What if Hades wasn’t an untouchable god ruling the underworld, but instead a deeply lonely man learning how to let himself be loved?
That’s the question at the center of Chip Pons‘ newest novel, Dearly Departed, a queer grumpy-sunshine romance that somehow manages to be heartfelt, hilarious, emotional, and very, very hot all at once.
The premise alone is enough to grab readers. A retired Hades who now runs a funeral home. A relentlessly optimistic florist who barges into his carefully constructed world. Plenty of yearning. Plenty of chemistry. And, as Pons himself describes it, an “enthusiastic” amount of spice.
But beneath the mythology and flirtation is something much deeper.
While writing Dearly Departed, Pons unexpectedly found himself processing his own grief following the loss of his father. What started as a romantic comedy about “a retired god with slutty shadows falling in love with a florist” evolved into a meditation on loss, reinvention, and the realization that joy and grief don’t have to exist in separate spheres.
His stories are unabashedly romantic, but they’re also rooted in broader conversations about identity, purpose, and the possibility of queer characters existing outside of trauma.
And perhaps that’s why readers have connected with his work so deeply. Pons isn’t interested in writing stories that justify queer existence. He’s interested in writing stories where queer people get to be weird, hopeful, messy, sexy, and most importantly, happy.
Gayety caught up with Pons to discuss Dearly Departed, why Hades was the perfect romantic lead, the surprising emotional connection he developed while writing the book, and why queer joy will always remain at the center of his work.
The Q&A below has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Dearly Departed puts a fresh spin on the story of Hades. What made you want to revisit this myth, and what felt most important to you about telling it through a queer romance lens?
Chip Pons: I’ve always been fascinated by Hades because, despite being one of the most powerful figures in Greek mythology, he’s often portrayed as this broody, misunderstood outsider standing slightly apart from everyone else.
And maybe this says something about me as a romance author, but my immediate reaction was: Okay, but what if he’s secretly just a giant loverboy?
The more I thought about it, the more I became interested in the idea of taking this intimidating, shadow-dwelling former god and stripping away all the mythology until what remained was someone who has spent so long convincing himself that connection isn’t meant for him that he’s stopped reaching for it altogether.
Telling that story through a queer romance lens felt incredibly natural because so many of us know what it’s like to feel like you’re standing just outside of the life everyone else seems to be living.
At its core, Dearly Departed is really about a man stepping out of the shadows and discovering that life—and love—might still have something beautiful waiting for him.
Hayden has literally lived for centuries, yet he’s still searching for purpose. What drew you to exploring that idea of reinvention?
Chip Pons: So many of us spend years defining ourselves by one thing, be it a job, a relationship, or a role we play for other people. Sometimes we become so attached to that identity that we forget we’re allowed to grow beyond it.
Hayden has spent centuries being Hades. It’s who he is, but it’s not all he is, and that idea resonated with me because none of us are just one thing. We aren’t defined by our worst moment, our biggest success, or the label we’ve carried the longest. We’re constantly evolving.
So, I loved exploring what happens when someone who’s spent thousands of years looking backward finally gives himself permission to imagine a different future.
At its heart, Dearly Departed is also a story about grief. How did your own experiences or observations shape the way you approached loss, healing, and moving forward?
Chip Pons: A lot of this book was shaped by losing my father.
When I first started writing Dearly Departed, I thought I was writing this romantic comedy about a retired god with slutty shadows falling in love with a florist.
And to be fair, I was. But somewhere along the way, it also became a book about grief.
Writing Hayden and Levi’s story actually softened my own grief in ways I wasn’t expecting because it gave me space to sit with loss and examine it from a different angle.
For so long, I think I viewed grief as something separate from joy, as if one arrived when the other left. But writing this book helped me realize they often exist side by side.
The grief doesn’t disappear and the loss doesn’t become smaller, but life continues to make room for beautiful things anyway.
So, I think that’s what I wanted to capture in Dearly Departed. Not the idea of “getting over” loss but rather somehow learning to carry it anyway while still remaining open to love, laughter, connection, and hope. Grief is part of our lives because love is part of our lives, and in many ways, they’re inseparable.
Hayden and Levi have a classic grumpy-sunshine dynamic. What is it about that pairing that keeps readers coming back for more?
Chip Pons: Because it’s absolute catnip! There’s something deeply satisfying about watching someone who has spent years insisting they don’t need anyone get completely steamrolled by a person whose primary personality trait is aggressively caring.
Levi sees Hayden and immediately decides, “Actually, I’m going to love you whether you like it or not.”
Hayden is horrified by this development, but unfortunately for him, and for a lot of my characters, that’s a dynamic that will never stop being entertaining to me.
Both of your novels balance humor, heart, and romance. How do you strike that balance while still tackling bigger themes like identity, family, and mortality?
Chip Pons: Humor is one of the ways people survive difficult things. The funniest people I know are often the people who’ve been through the most.
Life is rarely one thing at a time, you know? You can be grieving and still laugh at a stupid joke. Or you can be falling in love while carrying old wounds that honestly may never heal. So, I want my books to feel like that: messy and complicated and entirely human.
Also, if I’m asking readers to think about mortality for 300-plus pages, I feel morally obligated to reward them with at least a few jokes and scenes about slutty little shadows.
Queer readers have long gravitated toward mythology and fantasy stories. Why do you think those genres continue to resonate so deeply within the LGBTQ+ community?
Chip Pons: Because they allow us to imagine bigger possibilities for ourselves. At their best, mythology and fantasy stories let queer readers see themselves as the heroes of their own lives. They allow us to envision futures, adventures, and love stories that we may not have always believed were a possibility.
There’s something incredibly powerful about seeing yourself at the center of the story instead of standing at its edges.
Let’s talk spice. Dearly Departed has already earned a reputation for its romance and heat. How would you describe the book’s spice level, and what role do those intimate moments play in Hayden and Levi’s love story?
Chip Pons: The flattery! I like to describe the spice level here as “enthusiastic.”
One of the things I wanted to explore in Dearly Departed was the idea that sex doesn’t always have to be earned in a story. Sometimes, it’s not a reward for emotional growth or a vehicle for plot progression but instead, it’s all about pleasure and the joy of being wanted by someone who can’t seem to keep their hands off you. And Hayden and Levi absolutely cannot keep their hands off each other.
There are certainly moments where intimacy leads to vulnerability and emotional connection, but I also think we’re sometimes too quick to dismiss physical attraction as something shallow. Admittedly, I’ve always been a bit of an instalove and instalust apologist, and Hayden and Levi are absolutely infatuated with each other from the moment they meet.
Particularly in queer relationships, physical intimacy can sometimes become the thing that allows emotional intimacy the chance to catch up. You spend time together, let your guard down, learn things about each other you never intended to share, like you used to be Hades, and then one day, you realize you’ve accidentally fallen in love. Oops.
Of course, it helps that these two genuinely enjoy being around each other. They flirt relentlessly, do poppers on the dance floor, Hayden’s shadows occasionally decide they’d like to get… involved, and neither of them is especially interested in resisting the attraction between them.
I wanted the romance to embrace both the tenderness and the revelry of falling for someone you’re completely obsessed with. Sometimes love unfolds slowly and sometimes it hits you like a freight train. Dearly Departed is very much the second one.
Winging It With You introduced readers to Asher and Theo through a reality competition adventure. Looking back, what surprised you most about the response to that book?
Chip Pons: Probably how many readers connected with the emotional core of a story about two men fake dating their way around the world for prize money.
The premise is completely ridiculous, and I mean that affectionately. But beneath all the travel chaos and competition shenanigans, it’s really about finding connection in unexpected places and discovering that sometimes the biggest leaps of faith are the people we choose to love.
I loved seeing readers embrace both the chaos and the heart.
Many stories focus on reinvention. Is that something you intentionally write about?
Chip Pons: I wish I could tell you it was intentional and strategic, but honestly, I think I’m just drawn to characters who have no idea what they’re doing because, same.
Most of us are constantly reinventing ourselves. We outgrow things, change careers, fall in love, lose people. We discover new parts of ourselves every single day, and the idea that we reach some magical age where everything suddenly makes sense feels wildly overrated to me.
So sure, my characters tend to find themselves standing at a crossroads or trying to figure out what comes next, but the good news is they usually handle it better than I would.
There’s a strong sense of chosen family in your stories. Why is that theme so important for you to explore?
Chip Pons: Chosen family has shaped so much of my own life. The queer men and friends in my life have supported me, challenged me, made me laugh, picked me up when I needed it, and celebrated me in ways I’ll never be able to fully repay.
So many of my books are love stories, but for me, friendship has always been a love story too. The idea that we can choose each other, that we can build communities rooted in care, support, and belonging is one of the most beautiful things about being human.
Romance readers often talk about “book boyfriends.” Between Theo, Asher, Hayden, and Levi, who do you think would be the best partner in real life and why?
Chip Pons: I think I’d have to go with Levi. Not because my other leading men aren’t wonderful in their own ways, but because Levi possesses a quality we could all use a little more of: hope.
Life throws a lot at him, and he still chooses kindness, optimism, and to believe people are worth loving. There’s something incredibly powerful about a person who can sit with darkness without letting it convince them the world is dark.
Also, he’s a florist. The man literally shows up with flowers.
As queer romance continues to grow in popularity, what excites you most about where the genre is headed?
Chip Pons: I think the variety.
For a long time, queer stories seemed to have to educate, explain, justify, or center trauma to be meaningful. And while those stories absolutely matter and always will, what excites me most is seeing queer romance expand beyond any single narrative.
I want queer romances that are funny, messy, hopeful, cozy, weird, spicy, and deeply romantic. I want books about first loves and second chances and fake dating and retired gods running funeral homes; stories where queer characters fall apart, put themselves back together, and get their happily-ever-afters.
But more than anything, I’m excited by the growing acceptance that queer joy isn’t somehow less meaningful than queer struggle. Our happiness, our love stories, our communities, and our futures are just as worthy of being centered on the page.
What do you hope LGBTQ+ readers take away from Dearly Departed after turning the final page?
Chip Pons: That joy is worth choosing and that there is absolutely nothing small, frivolous, or insignificant about queer happiness. We deserve happily-ever-afters, too, and I hope my stories reinforce that idea.
If you could describe Dearly Departed in three words to convince someone to pick it up this Pride season, what would they be?
Chip Pons: Queer. Joyful. Unhinged.
And I mean all three as compliments.
What’s next for you? Are there any genres, myths, tropes, or love stories you’re eager to explore in future books?
Chip Pons: I’ve learned that my natural state as a romance author is apparently throwing two men together, making them immediately obsessed with each other, and seeing what happens next… so part of me thinks it would be wild to write something with a little more yearning and unresolved tension! But we’ll see if I have that kind of self-control.
No matter the trope, though, queer joy will always be at the center of what I write. As for mythology… let’s just say I remain very fond of a certain family of retired gods and would be more than happy to spend time with them again someday.
