What do dinosaurs, airplanes, covefefe, two Hugo-award nominations and gratuitous gay erotica all have in common? Only one thing: Dr. Chuck Tingle, a man of mystery and endless eccentricity.

The pseudonymous author has self-published more than 100 book titles, some featuring the penises of dinosaurs, unicorns, sentient food, coffee, the manifestation of climate change denial — the list goes on and on. He describes his narratives as tinglers: “a story so blissfully erotic that it cannot be experienced without eliciting a sharp tingle down the spine.”

The titles definitely elicit something:

“Slammed In The Butthole By My Concept Of Linear Time”
“Pounded In The Butt By My Own Butt”
“Domald Tromp Pounded In The Butt By The Handsome Russian T-Rex Who Also Peed On His Butt And Then Blackmailed Him With The Videos Of His Butt Getting Peed On”

When you read a tingler, you learn these books aren’t just 36 pages or so of butt-pounding — though there’s plenty of it. What you find when getting past the blow-by-blow descriptions of sodomy is a lucid moral lesson: characters are transformed by the power of man-on-[insert anything here] love and become better people, spreading their buttcheeks wide as a token of climactic resolution.

In that: love is real. The lesson here Tingle wants you to find is, don’t judge a book by its half-naked–beefcake cover.

And yes, to answer an obviously lingering question, each story has a coherent beginning, middle and end. Aside from a few spelling errors, they’re actually fine reads; “Pounded By The Pound: Turned Gay By The Socioeconomic Implications Of Britain Leaving The European Union,” makes a lot more sense than it should.

They’re even sprinkled with smart satire, commentary on current events and politics, e.g. “After the election of Domald Tromp, a notorious screaming pile of crabs and tentacles from the cosmic Void who disguises himself in human skin, I assumed all of this fear mongering would be put to rest.” Trump’s easy pickings, but Tingle has also made the Nintendo Switch, Brexit, Pokémon GO and Leonardo Dicaprio the center of their own erotic adventures.

Fiction isn’t his only forte, either. Like the masters of literature, Dr. Tingle has written multiple nonfiction books, elucidating his theories on romance, film and the void; there’s even a coloring book.

He’s also taken to YouTube and created — highly underappreciated — guided meditation videos (featuring himself in a martial arts gi with a paper bag on his head); he’s the editor of the alternative news site Buttbart; and during the 2016 election, he ran Trump Debate Facts, with the slogan, “Let’s keep Donald Trump honest about his history in the void.” There’s even a Chuck Tingle Kickstarter game being created under the directorship of Zoë Quinn, set to release some time this year.  

This odd fusion of erotica and tolerance has lead people to speculate. Who is Chuck Tingle?

No one really knows. On his website, Tingle says he lives in Billings, Montana. He claims to have a PhD in holistic massage from Devry University (they don’t offer one), and is allegedly close to being a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. No one knows what he looks like — his profile photo is a recently removed stock image — or what the actual name on his birth certificate reads.

Some people doubt “Chuck Tingle” is anything more than a persona who’s mastered the art of self-publishing on Amazon.

But then there’s a believable enough explanation for everything Tingle. His son, Jon “Tingle,” took part in an AMA last year and explained that his father is an autistic savant who suffers from schizophrenia. Whether or not that’s true is still debatable, and probably always will be.

Does it matter? No. Whoever he really is — whoever is churning out book after book, tweet after tweet — is a vastly creative individual, regardless. Somebody who remarkably imparts lessons of acceptance by having "buckaroos" take off their clothes when asked. I don’t need to know any more about Chuck than there is to know. Like any artist, his work will always reveal more than the man behind the words.

In the interest of picking an extraordinary mind, I was given the opportunity to ask Chuck a few questions via email (answers unedited to better reveal his eccentricities).

Chuck, many of your earlier works focused on dinosaurs, Bigfoot, various living object Tinglers etc. Yet, your recent books have shifted focus to current events. What inspired you to transition to covering politics and recent news?
Dr. Chuck Tingle: "well there have always been four kinds of tinglers. WAY OF: bigfoot dinosaur unicorn and living object, so this is last catagory that has been around for a while maybe the new thing is a political way but this is just because these concepts are relevant for our current time. back in the days of HANDSOME OBAMA the biggest dang deal was maybe writing a tingler about a living building or maybe and handsome plane, but now you have a devilman in the white house (name of DOM TROMP) and he is actually just a pile of crabs and tentacles in a human suit, so every day there is much more going on as crab piles are in a bad way. thanks."

How do you write sex scenes? It's often one of the hardest elements of a story. Could you share your method for aspiring authors?
"at this part of the story my brain as man of chuck turns off and then i start to shake and droll. then i look down again and i am covered in chocolate milk and maybe there is a spaghetti noodle on my shirt but that part of the story is done and then i send it off for editing from my son jon (he is a good man and very handsome everyone in the neighborhood like him) so that is my way."

Your stories emphasize love between people: a real, tangible, accepting love. What is the best way to create a world where people learn to see past their differences and love each other for their similarities?
"best way to make a world of love is to PROVE LOVE yourself this means every day waking up and thinking 'how will i prove love with my trot?' so there are a lot of ways to do this like maybe holding the door for an elder buckaroo or maybe telling your friend that they are good at their favorite sport or maybe even making a donation to your LOCAL BANK OF FOOD there are so many ways because THERE ARE SO MANY CHOICES! so every time you have a choice just think about how the world will be a little better or worse with that choice. it is just a lot of small things that will change our timeline but if we do them all togeather then that is a good way."

You’ve shared your wisdom on film, romance, the Void, sports, and you even have an artwork book. What’s the next nonfiction topic you’ll philosophize about?
"i have considered this way but i am not sure yet. i would like to make more important guidebooks but i must wait for the inspiration of CHUCK. as this is my way. so maybe I will write about GUIDE TO WRITING or maybe i will write about GUIDE TO MUSIC or maybe I will write about GUIDE TO THE UPSTAIRS TUB we will see."

What are your thoughts on the Chuck Tingler Kickstarter video game, “A Chuck Tingle Digital Adventure?” Have you been involved in the process of creating the game?
"i am very excited about this game it is going to PROVE LOVE IS REAL and i think this is very important for any game. i have been talking to my online bud zoe quinn she is making the game and sometimes her and her friends will send me questions like "how is this way?" and i say "this is a good way?" and then i will send a drawing or something like this. one time when i visited CITY OF DEVILS with friend of jon he took me over to see the makers of game at their apartment building in a nice room and i watched the game WITH MY OWN DANG EYES and it looks so cool and i was so excited. so definately after seeing it i can say WHOA BUD GOOD GAME."

Your writing style in email correspondences is very different from the writing style in your books. Is that done on purpose, or does that come about because of the editing process?
"thank you this is because son jon (he is handsome) edits my books for me. I understand that i have a unique way it has been this way my whole life and its okay but it is sometimes hard for buckaroos to understand my words. so i know this and i think, well maybe son jon can help, and he helps me and i want to be just like him someday."

You often use laughter to make deep observations about life and love. Do you think comedy is the most effective tool for communicating wisdom to readers?
"cant say what is most effective way of wisdom because everyone is different. some buckaroos prove love by trotting proud with their head held high and some with jokes but others with playing a DANG SPORT like KICK THAT DANG BALL or IM HANDSOME AND THIS IS MY BASKET. so in this way you can prove love by BEING YOURSELF and understanding that love is real on all timelines, just go out there and prove it to yourself and to the world."

What can the everyday person do to stop devils? They seem to be everywhere.
"yes there are maybe devils on this timeline and also scoundrels like a dang reverse twin hiding in your closet waiting to steal your bones. best thing to do is figure out what MAKES YOU SPEICAL AND IMPORTANT because you are this way. you are so important to this timeline and they way that everything else moves around you (like game HERE'S MY BLOCK, HERE'S MY STACK) so when you pull out one block it can change everything. and you are THIS BLOCK FOR SO MANY PEOPLE. so then you think well if i have a special way i wonder what it is maybe its to cook a good meal and then you can prove love being a cook! MAYBE MAKE SO SPAGHETTI! just make sure you are proving love every day and you will be fine no devils can stop that."

Your works seem to be inspiring people to read. How should people treat books; how important are they to leading a well-lived life?
"well some buckaroos like tinglers because it makes then HARD AS ROCKS AND READY TO TROT like they can kiss the sky. and others think this is a funny joke either way it is okay they are just there to prove love. as a man with a unique way i know that there will be UNIQUE REACTIONS to my way and i think that is okay."

Is there anything you would like to add Chuck? Anything I may have missed that you would like to share with a prospective reader or readers you already have?
"yes i would like to say that you should pick up the phone and call your family if they are still on this timeline or maybe a friend and tell them that you love them and if you dont have any of those then go get some chocolate milk and treat yourself because you work hard to prove love and you deserve it. thanks"