Mason Deaver on ‘The Build-a-Boyfriend Project’ and the Need for Queer Voices

For the last few years, Mason Deaver has made a name for themselves in queer literary spaces, thanks to their various novels that depict unique, complex queer stories. One of Deaver’s most famous novels is even getting the film treatment later this year, I Wish You All the Best.

While I Wish You All the Best is one of their better-known novels, they have also written The Ghosts We Keep, The Feeling of Falling in Love, and Okay, Cupid. The stories within the bounds of their books always center on the queer experience of some kind, with trans characters taking center stage.

I spoke with Mason Deaver to discuss The Build-a-Boyfriend Project, the upcoming film, and the importance of queer voices in today’s political climate. (You can watch the full interview below.)

During the current political climate, recommending Deaver’s books to other readers feels like its own form of protest.

“ It’s two different thoughts for me because, on the one hand, I’m not trying to make a grand statement by having trans led stories. As a writer, I just want to write, especially these happy love stories where it just so happens that the lead characters are trans and that they get the love story, they get the happy ending,” Deaver explained.

“ Then, unfortunately, we live in a time where that in and of itself is a statement. To show trans happiness is like a form of rebellion at this point,” they said.

“We’re inundated every single day with updates on whatever social media app you choose to use because it’s all over the place of — just articles about trans athletes being cut from their programs, trans kids can’t be respected in schools. People who want to change their pronoun markers on passports aren’t allowed to. Then they are, and then they aren’t, and then books are being banned, not just trans books. And it’s just this constant thing. It’s this constant act of having to be at war with the world around you whenever you are a marginalized person of any form.”

Choosing joy over tragedy and sadness is a conscious effort on any author’s part when writing for these marginalized communities, such as the trans community. Deaver is aware of that and chooses to make his characters relatable, albeit messy, so that readers can see themselves in the stories being told.

Watch the Full Interview with Mason Deaver:

“ For me, it loops back around into being a purposeful act to have. A happy story that is led by trans characters who they don’t, they don’t suffer greatly,” Deaver stated.

“ I want it to be happy. I want it to be pleasant. I want it to be fun, and I want it to be loving, caring, and kind. And I want, especially the trans readers who come to it, I want them to know that they’re getting into a place where they’ll be understood and they’ll be seen, and they don’t have to worry about the trans characters not making it to the end of the story.”

For The Build-a-Boyfriend Project, Deaver dives into the adult queer romance genre instead of sticking to their usual niche market of Young Adult readers. It’s a risky move to make, but one they said they always wanted to do.

“Never trust a man with a LetterBoxd account,” Deaver jokingly stated when asked what should be the big takeaway from his latest novel. But on a more serious note, they added, “Give love a shot.”

When it came to creating these characters, Peter and Eli, Deaver explained how they have to think of the characters and the story itself in tandem when first starting out.

“ I think about an inciting incident, and I think about what kind of characters would be fun to throw that in,” Deaver said. When I think about Build-a-Boyfriend, I think about, okay, if there’s a fake article being written, I need a journalist who maybe wants the chance to prove himself. And who’s the article about? Well, what if it’s this guy who hasn’t had any experience as a queer adult? And it’s from there, that Eli and Peter kind of form.”

With the imminent release of I Wish You All the Best, Deaver also spoke to how that feels as an author. After all, it’s one thing to release your book into the world, and another entirely to see it become a film.

” A movie can be optioned and someone can sit on the rights for five years, and eventually they’ll revert back to the author or the publisher, and it’ll go nowhere,” Deaver explained.

“I met Tommy [Dorfman] in 2019, when I was in New York for the first time, and we just talked about it. It was just a whisper of an idea. It was like a general meeting.”

Then, Deaver said that in the summer of 2022, the conversation really took off, and they started to see Dorfman put the pieces together. They were busy with the release of The Feeling of Falling in Love while Dorfman was sending updates about casting, scripts, shoots, etc.

“ She sent me updates from set every day. I got to go down to Los Angeles when they were filming, and I got to spend the night for an overnight shoot at a skating rink there. And I actually got to film a cameo for the movie, which was fun,” Deaver added.

If readers and fans are wondering about any changes to the script, Deaver was more than happy to share their thoughts about that as well, especially after intimating that Dorfman apologized for having to cut a character from the script.

“She apologized to me, and I was like, ‘As long as you keep the heart of what I wrote, I think that’s the most important thing.’ And so to see readers think that she’s captured and kept the heart of the story. It means a lot ’cause I know she has,” Deaver said.

To round out our conversation, Deaver wanted to be sure the following is understood about anyone who feels they don’t have a voice or like they aren’t being heard.

“If you want to make something, you should make it. You should do the thing that you want to do. If it sounds like it would be fun, if it sounds like it’s something you want to do, do it,” Deaver said. “Especially nowadays, if you feel like it will provide you some sort of comfort, some kind of relief, do it.”

 

The Build-a-Boyfriend Project is available August 5th wherever books are sold.

 

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