For the most part, our understanding of Channing Tatum revolves around his taut biceps, work on Step Up and Magic Mike and, if you're clued into the vibrations of pop culture, his discreet relationship with Zoë Kravitz. But did you know he's an author too? If your interest in the actor and dancer has progressed to actually following him on Instagram, you'll know he has two Sparkella children's books under his belt – with a third on its way sometime this year. While unexpected, it seems Tatum is intent on expanding his literary credits, telling Vanity Fair that he's currently working on a romance novel with Roxane Gay, no less.

Naturally, this news has sent our brains into the stratosphere. Imagining Roxane Gay and Channing Tatum in a room together is especially fun, considering that in 2015 the Bad Feminist author very publicly noted for The Toast how she wanted to "hug every part of him with my mouth". Which is exactly the kind of smutty and unfiltered storytelling we want in a romance novel from the pair.

So how on earth did these two worlds collide? It was that article, actually – talk about manifestation. So far, Gay has "almost a roughed-out outline of a story that we both love," explains Tatum. But given how busy Gay's schedule is, getting the book out into the world is simply a matter of finding a time to do it. "She’s the busiest, she’s way busier than I am.”

On the whole, we're very curious about how the process of co-writing a book works. Will Tatum and Gay workshop it together, will Gay take the reins and let Tatum add his own flair? Who knows. Like a lot of details around the book – plot, a title, release date – it's unclear. Still, that won't stop us from pre-ordering a copy.

 

Image: @channingtatum