Welcome to the wide crazy world of TJ Klune

As you can see, this is a blog (a blog, you say? You're like the only person in the world that has one!). Here are my promises to you: I promise to up date this as much as I can. I promise that at some point, you will most likely be offended. I promise you may suffer from the affliction the Klunatics know as Wookie Cry Face. I also promise to make this some place where you can see how my mind works.



You've been warned.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Does Size Matter? And other musings

You're a pervert if you thought I was talking about cock. For shame.

So last week saw a couple of big things when it comes to my upcoming releases. I thought I’d give a couple of thoughts and go over some other housekeeping items that I want to address.

And for those concerned, this will be relatively spoiler-free about Burn and Who We Are (BOATK2).

First, Burn. The released date is 2.6.12 and I just realized that that’s only two months away. Seriously, that is a hell of a lot closer than I thought it was. I am almost to the point of nervousness about the release, given the fact that I wonder if people will be expecting something along the lines of BOATK. It’s not. Granted, it’s about what it means to be family (on a much larger scale), and its primary focus is two dudes falling for each other, but that’s where the similarities end. I could have easily gone into writing the BOATK sequel after I finished the first, but I needed to do something different. Bear and the boys may have gotten my foot in the door (which is something I will forever be grateful for) but Burn is the story I’ve always wanted to tell. BOATK allowed me that chance, because Burn is out there, man. Like way radically out there. I wanted to make a rollercoaster ride that’s scary and fast and will leave you breathless by the time you finish it.

I’ve already heard a couple of grumbles about the length. When all is said and done, it should clock in at approx. 190,000 words, or twice the length of your traditional m/m novel. IMO, I don’t give a rat’s ass about the length of the story, as long as it’s good, you know? I guess I don’t understand complaints about longer works. Most mainstream mass market paperbacks that you see on the NYT bestseller lists are 200,000 words or longer. Why should our genre be any different? To those that are concerned about longer works, think about it this way: you finish one 80-90K worded m/m novel, and you start another one of the same length. Isn’t that like reading a single longer work?

But that’s just me; I am a person that actively seeks out longer books, given the fact that right when I seem to start caring about characters, the story is over. I may be the odd man out here on that, but that’s okay. I am perfectly aware that the biggest complaint for Burn will most likely be its length. I’m not too worried about it. The story is pretty kick ass, if I do say so myself. But then I wrote it, so I may be biased.

At the end of this, I’ll reveal another character or two and recap the ones you’ve met so far, again pretty spoiler-free. On 12/30/11, I’ll be taking part in a live author chat (hopefully going better than the last one did) and I’ll be providing the second excerpt for Burn. Also, sometime in January, I’ll be doing a final character reveal, possibly a third excerpt and a song list that fits the book (idea stolen from whatever author started that).

Now to Who We Are, the BOATK sequel and to a decision that’s probably not going to be universally loved: you’re not going to get any excerpts from me on it between now and its release in April 2012. Don’t give me that look; just listen for a moment. I’ve already shown you that WIP post I did a couple of months ago for a scene in Who We Are. You’ve already met the majority of the characters, and you know them almost as well as I do. What would be the point of showing anymore? There’s a difference between launching a new book (Burn) and publishing a sequel (WWA). It’s not as if I’m saying you should know what to expect from the sequel (because seriously, you have no idea what I’ve got in store for the boys; this isn’t going to be some light-hearted rehash of the first book.) With excerpts, I want people to meet characters for the first time like Seven and Felix from Burn. With BOATK2, I want everyone to go in on equal footing, not knowing what’s going to happen, so everyone can be surprised at once (but that’s not to say the Burn excerpts will be particularly spoilery—they won’t be. Trust me, they won’t even begin to scratch the surface). Does that make sense to you? I hope it does, and I hope you can understand why, maybe even appreciate that fact. Don’t you want to be surprised? I know I do. I will be putting out a song list for WWA however, one that I feel fits the book, and that can be scrutinized for any clues as to the story.

And I promise not to tease about Burn or WWA. To much.

So…questions? Comments? Concerns? Sound off below!

Burn Character List

Who you’ve met so far:

Felix Paracel—narrator. An Elemental capable of controlling fire and wind, possibly the only dual Elemental in the world. Called Findo Unum—the Split One.

Seven Fortis—A non-Elemental, or a “Normal,” as they’re referred. Also known as the Luravit Cor to Felix, as revealed in the first excerpt. What does Luravit Cor mean? Sure sounds like Latin, doesn’t it? As a matter of fact, a lot of this world is based in Latin. Strange.

The Clock Twins, Tick and Tock: Seventeen year old Asian twins capable of controlling Water and Earth. Also, they are tech geniuses whose hacking capabilities are unparalleled.

Edna Brunelle: Sixty-seven year old Fire Elemental, one of the more powerful in the world. As a Magister—teacher—to the Split One, she will help Felix with the Fire side of his abilities. Has an affinity for younger men.


New Character Reveal for Burn:

Otis Moore: An Elemental capable of controlling fire, who also has an affinity for all things weapon-related. He and Seven grew up together and have been best friends since they first met at the age of six. Years before the story starts, an event led to a vicious attack, partly handicapping Otis’s mind. He’s a functional adult, but given the brain damage he sustained, he is not the same person he used to be. Some consider him now to be an idiot savant.

Jason Taylor: Best friend to Felix Paracel (though, he only knows him by Felix’s cover name, Atticus Vanesco, and does not know that Felix is an Elemental). He is a Normal (a non-elemental) and a cop with the Terra City PD. He’s always considered himself to be Felix’s protector, but he can’t shake the feeling that something is coming that he has no control over.

9 comments:

  1. I'm so excited for you, TJ. That you get a chance to tell the story you've always wanted to. I can't wait to read. And yes, yes, yes on longer books!

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  2. Dang it TJ, after reading about Burn I am itching to read it. *whines* I got to wait till February???!!! *pouts then huffs* Fine. I guess I can re-read BOATK until then.

    *grins* I forgive you on no spoilers for the sequel. Besides I can't wait to see what you have planned for Bear, Otter and the kid. :)

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  3. 2 whole months...thats a LONG time away! :( I guess I will be like Dawn and have to re-read BOTAK til then. Cant wait!

    Although, no spoilers? Really? Dont you want to whet our appetite at all? *pouts* LOL

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  4. Too short, too long, everyone has an opinion. :)

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  5. I actually like long novels so don't put off what you want to do just because other's don't feel the same way. Now, off to write a long one for myself.

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  6. I personally LOVE when a book is longer, regardless of genre. I am so happy there are those that agree. Amy Lane writes longer and I love her books BUT then Amber Kell only writes shorter stories and I love them! If the story (plot) is good then I couldn't really care about length. I also love love series! Lol.
    I completely get what you are saying about keeping the surprise about BOATK2. I read the bit you've put out about Burn and decided I want to read it so personally I won't read the excerpts that you share... cause I like reading it as a whole. I've found that I get even more inpatient when I read the, especially if the upcoming book is a part of a series. ;-)
    I hope you let us know when you're doing the chat. I didn't know about last one but would love to attend the next one.
    Thanks and happy reading!

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  7. I personally love longer books. It allows you to really get to know the characters and fall in love with them. There are some people who are really great with the shorter stories, but not many. Most of the short stories or novellas that I read, leave me feeling unfulfilled. I can't help but thinking, that with a few thousand more words, it would be so much better. Often times, the characters come off feeling shallow and flat.
    Me, personally, I write the way I talk and anyone that knows me, can tell you, that I've never in my life been able to tell a short story. I have a hard time keeping it under 100,000K words. I loved BOATK! I loved the characters, the style and the length of the story. Can't wait for the second one!

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  8. "When all is said and done, it should clock in at approx. 190,000 words, or twice the length of your traditional m/m novel."

    You had me at 190,000 words. *sigh* I admit it. I'm a size queen when it comes to books. The bigger the happier I am!

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  9. I'm a size queen, so count me in! Can't wait.

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