emerald City Comic-Con 2025 in Seattle. It was a spotlight on celebrated queer author TJ Klune (The House on the Cerulean Sea, The Bones Beneath My Soon), and the panel was a beautiful discussion on queer joy, resistance, and the power of community in times of turmoil. Klune recently released Somewhere Beyond the Sea, the sequel to his beloved novel The House on the Cerulean Sea, which has garnered critical acclaim and praise.
The discussion with TJ Klune was partially so enjoyable because it was moderated by a true icon, queer erotica writer Chuck Tingle, who has recently made the foray into full-length published novels. Tingle, which is a pseudonym for the author, has never shown his face, only appearing in public with a pink mask and sunglasses, and he is an absolute riot to witness.
Apparently, Klune has admired Tingle for many years, even working a version of Tingle into his book How To Be A Movie Star before the two had ever met!
Tingle told a delightful story about his friendship with Klune: Last year, after the Texas Library Convention invited Tingle to come speak, they then rescinded the invite after realizing Tingle often wrote erotica. To boycott this ridiculous backpedaling, Klune, who was meant to speak at the same conference, canceled his panel and instead hosted another writer’s event alongside Tingle in protest.
That story really exemplifies Klune as a human and the reasons why he writes about what he writes about. The panel was wide-ranging but focused a lot on the need for queer resistance while we are all living under the oppressive and anti-LGBTQ+ Trump Administration. Klune told several vulnerable stories from growing up in rural Oregon as a queer youth, highlighting how important his relationships with librarians and teachers were, who advocated for him as a burgeoning writer.
Klune also spoke to what he called his “diatribe” about J.K. Rowling and her transphobic agenda that he included at the end of Somewhere Beyond the Sea, referring to himself as the “anti-J.K. Rowling.”
Rightfully stating, “J.K. Rowling just sucks balls,” Klune went on to discuss a mother who reached out to him, telling him that her 13-year-old non-binary child had just started reading Harry Potter and wanted to know if she should stop them. Klune, making it very clear that he would encourage someone from reading anything, responded by saying that no, she should not make them stop, but she should share the facts with her child and let them come to their own decision on whether to continue reading the series or not.
At a time when queer rights, particularly those of transgender and non-binary folks, are being threatened, repealed, and politicized, it was a wonderful breath of fresh air to hear two queer men talk about the need for resistance. Tingle, while acknowledging the importance of “praxis” and taking action against the current administration, also said that queer joy and existence are resistance and that being who you are authentically is the best protest.
I could see a visible relaxing of the shoulders in the audience, proving exactly how important queer representation, and spaces for queer community, really is.
You must be logged in to post a comment.