We sit down at The Queerest Year Roundtable every few weeks to have a conversation with a queer comrade about queer art, media, and/or culture. Today we are talking with the lovely Joe Fejeran about the 2019 book Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.
SPOILER ALERT: We cover most aspects of the plot and characters in this Roundtable conversation, so if you haven’t read the book and don’t want to know details before you do so, go pick up a copy and then come back.
Red, White & Royal Blue is a fictional story about a queer romance between Alex, the First Son of the United States, and Henry, a prince in the British Royal family. With a mostly endearing supporting cast of family (both chosen and of origin) and community, Alex and Henry find themselves as they find each other, while navigating queer love in a time of divisive politics.
Oh, and in case you were wondering: yes, we really do have a big round table at which we sit every day and talk about all manner of things. Since we can’t have all our friends actually come in bodily form to sit and talk about queer things with us, we cooked up this virtual version.
When Heather asked Joe what he wanted to chat with us about, he pretty immediately sent across this book, which was an absolute surprise and delight because it’s something we NEVER would have read on our own accord because, well, it’s a romance novel (even though it’s a gay romance novel). Neither of us have really ever read contemporary romance novels (and everyone should know by now that we struggle even with rom-com movies). So, we said yes because, well, nobody can look at Joe and say no to that sweet, pretty face, but especially because we love diving into something new with someone great.
Speaking of Joe… Joe Fejeran is a queer community organizer and program manager, as well as being the co-host of multiple podcasts, including White People Problems, which could be about a lot of things but is about the show The OC, and his demon baby, Fright School. Fright School is a really fun podcast because you get to experience horror “newbie” Joe being introduced to horror movies by his horror nerd co-host Joshua. Joe is also a super smarty pants and is a total trivia buff. In 2021, he was a contestant on the Weakest Link game show and Jane Lynch was so charmed by him, she blew him a kiss. (And, in case you were wondering, Jane doesn’t just blow a kiss to anyone.) It’s the stuff legends are made of.
Grab your headphones and join us for this chat about our love for horn-dog queer boys, another alternate timeline we wish we lived in (we’ll still take the one Angela Davis is VP in), movie adaptations, and magazine centerfolds as sparks for queer awakening.
Romancing the Roundtable