JL Merrow is here today talking CAMP to promote Spun!, her latest Shamwell Tale!
Be sure to enter to win a $20 Riptide credit below. Good Luck!
Hi, I’m JL Merrow, and I’m delighted to be here today as part of the blog tour to celebrate the release of Spun!, the fourth of my contemporary MM romantic comedies in the Shamwell Tales series.
The Man from CAMP**
To mangle a
phrase: Some men are born camp; some achieve camp; and some have camp thrust
upon them. (Whether or not they enjoy the last is presumably a matter of
personal taste).
Camp is the sort
of thing that’s hard to define, but easier to recognise. Think of Liberace, or
Elton John. Remember the original 1960s Batman
series starring the late, lamented Adam West, or the movie Hairspray?
Camp: ostentatious,
exaggerated, affected, theatrical; effeminate or homosexual; pertaining to,
characteristic of, homosexuals - The Oxford English Dictionary
Camp is often seen as synonymous with gay, but that can be very misleading. Many gay men are about as far
from camp as you can get, and one of the campest men I’ve ever met turned out
to be married with thirteen children (the jury is out over whether he was
over-compensating).
In Victorian
times, to be camp was to be seen as less than masculine, which (it went without
saying) was A Bad Thing: a threat to society’s rigid gender roles and by
extension, to society itself. For example, in Oscar Wilde’s scandalous trial
for homosexuality, much was made of his “effeminate” mannerisms, such as
covering his mouth when he spoke (in fact he was simply embarrassed by the poor
state of his teeth).
Conversely,
however, in certain spheres camp became an acceptable face of homosexuality:
gay entertainers, or actors playing gay characters, would (and some,
reportedly, still do: Gok Wan, I’m looking at you) “camp it up” for
predominantly straight audiences. Camp, safely contained on the stage or within
a radio or television show, was something to be laughed at, rather than feared
for its subversive nature. It’s no coincidence that the Oxford English
Dictionary definition of the word includes the term “theatrical”.
Even among gay
men, camp has an ambiguous status: celebrated by and in some, such as drag
queens and other gay icons, the quality of camp is rejected by others who
prefer the “straight-acting” gay man, with his more traditional presentation of
masculinity. It is, if you like, the Marmite of the queer community. British
comedian Alan Carr has said that he’s faced more homophobia from gay men than
from straight people: as a camp gay man, he’s accused of perpetuating
stereotypes of the effeminate gay. It’s a complex problem, at the root of which
is the fact that we still live in a deeply patriarchal society.
Gay is easy. Being camp is
difficult – Graham Norton, British comedian/TV host
Is David in Spun! camp? As he’d put it, does a hobby
horse like spotted dick? David, with his constant flirting, his penchant for
exaggeration and his habit of scattering French words into the conversation is
completely, gloriously camp—even down to both first and last names.*
And he’s proud.
Readers, do you
have a favourite camp celebrity/icon? Tell us about them!
*David, for Camp David, the country retreat
of the US president, and Greenlake,
for the facility in Louis Sachar’s Holes.
But you knew that, anyway. ;)
**The title of
this post is, of course, in homage to the books by pioneering gay pulp
fictioneer Victor J Banis: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5213541-the-man-from-c-a-m-p
About Spun!
With
friends like these . . .
An ill-advised
encounter at the office party leaves David Greenlake jobless and homeless in
one heady weekend. But he quickly begs work from his ex-boss and takes a room
in Shamwell with easygoing postman Rory Deamer. David doesn’t mean to flirt with the recently divorced
Rory—just like he doesn’t consciously decide to breathe. After all, Rory’s far
too nice for him. And far too straight.
Rory finds his
new lodger surprisingly fun to be with, and what’s more, David is a hit with
Rory’s troubled children. But while Rory’s world may have turned upside down in
the last few years, there’s one thing he’s sure of: he’s straight as a die. So
he can’t be falling for David . . . can he?
Their friends and
family think they know all the answers, and David’s office party hookup has his
own plans for romance. Rory and David need to make up their minds and take a
stand for what they really want—or their love could be over before it’s even
begun.
Spun! is now available from Riptide Publishing.
About the Shamwell Tales
Welcome to Shamwell! A
sleepy rural village in Hertfordshire, England, it’s the perfect place to move
to for a little peace and quiet—or at least, you’d think so. But as a
succession of newcomers to the village find, there’s more going on in these
idyllic surroundings than cricket matches on the common and pints of ale in the
local pubs.
As a place where
everyone’s connected to everyone else, Shamwell’s rife with mishaps, mayhem,
and misunderstandings—and the path of true love is no smoother than the ancient
stone walls of the parish church.
Each contemporary
romantic comedy in this series stands alone, but all feature a cast of
characters drawn from Shamwell and its surroundings.
JL Merrow is that
rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where
she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see
the inside of a lab ever again.
She writes
(mostly) contemporary gay romance and mysteries, and is frequently accused of
humour. Her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy, and
several of her books have been EPIC Awards finalists, including Muscling Through, Relief Valve (the Plumber’s Mate Mysteries) and To Love a Traitor.
JL Merrow is a
member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, International Thriller Writers,
Verulam Writers and the UK
GLBTQ Fiction Meet
organising team.
Connect with JL:
To celebrate the release of Spun!,
one lucky winner will receive a $20
Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the
contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on July 8, 2017. Contest is
NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for
following the tour,
and don’t forget to leave your contact info!
My favorite camp celebrity or icon? The gifted Nathan Lane, who starred in The Birdcage and The Producers, is a prime example. I don't know if Robin Williams would be considered camp, but I miss his over-the-top manic characters.
ReplyDeleteI'm adding Spun! to the top of my wish list. Congratulations on your new release, and I look forward to read it. j dot stonewright at gmail dot com
And of course Nathan Lane was fabulous as Timon in The Lion King - great choice! :D
DeleteThanks for commenting, and I hope you'll enjoy Spun!
Thank you for talking camp. I've heard the term a lot and had to look it up a few weeks ago just to see if I was correct in my assumptions of the term.
ReplyDeletehumhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
It's funny, isn't it, how sometimes you think you know what a word means but find out later it's not quite correct. I found out only this week that "dudgeon" means annoyed and not depressed. :)
DeleteI do not have any favourite camp celebrity, although thinking of Liberace for example always makes me smile. One of my best friends is as camp as they can get (and gay as well), and when we go out we have a lot of fun together, but it is true he has to face some rejection... Which I do not understand, really. That's just the way he is. I guess some people just do not like his ostentatious and exuberant personality, but I love it!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the release. I will recommend Spun! to my very camp friend... I know he'll like it
susanaperez7140(at)Gmail(dot)com
Thanks, Susana - great to hear about your friend. Everyone should be true to themselves! :D
DeleteAlan Cumming isn't always camp, but he does it well!
ReplyDeletevitajex@aol dot com
Oh, yes, indeed! :)
DeleteMy absolute favorite camp character is Mr Humphries, from "Are You Being Served?". Even his name is innuendo! Loved Spun! & David!
ReplyDeleteI think he was the first camp character I ever saw on screen - it was either him or Kenneth Williams' Carry On characters! :)
DeleteNo I don't. Congratulations for book release
ReplyDeleteamie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com
Lol! And thank you. :)
DeleteCongrats and thanks for the camp post. This makes the book and series sound all the more fun, and I like the English countryside setting. I like some of the campers already mentioned, I'll add Paul Lind. - Purple Reader,
ReplyDeleteTheWrote [at] aol [dot] com
Ooh, I hadn't come across him before. And I'm glad you enjoyed the post! :D
DeleteI learn something new by following this blog tour. Thank you for this interesting post, JL. I thought of David in a clearer view now. ;-)
ReplyDeletepuspitorinid AT yahoo DOT com
Thanks - and you're welcome! :D
DeleteI can't believe I've never heard of this term before, but after reading about it, I know what it is now. Great post! I don't think I have just one favorite. I immediately think of Bette Midler and Cher. They're the epitome of camp.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel comfortable leaving my email address publicly. Hopefully that won't hurt my chances of winning.
Thanks - and yes, Bette and Cher are both great examples! :D
Delete