In this installment of getting to know an author we chat with BJ Sikes who writes fantastical history with a modern feminist lens, a touch of heartbreak, and a little bit of steampunk.
Q) Tell us about your latest project. What inspired you to create it?
A) Her Runaway Lady is a cozy sapphic historical romance, set in Paris in the 1880s. It’s the story of a working-class hatmaker and a noblewoman fleeing an arranged marriage. They really don’t care for each other at first but of course, it’s a romance, so it’s not a spoiler to say that they eventually fall in love. After my last novel, a gothic horror (The Cultist’s Wife), I really needed to write something “light and fluffy” to give myself an emotional break. I’ve read historical romance for years but never written one. It’s hard to find sapphic stories, so I decided to write one. Little did I realize how HARD it is to write a satisfying romance but I persevered! I also really love hats so setting the book in a Parisian millinery was fun for me.
Q) Do you know what your next project is going to be? Can you give us a preview?
A) My next book release is going to be a climate-fiction novel about a young woman fighting for her independence in a flooded London ghetto ruled by gangs. Not as sweet as Her Runaway Lady, but still very queer. It’s currently in development with Water Dragon Publishing and should be released in summer of 2026. Tentative title is Bermondsey 2080 (because it’s set in Bermondsey in South East London in the year 2080). I was born in London and lived in Bermondsey for ten years so it was kinda fun to return there in fiction form.
Q) What was the first story you wrote down?
A) I was an early reader and writer and vaguely remember writing something in kindergarten about a bullied teacher’s pet. Definitely autobiographical. LOL. There may have been illustrations. I was then and remain terrible at drawing so none of my current fiction contains my drawings.
Q) What do you feel is the most important things a person should take from a work of fiction?
A) Everyone is so different with what they want or need from reading fiction. For me, I read fiction to escape into an imaginary world unlike my own, where people live the lives they want and the bad guys don’t prosper. I think of speculative fiction as modeling a world that could be.
Q) Do you have a set writing schedule or practice that helps you produce pages consistently.
A) I am the antithesis of consistent writing. Every single completed novel I wrote (I’m up to six) was written in November, in one marathon. During the rest of the year, I can eke out a thousand words here and there but nothing consistent. Don’t try this at home, kids.
Q) What are your biggest dreams and fears around being an author?
A) My dream is that I will make readers feel good, inspired and/or seen when they read my books. My fear is that I will inadvertently hurt someone with my writing (so I make sure to use trigger warnings as needed).
Q) What do you do to stay inspired, what other authors do you like to keep up with?
A) Engaging in real life with readers and other authors keeps me inspired. It’s such a thrill to have someone come up to you and tell you that they loved your book or ask you when you’re coming out with another one. Some authors who truly inspire me with their work: Colette, Mary Robinette Kowal, Becky Chambers, Talia Hibbert, and Adriana Herrera.
Q) When you are starting out on a novel which comes first the characters or the plot? Are you a pantser or an outliner?
A) I always start with the character and then figure out their problem or goal. Then I plot like mad. I have several plotting apps that I use. Every time I start a book without plotting first, I give up on writing it before finishing. So I am most definitely a plotter.
Q) If people want more information about your or your books, where should they go?
A) My website! www.bjsikesauthor.com My books are all listed and described and some bookish inspirations are posted there.
Final four questions –we ask everybody.
Q) When the zombies take over the world, where will you be?
A) Probably cowering in my basement and hoping they don’t find me.
Q ) What is your favorite Fandom (could be sports, pop culture, favorite director or author)
A) I was a Browncoat for years (Firefly/Serenity for those not in the know) but these days, I’m more into cosy anime like The Apothecary Diaries.
Q) What book do you think people must experience before they die?
A) I give out copies of the Collected Stories of Colette because she packed so much beauty and emotion into her words.
Q) Give one fact that most people would not believe about you?
A) I think of hares as my spirit animal but I’m allergic to rabbits! Go figure.