THE TINGLE IN THE ‘NUTS: A CHUCK TINGLE INTERVIEW

10/6/2021

I would say whole dang story is about ALLIES but also about FALSE ALLIES so even though these are tough questions it is point of this tale to be BRAVE about zombies but also BRAVE about picking these thoughts apart.

Dr. Chuck Tingle is an indie publishing sensation; his hundreds of erotica titles (self described as ‘tinglers’) are enormously popular, and he’s a two-time Hugo nominee. Dr. Tingle has recently branched out into Horror with his new novella, Straight. Ginger Nuts Of Horror’s Kit Power caught up with the author to discuss his foray into a new genre, the relationships between pulp horror, erotica, and comedy writing, challenging straight allies, and much, much more. Enjoy :)

The Tingle In The ‘nuts: A Chuck Tingle Interview

Ginger Nuts Of Horror (GNoH): Welcome to Ginger Nuts of Horror! Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed. I guess my immediate first question, Dr. Tingle, is; why horror? And why now?

Dr. Chuck Tingle (DCT): well this is genre that i very much enjoy when i am reading and watching and thinking so i have come to be very comfortable in way of ‘whoa bud that was scary days ahead’ but it was not what i was CREATING. But dang thing is ROMANCE and also jokeman way of COMEDY is a lot like way of HORROR because these are genres of tension and release and timing so if you understand these things you can understand them across all kinds of stories i think. FOR WAY OF why now on this timeline? Mostly just because i had story idea for STRAIGHT for a very long time just trottin around in my head knockin things over like a hogs birthday and i could not get rid of it. So finally i just said OKAY I WILL WRITE and that is how it happened but now i think i am going to have way of HORROR NOVEL or NOVELLE in addition to my other writing i think i can prove love is real in both ways and that is very exciting.

GNoH: Did the timing have anything to do with the wider political situation in the US? I know Trump was traumatic for the LGBTQIA+ community, especially with his assaults on Trans rights and inclusivity. Was the decision to have the story happening on the 3rd anniversary of Saturation Day in part a comment about complacency within the movement, now the immediate threat appears to have receded?

DCT: well when i had idea i was not sure if i could write the story in a way that PROVED LOVE IS REAL and that is always top goal i knew idea was good but when you start putting it on paper my worry was can i make my goal happen? Goal was WRITE STORY THAT IS EXCITING ROLLER COAST BUT MAKES QUEER BUCKAROOS FEEL GOOD AND CATHARTIC BY THE END and i was very concerned to think that this idea could end up just being LGBTQIA people being harmed during saturation day if it is framed wrong. So when i came up with way of STORY BEATS i though ‘we do not need to see the chaos of the first day where most of this violence happened’ because when you put that in the dang rearview mirror you now have a powerful metaphor for these real traumas of the past on this timeline without having to witness them. you can just feel them hanging over everything without making experience of reading the book just UGLY AND TRAMATIC and i really did not want it to make buds feel like that. But what is very good way is this opens up characters to react to past as metaphors for important issues in queer community like AIDS and other things that have been part of the journey of this timeline. So i liked third year because of this reason but also because you could believe that buds would go out into the desert by then. There is sense of both I WILL NOT LIVE IN FEAR ANYMORE and also sense of MAYBE THIS IS OVER? Which are important ideas to let drift around in your story i think

GNoH: I feel like the character of Jason is really important in this respect; I know on Twitter that you said part of what inspired him and his way was a reflection of gay men who lived through the AIDS crisis of the 80’s, and the indifference/hostility of the authorities of the day. With a horror tale, how do you balance the needs to present an unflinching portrayal of the events with your desire to provide hope? And do you feel like these are themes you’re likely to return to - can we expect more spinetinglers from Dr Tingle?

DCT: part of making story with HORRIFIC WAYS end up as story about hope is to write with understanding the LOVE IS REAL and to use this as motivation. As man name of chuck im talkin on proving love all the time in your artistic trots and sometimes i think buckaroos hear this and think ‘dang i can only make art that is handsome sunshine and rainbow?’ and that is NOT CORRECT of this way. All kinds of horror art or art that is difficult can prove love is this is driving force behind its creation just gotta be true to your way when you are putting these building blocks in place. In STRAIGHT i took extra time with this trot and made sure there was CATHARTIC MOMENT AT TURN OF STORY so that buds who read and have come to know these characters can cheer along with them in hopeful way. To answer next question HECK YES i will be writing other HORROR NOVELLA OR NOVEL VERY SOON probalby next big project i have just been rolling idea around in head for a while and i thought dang that is another good horror story so i am excited to explore this new idea more i think it will be very good and prove love in its own way

GNoH: Straight feels to have its roots firmly in a classic pulp horror tradition, with echoes of The Crazies, Day Of The Triffids, and All Fool’s Day. Are you a fan of pulp horror? Are there any particular stories or authors of that genre you especially enjoy?

DCT: oh dang VERY MUCH YES i will say good catch in mention of THE CRAZIES i enjoy this film very much not just original but even remake which is RARE CASE of probably better than original. In zombie subgerne there are all kinds of ways to show this MOB MENTALITY METAPHORE and i think zombies in straight are probably most similar to THE CRAZIES or way of I HAVE SLEPT FOR 28 DAYS NOW THIS IS MY WAY starring handsome cillian. But i think way of PULP or sometimes what is said of B-HORROR that i enjoy is taking methods of TELLIN A TALE that is considered to be low brow way and saying ‘hold on scoundrel there are no brows here’ and using this a way to deliver thoughtful story i do not know why i enjoy this so much but it is a dang hobby of mine i suppose

GNoH: I feel like there’s a class dimension to horror too (especially pulp horror) in that, like erotica and romance genres, it’s often looked down upon by the literary establishment. Do you agree with that? And given pulp horror’s (sometimes deserved, sometimes not) reputation for stereotypes and poor gender politics, do you see Straight in part as an act of reclamation?

DCT: oh yes but i am NO DANG STRANGER to being looked down on for method of presenting art that has been man name of chucks trot for a long time and comes with EROTICA WAY you are right about that. I have thought and talked on this some lately I think these genres are looked down on because they invoke INVOLENTARY REACTIONS you have arousal with EROTICA or laughter with jokerman COMEDY or a scream or a gasp with HORROR so i think these ways are seen as part of instinctual brain instead of DEEPER HIGHER THOUGHTS. But for me i very much enjoy genres that touch these involuntary reactions because there is so much primal truth there for timelines past. So i would call this VISCERAL SINCERITY and i enjoy thinking on this way. But for second part of question as far as reclaiming stereotypes with STRAIGHT i think this is true in some ways but not as direct i would say personally was trying to reclaim certain TROPES and subvert them. those had to do more with STORY STRUCTURE and other ways.

GNoH: Reading that, it strikes me… isn’t that a false dichotomy in any case? Between emotion/feeling and intellect? Aren’t the two irreducibly intertwined? Emotional intelligence is just as vital as any other way… and surely the two are interrelated, in ways voluntary and involuntary?

DCT: i would say it depends on definition of then buckaroo talkin on it if it is even way of DICHOTOMY at all so you are correct in many ways. It is probably middle gound at the end of the day as most trots on this timeline on BUT I WILL SAY yes they are interrelated. as buckaroos we are not cornered off into segments and broken down into pieces and probably MOST EFFECTIVE artists are going to be able to understand the way these pieces work together instead of try to rank them and put them at odds. We have many types of thoughts dancin around bumping into eachother in our brains and dismissing some type of them just limitin your dang color pallette in BIG PAINTING

GNoH: One of the brilliant aspects of Straight, for me, was the uneasy ambiguity around the effects of The Blank Space on the straight population; how much they remember, and if they have any control at all over their rages (and, of course the added layer of anti-vaxxers, which I appreciated given recent real-world events). Can you talk a bit about the decision making process that led to that?

DCT: yes GOOD CATCH BUD GLAD YOU ENJOYED i think this is important part of story and what was exciting to worlds greatest author chuck tingle because there are all kinds of MORAL TROTS you can pick apart in this way. Most zombie tales avoid this by saying ONCE YOU ARE BIT YOU ARE DONE FOR BUCKAROO we all know this classic scene of someone bit and then their bud has to shoot them thats every day time, so to subvert this i though ‘well what if they come back what if this is annual how do you deal with them now?’ there are a lot of EXCITING ETHICAL QUESTIONS of what is okay to do there and who is responsible that i wanted to talk on and work into greater metaphor of ‘how much is LGBTQIA community responsible for the mess of others?’ or really question of ‘how much is ANY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY responsible for cleaning up after majority community as we push forward on this timeline proving love together?’ i do not think there is easy answer to this especially when you think of ways of ‘who is taking responsibility for not being cautious?’ and that of course ties into vaccines way. So i think there are many LAYERS OF METAPHORE that can prove love in different ways depending on what you want to trot away with.

GNoH: In addition to the question of who is taking caution and how, there’s also the thorny issue of the rights of a marginalised community with regard to self defence, which, again, your decision to have the frenzy only last for a limited time period complicates more than a standard zombie narrative. It seems to me that American culture has a fascination (if not, sometimes, a pathology) regarding the right to violence in self defense, but inevitably only really for the dominant population. Was the ‘Gay Malitia’ intended, in part, to address this? And do you feel like this is a theme you’re likely to return to?

DCT: part of having GAY MALITIA was just locgically planning out what this dang timeline would be like which is most fun part of story idea like this. Just thought it was interesting subversion of talk there has always been on LGBTQIA buckaroos in the military seems like every generation there is new issue with this and it is always about exclusion, so i thought whoa dang that is interesting in this would for a certain task dealing with SATURATION DAY it would be safest to ONLY have lgbtqia buckaroos working because for sure they will not change any everyone else is a risk. Even if they have vaccine who knows you could be arming a whole group of bad news buds CANT HAVE THAT. so this way of exploration just feel together naturally and i found it very interesting. As far as violence and self defense yes this is very complicated issue and you are right it is often put through lens of majority population such as when nra supported gun control ONLY ONCE because it was when black panthers in california wanted guns this happened on this timeline in 1967. So you can start to see some of these self defense issues REGARDLESS of where a buckaroo falls morally they are still fighting against a majority side who is going to bend the rules however they heckin want

GNoH: As a straight white cis het man with LGBTQIA+ family members, I found the narrator's commentary around ‘allies’ challenging (though not, just to be clear, remotely invalid). Was part of your intention to challenge your straight audience in this regard? Or is it simply that the novella wasn’t, primarily, written for them (me)?

DCT: VERY GOOD AND BRAVE QUESTION thank you for asking this it is good catch and important thought. I would say whole dang story is about ALLIES but also about FALSE ALLIES so even though these are tough questions it is point of this tale to be BRAVE about zombies but also BRAVE about picking these thoughts apart. I think for buckaroos in LGBTQIA community what i wanted to give was a CATHARTIC WAY that lets you be frightened yes but also cheer along and say ‘dang i am so glad to hear someone saying this i have thought this but it is rare to see on the dang page’ and for straight buckaroos i hope they say 1) yes i just enjoy this as a story of fear like a dang rollercoaster but also 2) wow i have not really thought about being an ally in this way could i do a better job? Or to think ‘wow i can see how that would be scary for my LGBTQIA buds because they are in this battle all the dang time and i am there when i choose to be.’ and i think hopefully anyone can read STRAIGHT and think ‘i will make effort to choose to be there in times that are easy but also times that are difficult and THAT is was being ally means’.

GNoH: Well, I appreciate that message, and the challenge to do and be better. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us, Dr. Tingle, and I look forward to more Horror stories from you, should the muse take you this way again :)

DCT: dang THANK YOU this was such a fun talk and thank you for proving love is real YOU HAVE CREATED SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL by askin these questions of chuck and other buds and then putting these answers out onto our timeline this process is creating a lot of joy for others and also for man name of chuck. So very sincere way to say thank you for trotting in this way and putting joy out there it is difficult sometimes to REMEMBER that even these small actions that seem like ‘oh we are just going about our trot’ can effect others and that we are all fighting to push this timeline towards a better place. And YOU ARE DOING THIS SO WELL thanks buckaroo it has been real dang treat to talk on this way LOVE IS REAL

Straight by Chuck Tingle

When a strange tear in the cosmos appears within Earth’s annual path, the consequences are disastrous. For one night a year, the vast majority of humans now undergo a frightening mental change, transforming into hateful, rage-fueled zombies who will stop at nothing to satiate their desire for brutality.

While not much is understood about this horrific mass hysteria, the demographic it effects is very specific: cisgender straight people.

A few years after the first of these tragic events, four friends from across the queer spectrum look for safety in solitude, hunkering down in a remote desert cabin for what is now known as Saturation Day. With a vaccine available for straight people to curb their violent episodes, some predict the worst is over. Others aren’t so sure.

As night falls, it becomes clear that survival isn’t guaranteed this Saturation Day.

This is the first horror novella from two-time Hugo Award finalist Chuck Tingle.