Bob the Drag Queen says if he wrote a memoir, 'it would be a bad book'

When Bob the Drag Queen landed his debut book deal, his publisher asked him if he wanted to write a memoir. After all, most celebrities choose to write about themselves for their first foray into publishing.

But Bob had something different in mind. Instead of writing a memoir, he wanted to write a novel about Harriet Tubman.

"People think that my life is way more interesting than it is, but I'm not doing anything crazy," he tells Q's Tom Power in an interview. "I'm a very indoor-type person. And I know people are like, 'No, it'd be great!' I'm telling you, it would be a bad book. Just trust me, I know my life better than anyone else knows my life. The book would not be interesting. It would be a very boring book — it'd be a book about writing this book."

Bob's debut novel, Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, imagines the famed abolitionist in the present day as she sets out to make a hip-hop album and live show about her life. He originally conceived the idea as a play before turning it into a novel. Last month, he also released a song called Queen of the Underground, which accompanies the book.

"When I announced the title, a lot of people thought it was a bit — that I was lying, it was a joke," he says. "The title does sound quite absurd and it is intentionally absurd, but people just didn't believe that I was actually writing a book about this specific storyline."

While no one in Bob's close circle thought the project was a joke, online critics and people who only know him from RuPaul's Drag Race told him he should stay in his lane and "stick to wearing dresses," as he recalls.

"I think a lot of people don't really imagine people with multitudes, and I do have multitudes," Bob says. "I am a comedian, I am a drag queen, but I also am, apparently, a New York Times bestselling author, too."

The full interview with Bob the Drag Queen is available on our YouTube channel and on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. He also talks about how he knew he'd win Drag Race and why he wants you to stop asking him to read you. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Bob the Drag Queen produced by Vanessa Nigro.