In this installment of our featured authors section we were lucky enough to grab a few moments with Abigail Aaronson author of , Lavender & Gin. Abigail Aaronson writes sapphic historical romance with teeth. She also runs the Queer Historical Romance Instagram and Facebook group.
Q) I was captivated by your concept of a sapphic prohibition gangster romance, what inspired you to write Lavender & Gin?
I was spending a lot of time in Detroit, and fell down a research rabbit hole into the city’s history. It happened to coincide with another rabbit hole I was in on the “Pansy and Lesbian Craze” of the 1930’s. The story felt like it spontaneously emerged the second I started connecting dots between the two interests. It was one of those plots I love as a writer: the kind that grab ahold of me and demands to make it to the page.
Q) Your book seems very time period accurate, which came first the research or the story idea?
Research came first for me, which is typical for my historical romance process. Digging deep into the topic helps me plot. But it was also simultaneous to almost every draft. As I’d write, I’d realize there was something I didn’t know much about, research that, and then incorporate it back into the book.
Q) Were there any personal experiences or events that shaped the story?
I joke that you can see a reflection of my queer awakening in the plot. The first time I realized without a doubt that I was attracted to women happened at a college production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. I was madly infatuated with the actress playing Viola, a character disguised as her missing brother. When I thought of the book’s premise (a woman takes on her missing brother’s identity to run a bootlegging gang in Prohibtion-era Detroit) I somehow didn’t make that connection. A conversation with a friend about queer awakenings a full two years after I started working on the book finally clued me in.
Q) What were the authors you first read growing up that made you think about being a writer?
I wish I could say something more precocious but honestly? Authors (and the ghost writers behind them!) of series like Ann M. Martin’s The Baby-Sitters Club and Bonnie Bryant’s The Saddle Club. I ate those books up and wrote so many stories because of them. I also remember being inspired by The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner.
Q) What was the most challenging part of the publishing process?
Lavender & Gin is my debut novel, so every single part has been a learning process. It’s a ground-up lesson in marketing, graphic design, blurb writing, formatting, navigating publishing platforms, and more. Parts stand out less individually than the sheer amount of parts that present challenges. But now that I’ve done so many things for the first time, I’m hoping the next book will feel much less overwhelming!
Q) You run an Instagram and Facebook group that connects readers and writers of Queer Historical Romance, Do you think it is important for authors to communicate with the fan base and vice versa?
I think communication between authors and readers is necessary on some level for any indie author (because as an indie you’re almost impossible to find without it) but I think there’s a pretty wide definition of communication. Some authors are super private about their life outside their books, sometimes for safety reasons, and I don’t think authors should feel pressured to communicate more about themselves than they’re comfortable with.
But I do think it’s helpful for just about any author to communicate with their readers about their work, if not themselves. As for vice-versa, I can only speak to my own experience, but readers reaching out to me has been a highlight of the publishing process. A couple people messaged me to ask about ARC copies before I’d even set a release date, which felt like such a vote of confidence that I needed as a debut author!
Q) what is your next project you are working on?
I’m currently working on a sapphic historical romance between rival courtesans in 17th century Paris, and am also in the research phase for a Lavender & Gin sequel. I have several other projects I’m working on as well, but we’ll have to see if they make it out into the light!
Q) If people want more information about your or your projects, where should they go?
My website is www.abigailaaronson.com and I can be found on Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and Facebook @abigailaaronsonwrites.
Final four questions –we ask everybody.
Q) When the zombies take over the world where will you be?
Realistically I’m not making it past 24 hours in a zombie apocalypse. I don’t think I could run faster than even the slowest zombie. But if someone took pity on me and brought me into their post-apocalyptic commune I think I’d end up being the grandma cooking for everyone and telling stories to children about The Before Times.
Q ) What is your favorite Fandom (could be sports, pop culture, favorite director or author)
For authors, Sarah Waters. For TV, I adore both the Interview with the Vampire series and Maison Close. For art, I’m a Alphonse Mucha fangirl until I die.
Q) What piece of art, be it in the form of music, a book, a film or picture, do you think people must experience before they die?
I wish I could give a single answer to this, but there’s not a single piece of art I think everyone should experience as much as I would hope for everyone to experience at least one piece of art that moves them in ways they didn’t expect before they die.
Q) Give one fact that most people would not believe about you?
I was in a queer bowling league. Not only that, I was the worst bowler in my queer bowling league. By like, a lot.
Paper Phoenix ink 