Britney Jackson's Blog

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!

Goddess of the Sea (Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons: Book 2) is featured in this week’s I Heart SapphFic Reading Challenge category, “Forced Proximity.”

Because, as Judith says in Book 1, a pirate ship is “smaller than any town, smaller than any island.”

You can find more sapphic books with forced proximity on the I Heart SapphFic website!

Pirates of Aletharia is featured in this week’s Sapphic Book Bingo category, “Who hurt you?”

I have a habit of writing sapphic characters who are really protective of each other, so some variation of this tends to show up in a lot of my books. (I can confirm it’s in Goddess of the Sea, as well! )

You can find fifteen sapphic books with this micro-trope on Jae’s website!

It’s Banned Books Week, a week set aside each year to discuss the danger of banning books and the importance of the freedom to read. In a time when diversity and authenticity in literature is being attacked by those in power, it’s more important than ever to speak out against censorship.

Representation is important. It literally saves lives.

We will continue to write these books. We will continue to read these books. Diversity should be celebrated, not feared. Reading should be encouraged, not attacked.

I’m happy to stand with GCLS and SASS in defense of our stories.

Hey! It’s our day! [image error]

Have the gayest day possible! (Double-meaning intended.) [image error]

P.S. — I hopped on to share this and noticed I’d forgotten to add our Friday snippets to the website for about…a month. Fortunately, the one benefit of being sick is having a little extra time. I should be able to catch those up 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.

Lesbians, Pirates, & Dragons:

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)

Creatures of Darkness:

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? [image error]

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.