S.A. MCAULEY
IT BEGAN with a book review.
And one week later, a reply.
Relatively new to the gay romance genre, I was one of those readers who picked up a copy of Woke Up in a Strange Place because of TJ Klune’s recommendation. I’d read Bear, Otter, and the Kid only days before and fallen in complete smit with every word TJ wanted to offer us. What I discovered in Eric’s writing was nothing short of the masterpiece TJ claimed in his review.
What all of us—including TJ and Eric—couldn’t have known in September 2011 was that this one glowing review would be the spark that lit the match, that burned the rope, which opened the trapdoor and sent two ornately intricate and beautiful marbles through a series of obstacles, falls, and crashing blindly through barriers to their ultimate goal….
Wait a second.
Did I did just compare TJ and Eric’s journey to love with balls careening out of control?
Well, I suppose the metaphor is inappropriate as much as it is accurate. That’s the magic of the duo who has been affectionately nicknamed Klarvin: they swing from poetic to sardonic effortlessly.
Together (whether writing, making a video, or just relaxing), they have a penchant for seeing just how far they can gleefully jump over that imaginary line of propriety—all with fiendish smiles lighting their faces.
Balls careening out of control, indeed.
Eric writes books that explore the surreal and the unseen. He weaves tales that create entirely new worlds. His prose conjures a new reality into existence and evokes emotions we feel in our bones and yet have no name for.
TJ is a masterful guide. He cradles his readers and sweeps us into journeys we can’t anticipate or prepare for. He leaves us restless, breathless and in tears. So many tears.
They both maneuver through sadness and angst with grace. They illustrate the beauty of the world through characters that are flawed, struggling to find their way, and yet active participants in their own fate. Individually, their stories—whether dramatic or comedic—are memorable. It’s the true test of a writer. To produce stories and characters that refuse to be forgotten. Refuse to be ordinary….
Just as much as TJ and Eric, in real life, refuse to be ordinary.
While all of us fell in love with them on the page or on a Kindle screen, TJ and Eric were falling in love with each other behind computer screens. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say they were falling in lust (but that’s a scandalous claim that would leave TJ swooning with feigned shock and Eric seductively waggling his eyebrows). Anyone who saw pictures or met them at GayRomLit in New Mexico quickly saw just how enamored they were with each other from the start.
Over the last two years, they gave us a peek into their adventures. A chance to see them as they really, truly are. Flaws, brilliance, humor, impropriety, and all. Giving us such unflinching access into their private lives was both brave and a calculated risk.
When Eric went into the emergency room in December 2013, we learned just how risky.
TJ became a general: coordinating the details of Eric’s care, making decisions with family, maneuvering through the complexity of balancing his day job and Eric’s needs—all while pouring his heart into maintaining a connection on social media with the readers and fans who had become friends. While Eric fought, TJ rallied the troops, garnering support for his fiancé from all corners of the globe.
Eric survived the surgery to his brain stem to remove a cavernous hemangioma that was slowly taking his breath and his life. TJ turned his focus to bringing Eric home as soon as he could. Neither of them could see any other option besides finding a way to continue this incredible journey they’d started together.
When asked what one word they identified most with TJ and Eric, their readers, fans, and friends overwhelmingly answered love. Then forever, strong, devotion, soulmates… I think you see the pattern.
The events of the last three months will change TJ and Eric’s lives. But they won’t ever change that blinding smile Eric gives when he sees TJ. Or the exasperated sigh TJ offers when Eric asks for something, followed by TJ promptly giving Eric whatever he wants.
The bond between them is one that cannot be mistaken. Cannot be broken.
What TJ and Eric have isn’t a fairytale. It isn’t the happily ever after we read about so often in romance novels.
What they have is even better than that.
A strength that is born of darkness. A wisdom that only comes with true appreciation for what they’ve found in each other. Of just how unique and powerful their journey, this grand adventure, really is.