Hings author Chris McQueer on bringing ‘The Madness of Reality’ to Glasgow’s Grosvenor Cinema

GLASGOW author Chris McQueer says he’s been blown away by the reception to his debut book as he prepares to unleash his unique brand of storytelling during the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Chris, 26, will have his own show at the Grosvenor Cinema in March after the soaring success of his collection of short stories, Hings.

It was his first foray into the world of publishing, having seen his hilarious blend of the surreal and real-life take off online.

Backed by publishers 404 Ink, who Chris describes as ‘brilliant’, Hings became a top seller.

“It’s blown me away, I still can’t quite believe it,” he admits.

“I feel like it’s just been a wind-up and someone’s going to tell me they’ve been kidding on and they’ve only actually sold ten copies. It’s too good to be true!”

Glasgow author Chris McQueer on releasing his debut book and comparisons to Limmy and Irvine Welsh

Chris’s short stories range from the streets of working class Glasgow to parallel universes, all packed with laughs, twists and turns.

From the trials and tribulations of a man concocting a convincing story to get a shift swapped, to the whole world waking up with their knees on backwards, his work has earned rave reviews.

“At lot of it is observational humour,” he says.

“Stand-up comedians will sit and take notes about the wee quirks of people and I do the same  – I just turn it into stories rather than a routine.

“I build in all the wee cliches and mannerisms and make characters. Sometimes I’ll come up with an idea for a weird character and put them in a weird situation and build a story around them.

“A lot of my inspiration came from working in a sports shop – all the mad customers you serve! Now I’m at college so a lot of it comes from observing students and lecturers.”

When Hings was released, Chris’s social media following played a huge part in its success.

People who had loved his short stories when posted online headed out to their local bookstores and snapped pictures of the book on display, and many also took their own copies to various different locations across Scotland and the world.

Hings ended up as far away as Mauritius, New York and Nepal!

Quality book pic.twitter.com/my75QbcEP4

— Bronx Bhoy (@bronxbhoy) September 16, 2017

Chris even had a little marketing assistance from a WWE superstar and also one of his writing inspirations.

Scots wrestler Noam Dar shared a picture of himself with the book on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, and a copy also found its way to comedian Limmy, who Chris’s style has been compared to.

“It was surreal. I was just thinking how is this real life?” Chris laughs. “It was really cool.”

https://twitter.com/ChrisMcQueer/status/896810796403101696

Having been able to give up his job at the sports shop, Chris has now set his sights on making a living from writing – something which has always been a dream for him.

Now attending college, he’s been putting his focus into writing his second book, which he says is coming along well, and also the upcoming show.

Chris regularly brings his characters and stories to life off the page with readings and spoken word shows – but the Grosvenor event is a whole new experience for him.

He had had his eye on doing something at the comedy festival but wasn’t sure how to get the ball rolling.

Luckily for him he was approached by Megan Mitchell, the Grosvenors’s events manager and a fan of Hings, about doing a show. He jumped at the opportunity.

“I’m buzzing for it, I can’t wait!” he says.

The Madness of Reality, a very fitting title, will feature the usual readings plus the addition of comedy sketches and a discussion surrounding his inspirations.

“It’s an hour and a half show – the longest I’ve ever been on stage for,” he explains.

“I normally only do 10-15 minutes but this is 90 minutes of just me so I’m really quite nervous about it, but looking forward to it at the same time.

“I’m putting a lot more into it. When I do my readings I just go on, do a wee introduction and read a story.

“But this is an hour and a half where I’ll need to be on top form. It’s almost like a stand-up comedy routine. I’m putting it together slowly but surely and I’m quite pleased at how it’s coming along.”

Throughout the show, Chris will chat about his journey from having the initial idea for Hings to turning it into a reality, with all that happened along the way as he juggled sports shop shifts and short stories.

As the setting is a cinema, those in the audience will be treated to video clips on the big screen of things that have triggered ideas for Chris.

There’ll also be some of his own work too.

“I’ve been writing and filming comedy sketches with my pals Chris and David,” he reveals.

“We’re going to showcase them in the cinema. No messing about – right into the pictures!”

Chris McQueer: The Madness of Reality, takes place on Thursday March 15 at The Grosvenor Theatre, tickets from http://grosvenorwestend.co.uk/film/?id=HO00000251