INSIDE VOICES with Robert Gwaltney & Jeffrey Dale Lofton

INSIDE VOICES with Robert Gwaltney & Jeffrey Dale Lofton

Robert Gwaltney and Jeffrey Dale Lofton interview Steven Rowley, author of The Celebrants, and Byron Lane, author of Big Gay Wedding

Steven Rowley is the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post Notable Book of 2016, The Editor, named by NPR and Esquire Magazine as one of the Best Books of 2019, and The Guncle, a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for 2021 Novel of the Year and winner of The 22nd Thurber Prize for American Humor. His fiction has been published in twenty languages. His latest novel is The Celebrants.

Byron Lane is an author, playwright, and screenwriter. His latest novel, Big Gay Wedding, is about a family and small town forever changed by a gay marriage. His debut novel is called A Star is Bored, about an uptight celebrity assistant struggling to manage his eccentric movie star boss, inspired in part by Lane's time as assistant to beloved actress Carrie Fisher. The New York Times Book Review hails: “Wildly funny.” And People magazine raves: “Funny, dishy, deeply affectionate... the force is with him.”

Inside Voices (Jeffrey): Okay, guys! All T, no shade. What's life like in a two-author household—especially given that you both have novels coming out at the same time?

Byron: Don't believe the rumors! It's all love over here at our house in Palm Springs! For me, it's a great help to have Steven around for advice about writing and the business. And we get to be together for a few book tour events.

Steven: I think a lot of people assume it would be a nightmare, but we're actually navigating it really well! When we're both writing, our house is quiet -- which is conducive to getting work done. And since novel writing is a very solitary endeavor, it's comforting to hear someone else clacking away in the next room. (Byron can rebut -- I am a LOUD typist -- especially when inspired!) Now our biggest fights are over the ring light, and who gets to use it if we have Zoom events at the same time.

Inside Voices (Robert): Steven, I am a huge fan of your writing, and I am looking forward to reading your latest book. Tell us about the new novel, The Celebrants.

Steven: The Celebrants is the story of a group of college friends who lose one of their own to suicide on the eve of their graduation in 1995. Convinced that their friend would have made a different choice if he had known how much he was loved, they make a pact to reassemble at each friend's lowest point in life to throw their "funeral" while they are still alive to be celebrated. Over the years, their celebrations go a bit off the rails until one member of the group has a crisis that might upend their pact for good. It's kind of a modern spin on The Big Chill.

Inside Voices (Jeffrey): And Byron, your new novel Big Gay Wedding. Tell us about it.

Byron: Big Gay Wedding is about a conservative small town mom who runs a rescue farm for misfit animals, clashing with her gay son who wants to have his wedding on the family farm. It's a modern retelling of Father of the Bride, but instead of a father, it's a mother, and instead a bride it's two grooms. Entertainment Weekly calls it "hilarious," Booklist says it's "wild... never lets up." and a few readers have said it's a lovely tearjerker.

Inside Voices (Robert): Your novels are so poignant and humorous. How does your writing reflect your personal world views and frames of reference?

Steven: Humor is the way to survive everything and I think that's very much reflected in my writing. But humor writing is serious business! One joke too many and it can throw off an entire scene. Conversely, if you go too long without allowing the reader to take a breath through laughter, that can weight a scene in a very different direction. I work very hard to find a precise balance that feels like life itself. And earlier this year I was very proud to win the 22nd Thurber Prize for American Humor, which I take as validation I'm doing something right.

Byron: I find that humor and heart mirror real life. Tough things happen in life and if we can find some laughter in it, truly that's great medicine!

Inside Voices (Jeffrey): Writing so often means hours spent sequestered behind closed doors, missing friends' birthdays when you're on deadline or carving out alone time simply to ruminate on that next chapter. How do you tap into the larger writing community as the perfect antidote?

Steven: This is where it's especially beneficial to have a little writing community in our own home. Byron understands if I want to work through dinner, or cancel movie plans, and vice-versa. And it's great to be friends with writers who have a foothold in Palm Springs where we live. And social media is a window into the outside world, and a way to support a friend's work even when you only have a minute or two to send congratulations or compose a quick post to recommend other writers and books we love.

Inside Voices (Robert): Now that The Celebrants and Big Gay Wedding are out in the world, what’s next?

Steven: Book tour and then world domination! Just kidding. Joining our friends in the WGA on the picket line if there's not a quick resolution to the strike. And then maybe a nap.

Byron: Steven stole my answer!

An unashamedly proud, loud, and hilarious novel about a small town that's forever changed by a big gay wedding, perfect for fans of Red, White & Royal Blue and The Guncle

A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises--especially to ourselves--by the bestselling and beloved author of The Guncle.

Robert Gwaltney, award winning author of southern fiction, is a graduate of Florida State University. He resides in Atlanta Georgia with his partner, where he is an active member of the Atlanta literary community. Robert’s work has appeared in such publications as The Signal Mountain Review and The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature. His debut novel, The Cicada Tree, won the Somerset Award for literary fiction.

Jeffrey Dale Lofton, hails from Warm Springs, Ga. His years telling the stories of playwrights and scriptwriters taught him the pull of a powerful story arc. Today, he is a senior advisor at the Library of Congress, surrounded by books and people who love books. Red Clay Suzie is his first work of fiction, written through his personal lens growing up an outsider figuring out life and love in a conservative family and community in the Deep South.

Catch the full interview on WELL READ Magazine's BETWEEN THE PAGES youtube.com/@wellreadmagazine