Author: britneyjackson

Goldie award-winning (💙!) sapphic fantasy author • awkward neighborhood lesbian • mom • musician • autistic and shy • lesbian pirates, queer vampires, and women with weapons • she/her • 🏳️‍🌈

Mental Health Awareness

May was Mental Health Awareness Month, and things have been so tough that I never even took a moment to talk about it. Ironic, right? 😅

If you’ve read my books (especially Goddess of the Sea or The Reign of Darkness), you know mental illness is a major theme. I try to be honest in real life (like now, for instance) about my own struggles with mental illness—because I think hiding it only increases the stigma. And I try to bring that same honesty into my books.

I believe sanitized portrayals of mental illness only hurt us. No human being responds perfectly to trauma, and fictional characters shouldn’t either. Mental illness isn’t meant to be pretty. It can be exhausting, overpowering, and scary, and some of the symptoms (the physical ones, I mean) might even be things people consider “gross.”

It’s hard to write honest portrayals of mental illness—because it often feels like no one cares about that. They just want excitement and action. On top of that, it means you’re going to see the word “unlikeable,” especially if your characters are women. People treat us this way in real life, too; they’re just a little less shameless about it.

But…someone out there is struggling and needs to feel less alone. Someone out there needs this story. That’s why we do it—even when it’s scary, even when it hurts, even when it feels like no one cares. 💚

Image: The covers of Pirates of Aletharia (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 1) and Goddess of the Sea (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 2) by Britney Jackson on a green watercolor background. Text: Mental Health Awareness. Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons. Arrows to each cover with the words: PSTD, Anxiety, and C-PTSD.
Image: The covers of The Stone of the Eklektos, The Tomb of Blood, The Assassins of Light, and The Reign of Darkness by Britney Jackson on green watercolor background. Text: Mental Health Awareness. Creatures of Darkness. Arrows to each cover with the words: C-PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder.
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A Book of the Year

While I was in catch-up-after-a-migraine mode, I realized there was a piece of good news I could’ve sworn I’d shared last month but didn’t. (Knowing me, it’s probably saved in drafts somewhere.)

Anyway, I’m happy to share that Goddess of the Sea was voted a Book of the YEAR in the Fantasy category on I Heart SapphFic. 💙

Thank you so much to everyone who voted for it! This is the book I was most terrified to release—because I was scared people wouldn’t understand the mental illness focus or wouldn’t appreciate the mental illness focus, because I was scared of being this vulnerable, of having so much of my own trauma out there. I was just…scared. So, for people to actually like this book, it just—it makes me cry. I’m so happy. 🥹

Thank you. 💙💙💙💙

You can view the other winners at the link below. 💙

Cover of Goddess of the Sea (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 2) by Britney Jackson on purple, gold, and black background with a purple and gold award image. Text: I Heart SapphFic 2024 Book of the Year. Fantasy.
2024 Books of the Year
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Audiobook Release

For my audio readers: the audiobook for Goddess of the Sea (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 2) is officially out! 💙🐉💙

Actually, it came out two days ago, but I was nearing the end of a pretty aggressive migraine (and the start of the depression spiral that likes to tag along with it) and couldn’t think clearly enough to put the post together. 😅

I’m so excited to listen to Lindsey Dorcus’s incredibly talented narration along with you. (I just downloaded mine! 😍)

And I really hope you enjoy it! 💙

The audiobook cover for Goddess of the Sea (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 2) by Britney Jackson.
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Snippet – Stare

In Em’s defense, Maria’s thinking-about-killing-you stare and thinking-about-kissing-you stare look awfully similar. 😅

Snippet on blue background with two swords crossed and a dragon separating the text: “Wait. The captain stares at me?” Judith arched her eyebrows, as if Emilia had just proven her point. “Constantly. It's amazing you don't notice.” — from GODDESS OF THE SEA, LESBIANS, PIRATES, & DRAGONS: BOOK 2, by Britney Jackson.
Goddess of the Sea

I shared this snippet from Goddess of the Sea (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 2) for the #lesficfri theme, “stare.” 💙

I’ve been a little absent from social media lately because with Mother’s Day so close (here in the U.S., at least), I’ve been in a bit of a spiral. The good news is…this has happened every year since her death, so I know to expect it now.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’m sending extra, extra love this week to anyone who has lost a parent. I know the reminders are everywhere right now, but I hope you still have some happy moments. 💙

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Lesbian Visibility Day

Happy Lesbian Visibility Day! 🧡🤍🩷

I probably say this a lot, but visibility is so important to me—as someone who grew up, unable to make sense of what I felt or who I was, and feeling utterly broken because of it, as someone whose only understanding of her own identity came through the lens of hatred and bigotry.

Because of that, lesbian visibility has become one of my biggest passions in writing (right up there with mental health). It’s why I write lesbian pirates. It’s why I wrote Kara, Rose’s out and proud lesbian, Viking girlfriend from my vampire series. It’s why I shove more and more lesbians into everything I write. 😅

Lesbian is not an obscene word. It’s an identity, and when you treat an identity as if it’s obscene, you treat people as if they’re obscene.

I accepted that once. I let people convince me that I didn’t deserve to exist in broad daylight—that I belonged in the closet.

I don’t intend to sit by while others are made to feel that way. LGBTQ+ people are people, and people deserve to exist and feel safe to exist. It’s that simple. 🧡🤍🩷

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