Tinglers Unite! ‘Tis the season, as the Iconic Chuck Tingle speaks at Emerald City Comic Con to promote his annual queer horror novel release. Last year Tingle released the critically acclaimed Lucky Day, and this summer the beloved comedy-erotica author debuts Fabulous Bodies, following a fashion influencer battling the undead in Palm Springs. The horror!
If you don’t know Dr. Tingle, you’re missing out, and you should examine your media priorities. Originally known for hilarious erotica novella Tinglers like “Domald Tromp’s Ass is Haunted by the Handsome Ghost of His Incriminating Tax Returns,” in recent years his mainstream popularity has skyrocketed with the release of several beloved queer horror novels. Tingle, to protect his true identity, only enters public spaces wearing sunglasses with a pink pillow cover on his head. He is truly the superhero America needs, and probably does not deserve.
Tingle’s panel at ECCC, moderated by author Stephen Graham Jones, was an unsurprisingly great time. Chuck knows how to engage a crowd, and his passion, energy, and love-forward attitude make for a wildly interested audience. Jones, who is also a prolific horror author, asked Tingle a bunch of horror media-related questions, with Chuck confirming that Scream is his favorite horror movie and has inspired much of his writing. He also joked that he was going to start a theory that he was in the background of a scene in Halloween: H2O, after Jones reported that author Grady Hendrix was in the background of a horror film.
Some highlights of the lively panel included Chuck talking about his local Los Angeles Dungeons & Dragons campaign, which he revealed has been going on for THIRTEEN YEARS! Plus, he has been playing D&D since he was a youth and has only ever DMd! He also revealed that after writing his first horror novel, he tweeted asking for a professional publisher to publish it, and not 20 minutes later he had an email offering him a deal. It was meant to be.
Me and my buckaroo Chuck!
While Fabulous Bodies comes out this summer, Tingle also took the opportunity to hint at other potential projects lightly. While discussing his latest novel, Lucky Day, he mentioned a future in which one of his books could be adapted into a film, eliciting gasps from the audience. Chuck also spoke about a Romantasy he has been thinking about for a while, about fast food of all things, but said it might never see the light of day because of how busy he is! Sad! Interestingly, he doesn’t care much for romance stories typically, and said that while most of his novellas involve a couple in some way, he literally doesn’t notice the romance, and couldn’t care less about kissing.
One of my favorite moments from the panel was when Jones asked Tingle how he deals with negative commentary on his writing. In true Chuck Tingle fashion, he responded by saying his blind confidence prevents him from being negatively affected by these reviews or comments. In fact, his first thought is to feel bad for the hater, thinking, “You just can’t understand my genius, sigh.” And it is true, dear reader. If you can’t appreciate a Chuck Tingle book… that’s a you problem!
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