A. J. Barlowe (they/them) is an author, reader, and cat parent.
They write queer stories that deal with difficult subjects, but always with the overarching theme of hope, healing, and the power of human connection.
Author Links:
Book link: books2read.com/ASOR
Insta/tiktok: @aj_barlowe
What provided the seeds of your slowburn m/m novel, A Series of Rooms, and can you describe your writing process from that first idea to your first draft to your revised version to published final product? What did that process look like for you?
The seeds of this story have lived in my head & my heart for about a decade. The initial spark came about from a throwaway line in a television show, about an undercover cop who spend one night with a trafficking victim in order to maintain his cover, and they just spent the whole night talking. Something about the idea of that momentary reprieve, a single night of safety in an otherwise hellish existence, really stuck with me.
The characters and the story have taken different shapes over the years I spent mapping it out, but the basic premise was always the same: a survivor trapped in a terrible situation, a lonely patron desperate for companionship, and a gentle, patient love that blooms solely out of an emotional connection. Two strangers at a crossroads of isolation and yearning for more from life.
The first draft shares a similar framework to the final product, but there were certainly a lot of changes along the way (including a 50% word count reduction—oops). I think the biggest change revolved around the circumstances of Jonah’s captivity. The thing I obsessed over the most in editing/rewriting was trying to ensure that his story was not sensationalized or gratuitous.
That was always the most important factor to get right. I wrote most of the first draft in 2020 during quarantine, and the following four years saw me in various stages of pulling my hair out to make sure I was putting out a story I could stand behind.
A Series of Rooms deals with heavy topics of sex trafficking, SA, and healing from trauma through healthy relationships. What did you draw upon for these themes, and how did you go about tackling them sensitively in your novel?
I’ve always used writing as a way of dealing with my own experiences. The exact circumstances of my story are not a direct reflection of my own—this certainly isn’t autobiographical.
But there are very personal pieces of my own story inextricably woven into these characters, and certain scenes that felt like they were plucked directly from my heart.
I answered this a little bit in the previous question, but to elaborate on what the several-year journey looked like in terms of due diligence: I did lots and lots of research. Some of that research revolved around legal system logistics (and about how broken that system is). But a lot of it was reading firsthand accounts of male survivors.
What kinds of queer rep can be found in A Series of Rooms, and can you elaborate a little on the demisexual rep for those unfamiliar with the spectrum of asexuality?
Gay and demisexual representation! For those who are unfamiliar, demisexual is a label that falls somewhere on the asexual spectrum.
On a very simplistic level, it means that someone’s sexual attraction isn’t rooted in physical appearance or first impressions, that they only really get to that level with someone after an emotional connection has been formed.
Although I don’t use the label outright in the story (as I am not very good with assigning myself labels in real life), it is very clear that Liam identifies with this term. I think this is one of many factors that make him a safe person in Jonah’s eyes, when they are first walking that teetering line of trust. Jonah is used to being viewed as a sexual object, and Liam keeps subverting those expectations at every term. He truly only wants to get to know him as a person before their relationship resembles anything physical.
What are your favourite tropes in queer romance to read, and what are your favourite tropes to write?
I’m a sucker for hurt/comfort, always. Both reading and writing. In one of my promotional graphics or A Series of Rooms, I listed a trope of “the horrors of being treated gently for the first time,” and I feel like that really sums up my taste in a nutshell.
How have readers responded to your work and can you share a few of your favourite comments/reviews that you’ve received?
I have been absolutely blown away by the reader response to this story. It’s my very first novel, and I published independently, so I knew there was a very real chance that this book wouldn’t make it outside of a very niche circle of friends.
I’m very lucky to be able to say it has blown my expectations out of the water. I had a thousand sales in my first month, which was genuinely more than I expected to get in a lifetime.
The people in the social media book spaces have been especially kind to me. It’s tough to pick only a few of the lovely comments, but here are some that really stuck with me:
“This is a story about two young men desperate to mean something to someone. Though strangers at first, Liam immediately sees Jonah’s pain and doesn’t look away.” – @reading_oceanside (IG)
“Intensely emotional–jarring–but vividly and uniquely gorgeous.” – @cara.reads.all.the.books (IG)
“The darkness of what Jonah goes through is expertly balanced by the softness Liam shows him. There were times I cried and raged, but I was ultimately left with hope for humanity and the kindness we are capable of showing each other.” – @elliot.roi.reads (IG)
What can people look out for from you – anything coming soon?
I am currently working simultaneously on a couple of stories, but trying to keep a lid on the details… at least for a little bit longer. Hoping to meet my word count threshold for an announcement by the end of March!
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