‘When Things Happen Together’ is a Must-Read Queer Travel and Romance Novel
There’s nothing quite like curling up with a good book, and with the nights growing colder and longer in the Northern Hemisphere, now’s the perfect time to catch up on your reading; and we’ve discovered the perfect book to get you started!
When Things Happen Together by Jordan Clayden-Lewis seems tailor written for us Vacationers. It involves foreign travel, the ultimate road trip through Australia, and a gay romance… what more could we ask for?!
The novel tells the story of Thomas who is in desperate need of a change. Being an aspiring artist from London, he hopes a working holiday in sunny Australia will be the muse he’s been waiting for. But it isn’t Australia’s vast landscapes that end up being his source of inspiration…
After a string of unromantic dates, Thomas meets Bruce, a handsome Irish traveler with alluring almond eyes. The more time the pair spend together, however, the more they start seeing the numbers, “1122,” everywhere.
Are the numbers just a coincidence, or is something greater at play? Is Bruce really who he says he is or is there more to him than he’s letting on? All is revealed as the boys embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure throughout the glorious land of Oz.
We just had to know more so we sat down with Jordan Clayden-Lewis to get the details.
Vacationer: Hi Jordan! We are so excited about your book here at Vacationer! It’s right up our alley. So, Thomas and Bruce are foreigners traversing Australia. Was there any significance to you having them be visitors as opposed to native Australians?
Jordan Clayden-Lewis: Yeah, there definitely is. In 2018, I moved from my home country of Australia to Canada on a working holiday for the summer and fall, which was one of the most memorable experiences of my life so far. I can remember the feeling of freedom and adventure that came with moving to a new country for the first time. And as the idea for the book came to fruition, the essence of that personal experience naturally inspired my characters to experience something similar, just in a fictitious storyline.
And why did you choose to have the boys explore Australia on a road trip?
I’m a massive reader of queer books, with a love for reading characters that I can relate to. Before coming up with the idea for When Things Happen Together, there wasn’t an overly large amount of queer books set in Australia, let alone being travel and adventure-themed. After visiting most of the places mentioned in the book, my aim was to showcase how vast Australia is as a country and how epic a road trip here really is — from the endless desert landscape of the Northern Territory to the white-sand beaches of the East Coast. As someone who is gay and loves to travel, I wanted to see that represented in a book character. In the beginning, I started writing the book because I wanted to read something like this, to experience it as the characters do. There’s a quote from American novelist Toni Morrison that might sum this up a little better: “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” I soon understood that I wasn’t just writing the book for myself, though. I was writing it for those who shared similar ideas and interests, in hope that it could evoke the same feeling for them as it did for me.
What do you hope readers will take away from your book?
When Things Happen Together is indeed a contemporary romance centering on the love and travels between two young men, but it also explores themes such as embracing the moment, finding a sense of home, as well as the darker sides of being human. The book is both adventurous and emotional in nature, and the two main characters are plunged into their own mental challenges during their journey. While I chose not to censor this aspect of the plot, it essentially becomes a story of hope toward the end. Hope for love, hope for life. The mysterious number combination of 1122 elementally leads the characters and reader to the main message of the book: that everything happens the way it’s meant to, and while things may seem uncertain and dark at times, you are enough for the world.
A beautiful and important message. Since you’re an avid reader, what are some must-have books to bring with you on vacation?
In addition to *inserts shameless self-promotion*, I definitely recommend My Heart Is A Little Wild Thing by Nigel Featherstone if you’re looking for some poignant literary nature writing in an Australian setting. For more comedic and erotic gay fiction, Just By Looking At Him by Ryan O’Connell would totally be fun for a vacation. Then for heartwarming fantasy, The House In The Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is a must-read.
All of these have now been added to my list! Given that you’ve written this wonderful work of travel-based fiction, how important is travel in your life? Any favorite destinations?
Exploring new destinations is one of my favorite things to do and now that we can actually travel again after a couple of years off, I absolutely plan to make up for lost time, starting with a winter trip to Europe in January. A few of my favorite places that I’ve visited so far have been Banff National Park in Canada, Bermuda, and Heron Island here in Australia.
All excellent choices. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us Jordan. Best of luck with the book and I can’t wait to see what you write next!
