Q&A: TJ Klune, Author of ‘Under The Whispering Door’

Back with another extraordinary story—Under the Whispering Door, a contemporary fantasy in which a ghost refuses to cross over—we chat to TJ Klune, author of beloved novels such as the Green Greek series, the bestselling The House in the Cerulean Sea and the Tales from Verania. We got to ask TJ about his latest dive into standalones, his favorite epitaphs and upcoming projects!

Hi, TJ! Thanks for joining us once more! Tell our readers a bit about yourself!

Thanks so much for having me! I’m happy to be back. I’m a queer author who has written many books, all of which focus on queer people from all walks of life.  It’s important for me to have stories  that accurately reflect our community, even when I’m writing the fanstastical.

Tell us about Under the Whispering Door! What can readers expect?

Under the Whispering Door tells the story of Wallace Price, a not so-very nice man who lived a selfish life, only thinking about himself. At the pinnacle of his career as a ruthless lawyer, he dies, and finds that it’s not an ending, but the beginning of something else entirely. He’s taken by a Reaper to a tea shop owned by a man called Hugo, who also acts as a ferryman, one of the people who help spirits cross over to what comes next.

But Wallace isn’t ready to cross. Sure there’s been some mistake, he doesn’t leave the teashop. Instead, he starts to learn that the life he lived wasn’t living at all, and that he wasted opportunity after opportunity. Through his journey, he realizes there is more to living then thinking of one’s self, and learns what it means to be a good person, acting to help others not for thanks or accolades, but because it’s the right thing to do.

And he finds himself growing closer to Hugo, drawn to the man who is supposed to help him to rest. But Wallace is dead, and Hugo is not, so what hope do they have to make something lasting?

Readers can expect to laugh, to cry, to cheer for a man who discovers within himself the capacity to be good, and maybe, just maybe, the hope for a better tomorrow. It’s an exploration of the power of grief, and the catharsis that can come with it.

If you had the choice, would you rather be a reaper or a ferryman?

Oof, that’s a tough one. Both have their upsides and downsides. In this world, the Reaper acts as the first contact with the dead, bringing the spirits to the ferryman (or woman). The ferryman (or woman, or Ferrypeople?) then takes over, and handles the next steps.

Both have to be extraordinarily empathetic. Mei (the Reaper) and Hugo (the ferryman) both have specific talents, of which empathy is one. One isn’t more important than the other; instead, both the Reaper and the ferryman work together to help whoever is brought their way.

That being said, I think I’d prefer to be the Reaper in this case. Those first moments can be frightening for a recently deceased person, and I’d want to help them as much as I could before bringing them to the ferrypeople.

Under the Whispering Door has quite the mesmerizing premise. What inspired you to write this story?

I lost someone I loved dearly a few years ago, and it irrevocably changed me. I was mired in grief, angry at the unfairness of it all. Grief can be cathartic, but it can also be all-consuming, a fire that burns long and bright, growing uncontrollably. It sent me on a quest to understand what grief is, and how it changes a person. Under the Whispering Door is my wish to the universe, my hope for what comes after we close our eyes for the last time. I don’t set out to answer what comes next, but only that there is something there, waiting for us all.

In addition, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was a major inspiration. Wallace is my take on Scrooge, but instead of a man alive being shown his selfishness by spirits, I wanted to know what would happen if a man like Scrooge died and became the spirit himself, unable to do anything to change the life he’d lived. What does that do to a person, knowing nothing could be changed for the better as that life is over? But should it stop a person from trying? I don’t think it should, which is a big theme of the book.

Writing about death can’t be easy, but some amazing stories have been born from the duality of life and death. Do you have any favorite stories about the “afterlife”?

One of the very best is Eric Arvin’s Woke Up In a Strange Place, a novel about a man who died and is searching for the love of his life who passed before him. It is ethereal, beautiful, and Eric is dearly missed. The world was much darker after his passing. I dedicated Under the Whispering Door to him.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is another wonderful novel, about a girl who is murdered and tries to help her family with their grief while trying to solve the mystery of who took her life. Many people probably know the film adaptation directed by Peter Jackson, but this is one of those times when the book is much, much better than the film. It is an affecting, bittersweet read.

Many readers have a pet peeve when it comes to “the dog dies in the end” of stories. Thankfully, in your book Apollo is already dead (but literally the cutest dead dog ever). But speaking of book pet peeves, what are yours?

The death of a dog is a BIG book pet peeve of mine. Odd, then, that one of my favorite books is Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. (If you know, you know.) Yes, Apollo is dead and a ghost, but he is a fully realized character who loves his people. He too has a journey to go on.

I’m always of the mind that people should read whatever they want! Just because something doesn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t work for something else. That being said, I frown when queer characters aren’t treated with respect, or when there is an obvious lack of research when it comes to portraying/discussing mental health issues, especially when it seems like the problem is cured for some reason or another. That’s not how it works. It’s important to me that we continue to destigmatize mental health issues, and we can do that by having open and honest conversations about them while also being realistic about the work that goes into managing things like depression or anxiety.

Epitaphs can be quite magical but also nonsensical. If Wallace, Hugo, Nelson and Mei had the chance to write their own epitaphs, what would they choose?

• Wallace: “Here lies a man who was more than he appeared, but only because he had people to help him become the best version of himself.”
• Hugo: “Here lies a man who, without hesitation, gave all of himself in service of others.”
• Mei: “Here lies a woman who found a home in an unlikely place and did everything she could to help others find the same.”
• Nelson: “Here lies a man who leaves this world knowing he did everything to nurture and protect those he loved.”

Your stories always have an incredibly atmospheric aspect – the small teashop becomes a home for the characters and the readers. How do you come up with the settings for your stories? Where do you collect inspiration for them?

The setting for Under the Whispering Door is one I worked hard at, perhaps harder than any of my other books. The reason for this was that 95% of the book takes place in this one location. The tea shop itself needed to be a character too—needed to feel real and lived-in—because if it didn’t, it might be stifling or claustrophobic to the reader. The tea shop—Charon’s Crossing—is a main character, just as Hugo and Wallace are. Not only is it Hugo’s home, it’s a way station for all the spirits who get sent on to the ferryman.

I wanted it to look like a home, but also just off enough for it to be slightly mysterious and a little foreboding. Appearances can be deceiving, as the tea shop is a place of healing, and the interior is warm, inviting. The exterior was one of the first things I worked on, wanting it to look like a tower of blocks stacked by a child that seems like it could topple over at any moment. It’s a mishmash of architectural ideas, which fits with the book because the people inside are also a mishmash, coming from all walks of life.

If Under the Whispering Door were to be turned into a movie, what songs would you want to be on the soundtrack?

Music plays a big part of my creating process. I often make playlists for each of my books that I listen to after I’ve finished writing the book, and listen to it throughout the editing process.

A few of the songs I had for the Whispering Door playlist include:

• Home by Edith Whiskers (a cover of the tremendous Of Monsters and Men song that somehow manages to be even better than the original)
• Song to the Siren by This Mortal Coil (an older song that’s beautifully haunting)
• Colourway by Novo Amor (think Bon Iver by way of Florence + the Machine)
• Impossible is Possible by Black Violin (love, love, LOVE)
• In Your Likeness by Woodkid (one of my favorite musicians, and this song is Wallace Price personified)

With Under the Whispering Door releasing soon, what future projects are you currently working on?

A bunch of stuff! Next spring will see the release of the sixth book in my Tales from Verania series starring the Ice Prince himself, Justin. This will be followed in the summer by the third and final book in my YA series, The Extraordinaries, about queer teenage superheroes. And then next fall, a standalone novel that’s a queer retelling of Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio. It’s a big book that stretched the limits of my imagination, and I’m so excited for readers to get their hands on it.

Last but not least, give us some nerdy recommendations for our readers!

Oh, man, where to start? I’ve been enjoying the hell out of Marvel’s Loki on Disney+. It was the one Marvel property I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to, but it’s proven to be something magical and has some of my favorite moments in a long time because of how strange it is. Disney needs to keep making Marvel weird so it doesn’t become stagnant.

I’m also partway through my playthrough of the recently released video game Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. I played the original trilogy when they first came out years ago, but these remasters are delightful, and my Commander Shepherd is super gay. Space gays for the win!

Speaking of Marvel, I’m currently rereading the original Onslaught comic arc from the mid-ninties. It was a massive event when it happened, and the artwork is still, to this day, sublime. I would love to see this adapted some day, but it’d be difficult as almost every single Marvel hero is involved in some form or another, including the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four, to name a few. Probably won’t happen, but a fanboy can dream!

Will you be picking up Under The Whispering Door? Tell us in the comments below!