On the last day of Disability Pride Month, I’m here to remind you, as a fantasy author with multiple disabilities, the idea that disabled people can’t be in fantasy is silly (and harmful).
Both main characters of my Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons series have disabilities, as do some of their friends, parents, and mentors, and I personally think it would be less realistic, if they didn’t.
Happy Disability Pride Month! 🖤
You may have noticed that I’ve been quiet for a few months. If you follow me on social media, you know there’s a reason for that.
The most I feel comfortable saying is that some awful things happened in my personal life this year that triggered PTSD from past abuse and multiple suicidal episodes.
And just as I was starting to feel like I was bouncing back, the awful thing happened again.
So, yeah, I definitely haven’t been in a great place emotionally this year, and it’s hard to be online when I’m barely here at all. But I’m trying to get back to a better place, despite it all.
It’s ironic that I missed Mental Health Awareness Month because of my mental health (and I feel like this isn’t even the first time it’s happened 😅). But this issue is very important to me, so I’d rather say something late than not at all.
If you’ve read my books, you know that representing mental illness honestly—flaws and all—is something I’m passionate about. If we only care about mental health when the person or character is perfect and not when they make mistakes, then we don’t actually care about mental health—because perfect people don’t exist.
I try to be honest about my own struggles with mental illness, just as I try to represent mental illness honestly in my books—even when it’s embarrassing, even when it’s scary, even when it makes me feel unbearably vulnerable, even when it hurts.
With as much as I’ve been unable to see this about myself, it’s important to me that you know you already deserve love, just as you are. 💚
You don’t have to be okay. You don’t have to pretend to be. You deserve love, regardless. 💚
And since I don’t think I’ve said it here, happy last day of Pride! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
If you’re at the ReadOUT Literary Festival in Gulfport, Florida this weekend, here’s where you can find me! 💙
P.S. — I’m operating on about two hours of sleep, so fingers crossed my brain even works! 😅
Friday:
I’m a panelist on the Building Queer Worlds panel at 2:15 PM.
I’m also a panelist on the Queering Romantasy panel at 6 PM.
Saturday:
I’ll be at the 6:30 Author Signing, (and I’ll have my gay dragon stickers again)! 🐉
I’m so excited to see you all! 💙
I’ve been having a pretty rough time lately, but during that time, Goddess of the Sea (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 2) reached a happy, little milestone! 💙 It now has over five hundred reviews and ratings on Amazon! (And almost two hundred on Audible!)
I know I’ve said this a few times now, but I’ve never been more terrified to release a book than I was with this one. (And if you’ve known me for long, you know that’s saying something. 😅) This book was so vulnerable and so personal. Every positive reaction has meant the world to me. 💙
I couldn’t be more grateful that you were receptive to what I was trying to do with Em and Maria. Thank you. 💙
Goddess of the Sea (Book 2 of Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons) is featured in this week’s Sapphic Book Bingo category, “Comforting the other character after a nightmare.” 💙
If you’ve read the book, you know this is a particularly significant scene for Em and Maria, so I thought I’d say a few words about it.
One of the hardest things about PTSD, in my opinion, is the way so many of the symptoms leave you feeling powerless. Powerless over your body, over your mind, over the past, and…during a nightmare or flashback, powerless over the present, as well. Especially when the trauma came while under the power of someone else, that feeling of powerlessness is…difficult. So, to say this scene is a personal one (that made me cry many, many, many times) would be an understatement.
It was also a huge step for Em and Maria, and I deeply love what it does for their progress. 💙
You can find fifteen sapphic books with this micro-trope at the link below.
Just a head. No big deal.
This snippet from Goddess of the Sea (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 2) is the one I shared for the #lesficfri theme, “remember.” 🖤
I hope your week is off to a great start. 🖤
Always thinking like a pirate.
I shared this snippet from Goddess of the Sea (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 2) for the #lesficfri theme, “tongue.”
I’ve recently realized I’ve been forgetting to share these snippets here, after sharing them on social media each week. So, I’m going to work on catching them up over the next few days. 💙
I hope you’re all doing well this week! 💙
I meant to share these earlier in the month, but…well…it’s been a rough one.
For anyone participating in Sapphic September this year, if you need to know which categories my books fit, I’ve listed them below. 🖤
🐉 Disabled Sapphics (Definitely)
🏴☠️ Indie or Small Press Author (Definitely)
🐉 2025 Release (Possibly? If you’re reading the audiobook version of Goddess of the Sea. The ebook and print came out in 2024.)
🏴☠️ Choose Your Own Prompt
🐉 New-to-You Author (Possibly)
🏴☠️ Book from Physical TBR (Possibly)
🖤 Indie or Small Press Author (Definitely)
🩸 40+ Main Character (I think? Kara is over fourteen hundred, after all.)
🖤 Choose Your Own Prompt
🩸 New-to-You Author (Possibly)
🖤 Book from Physical TBR (Possibly)
🩸 Disabled Sapphics (Yes)
I think that’s all, but if I missed anything, feel free to let me know. 🖤
Happy reading!
PTSD and psychically-linked dragons aren’t always the best combination. 🐉
This snippet from Goddess of the Sea (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 2) was for the #lesficfri theme, “sleep.”
I’m still not at my best (and might still get sent to the hospital later), BUT…I managed to do our Friday snippet. I’m taking that as a good sign. 🖤
My second Goldie. How is this real? 🥹
For anyone who might’ve missed it, last week, in Albany, New York, Goddess of the Sea won a Goldie Award in Fantasy! 💙
I guess it hasn’t fully sunk in yet—because it still feels so strange to say. 😅
For those of you who were watching the Awards, either in person or online, sorry again for bawling on stage, instead of giving a normal acceptance speech.
I don’t know if there are strong enough words to convey how much it means to me, but…I hoped I conveyed at least a fraction of it.
I’m going to try to do a more official and…maybe more eloquent post soon, but for now, I’m just really grateful. 💙
I’m also so happy I was able to meet some of you at GCLS! 💙
I’m missing everyone so much this week.
Huge congratulations to the other winners, as well! 💙
Oh, and I believe you can still watch the Goldie Awards on YouTube, if you missed them. 💙
On the last day of Disability Pride Month, I’m here to remind you, as a fantasy author with multiple disabilities, the idea that disabled people can’t be in fantasy is silly (and harmful). Both main characters of my Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons series have disabilities, as do some of their friends, parents, and mentors, and […]
You may have noticed that I’ve been quiet for a few months. If you follow me on social media, you know there’s a reason for that. The most I feel comfortable saying is that some awful things happened in my personal life this year that triggered PTSD from past abuse and multiple suicidal episodes. And […]
April is Autism Acceptance Month, which means it’s time (almost past time) for my annual reminder that autistic people come in all shapes and sizes—including that of a dragon-riding surgeon. 🖤🐉🖤 Emilia Drakon, the protagonist of my Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons series, is autistic (like me), and though she deals with communication and sensory obstacles […]
Every year, I try to say a little about why lesbian visibility is so important to me—as a lesbian and as a lesbian author. I’m not exactly in the state of mind that I like to be in when I talk about these things, but I’m going to try, anyway. 🧡 I spent much of […]
I’m excited to share that Pirates of Aletharia (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 1) won the 2025 IAN Book of the Year Award in LGBTQ+ Fiction! This makes, I believe, the fourth literary award it’s won. 💙 It was also a finalist in Fantasy! I’m beyond grateful. 💙
Britney Jackson 
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