A.J. Marchant. That’s me. Hi. I’m an Australian author, currently living in a small rural town but missing the grunge of the city and the relaxed coastal vibe that I enjoy.
Against all good advice, I’m an unapologetic genre-hopper. Which means I write stories in many forms— literary, romance, action & adventure, fantasy, crime & thriller— but I believe the most important part of a story are the characters, no matter in which genre they’re portrayed.
Like myself, my main characters are queer, gay, lesbian, pick your word (or don’t, I’m not one for labels either). But it’s their strength and the way they overcome whatever life throws at them that I like to push to the front, sexuality plays a minor role in the background. My hope is that it’s stories like these that become part of mainstream publishing, and mainstream media and entertainment as a whole.
The best I can say it is through the words of poet Andrea Gibson —
“I didn’t come here to write my heart out, I came to write it in.” (Truce)
(Side Note: I highly recommend a listen to Gibson’s spoken poems, especially their album Truce. These are the words that got me through one of the hardest griefs in my life.)
(Side Side Note: If I could, I’d write out every one of their poems for you to read right now, every line hits me in the feels, both joy and sadness.)
(Side Side Side Note: A number of their poems gave me the courage to write “Unspoken” [currently in the works].)
(Side Side Side Side Note: This is my how muddled my brain is everyday, it’s hard to keep on task.)
(Side Side Side Side Note: This is my how muddled my brain is everyday, it’s hard to keep on task.)
I have no great story about how I became a writer. It isn’t something I’ve wanted to do since I was five. I wasn’t the kid in the back of the class scribbling down a story. Words were just my way to process as a teenager and young adult (they still are). They’re my way to think outside my brain and my body, a way to learn and know myself, the world, to pull myself out of a funk and up by the bootstraps, to write down the good and bad, both important and worth remembering.
I have no great story about how I became a writer. It isn’t something I’ve wanted to do since I was five. I wasn’t the kid in the back of the class scribbling down a story. Words were just my way to process as a teenager and young adult (they still are). They’re my way to think outside my brain and my body, a way to learn and know myself, the world, to pull myself out of a funk and up by the bootstraps, to write down the good and bad, both important and worth remembering.
Books have always been a part of my life. Stories of all kinds. As a teenager I was reading books most adults have never even picked up.
From the classics, to crime novels, to comics, to literary fiction— my parents never held back when it came to providing stories to read, always encouraging and scrambling to keep up as I tore through them on holidays. I can’t remember ever not having a book to read.
Just like my stories and reading habits and how my brain functions in general, this site is an eclectic collection.
My favourite is the Quirk Page, where I list fun facts about myself, words that catch my eye, dog, hiking and house renovation photos, rants, journal entries, funny stories, and posts about books read and movies watched.
The Author’s Note page is where I talk about each book, how the story came about, the writing process of the work, personal thoughts, and sometimes the little random things that happened during the process.
The Portfolio page lists my published works—duh.
The rest is made up as I go along, so— Happy reading!
Speak what is on your mind. Write what is in your heart.
Drop a comment below or get in touch, I’d love to hear from you.
(they/them/their)
Instagram — @ajm_writes
Email ajmarchantwrites@gmail.com
If you’d like to be notified when a new book is released you can follow me on Amazon
One queer story at a time... 
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