Pride Month Author Interview: A Conversation With TJ Alexander
Author TJ Alexander
This interview was a contribution by Nadia Blocker, Marketing Assistant, Knopf Doubleday.
TJ Alexander is a Lambda Literary Award finalist and USA Today bestselling author who writes about queer love. Originally from Florida, they received their MA in writing and publishing from Emerson College in Boston. They live in New York City with their wife, cats, and various houseplants. TJ is trans nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.
Nadia: When we first met, it was the day after the Presidential Election. Whew. How are you doing, and how have you been taking care of yourself over the past 7 months?
TJ: You know, I go back and forth. On good days, I know that what’s happening right now (politically, environmentally, spiritually) is actually the same kind of horrible stuff that’s been happening in this country in various ways at different points of our history. The difference now, I think, is that technology is giving us all a clearer (not crystal, but slightly clearer) look at everything that’s going on AND I also think it’s true that we’re reaching new lows in certain ways. And that’s overwhelming on the bad days. For me, it’s been important not to put all of my energy into work. I like my work, I like writing, and I think my writing can be healing for readers, but I need to do other things for myself, like taking care of my community in ways that don’t have anything to do with my art. It’s not fair to put all that pressure on my art.
Nadia: Your fifth novel, A GENTLEMAN’S GENTLEMAN has been out since March 11 (my Mum’s birthday!). First of all, congratulations! How has the reception been so far, and what have you been hearing back from people who have read it?
TJ: Happy birthday, mum!!! And thank you! The reception to AGG has been pretty positive. I try not to read any reviews of my books, good or bad, but once in a while someone will message me or email me to say a book meant a lot to them. This book in particular, I think because it’s so emotional and funny at times, has been a source of catharsis for a lot of readers. At least that’s what I’m hearing. That means a lot to me.
Nadia: A GENTLEMAN’S GENTLEMAN is your first work of historical fiction, your other books are a lot more contemporary. What was behind your decision to tell this story in a historical setting? And why Regency era?
TJ: Because Regency romance is such a staple of the genre, I really wanted to make it queerer. I had kind of a chip on my shoulder when I started writing it. All the old-school historicals from the ’80s and ’90s that I grew up with, the really steamy ones, those books ain’t even heard of a gay person. That’s frustrating to me, because I know we were there. I know we have stories in every pocket of every era. And even if we weren’t, where’s the imagination? If a high-powered straight businesswoman in 1986 with a huge perm and giant shoulderpads could see a version of herself in those books, why not us? Where is our fun, romantic escape? Because so much of the Regency romance genre is about escape with all the lavish clothes and the etiquette and high society and the importance of your reputation. To me, that already reads so trans and so queer, this ultra-heightened world where everything is so fraught with how you’re presenting yourself.
Also, I like how they talked funny back then.
Nadia: One thing that stood out to me while reading A GENTLEMAN’S GENTLEMAN was the sharp wit of the protagonist, Lord Christopher Eden and the ultimate happy ending. How important is it for you to implement humor and joy into your narratives, especially finding balance with that and some of the heavier themes in this book of grief, identity, and isolation.
TJ: I can’t not clown. I’m a born clown. If there’s a story, I’ve got to put jokes in it. There has to be some humor. And not just because I like humor (although I do) and not just because it adds texture to a story that deals with heavy things (although it does) but because that, to me, is far more realistic. There’s weirdness and joy happening all around us, all the time. Have you ever taken a walk in a park? You’ll see five things that can make you laugh and five things that can make you cry as long as you’re looking. A tiny dog in a sweater? Holy shit. I can’t countenance a movie or a story that’s only grim grim grim the entire way through, not because I’m a soft-hearted creampuff (although I am) but because that’s not believable to me. And as for happy endings, that’s the promise of a romance novel. That’s the brief.
Nadia: Probably my most favorite part of the book was the T4T rep. I feel like I never, ever see that across media. I’ve certainly never read it in a book. Can you speak a little about how that decision found its legs, and why it was an important narrative choice for you, if it was?
TJ: Yeah, one of my contemporary romcoms, Chef’s Choice, was a T4T adult romance, and I THINK, as far as I know, it was the only one in tradpub? And now with A Gentleman’s Gentleman we have two! Hahaha, oh that’s kind of depressing. My wife is also trans, so obviously I want to see more relationships like ours depicted in media, but I don’t think I made a conscious decision to do that with AGG. To me, that was the story, that was the essence of what I was talking about in this book. It was natural. I’m an elder millennial who grew up in a time when the only trans people in movies and on TV were caricatures written by cis people. We were either the butt of a joke or monsters. And we were never shown loving each other because the ultimate message was we were not lovable–that we had to strive for cis acceptance and endure abuse in order to maybe one day earn it. So for me to have that scene where Christopher and James come out to each other, that was my real “fuck you” answer to The Crying Game, et al. Trans and nonbinary people are beloved, and I got lied to.
Nadia: You’ve got the sequel to AG’sG, A LADY FOR ALL SEASONS coming out next year, which I’m personally buzzing about. What can you tell us about it to stir up some excitement?
TJ: Yes yes yessss, A LADY follows our friend from AGG, Verbena Montrose, as she struggles to find a marriage prospect before the end of the 1820 London season. She hatches a fake relationship plot with another friend from Book 1, Etienne, thereby inventing (or so she assumes) the lavender marriage. But Flora Witcombe, a popular poetess who writes thinly veiled verses about the gossip of the day, publishes a new folio alluding to how they’re fake dating, so Verbena confronts her–and uh oh, she’s hot. Flora is also smitten with Verbena, and they strike up an unlikely friendship, one which Flora is loath to ruin by pursuing Verbena romantically. But you know who CAN woo Verbena without fear? Flora’s alter ego, William Forsyth, a down-on-his-luck novelist who will do whatever it takes to win her hand. (Novelist and poetess, the two genders.) It’s a really ambitious plot with a quasi love quadrangle (pentagonal?), gender fluidity out the wazoo, a Welsh artists’ commune, and lots of mutual pining. Lord Byron is also there. He literally would not leave. I hope people enjoy it when it comes out!
Nadia: I admire how you use your platform to signpost people to resources. Are there any fundraisers or causes you would like to spotlight for this moment?
TJ: I hope people look at what’s being organized in their communities, because sometimes the smaller efforts can make the biggest impact, but here are some places I have donated that I think are doing important work: Transgender Law Center, G.L.I.T.S. Inc., and Jerusalem Educational Bookshop Emergency Appeal.