Jacque Aye isn’t just an author. She’s a full-blown world builder, a creative powerhouse carving out surreal, soul-baring spaces for Black women and anyone who has ever felt too sad, too weird, or too other. Her stories are magnetic, messy, emotional, and sometimes monstrous in the best possible way. And this spring, she pulled off something wild: raising over $11,000 on Kickstarter to bring her comic/novel hybrid Tuesday’s Blues to life.
Described as Insecure meets Sex and the City with a splash of music and monsters, it’s a romantic comedy where depressed musicians summon demons to pay rent, rich witches rule their scenes, and lesbian tentacle monsters make things very, very interesting.
“It Was Anxiety Inducing and Exhilarating”
Aye’s no stranger to Kickstarter. This was her third campaign and second as a novelist, but even with experience, the nerves didn’t let up.
“It was anxiety-inducing and exhilarating!” she tells me, reflecting on the month-long whirlwind. “But I’m so happy we met our funding goal and can bring Tuesday’s monstrous world to life. I can’t wait for everyone to read it, and I’m very grateful to the backers who believed in us!”
Her excitement is infectious. Aye leans hard into the weirdness and owns every inch of it.
“I know it’s a strange world and an even stranger concept, but I promise it’ll be a fun (and funny) ride,” she says. “Who doesn’t love lesbian tentacle monsters, rich witches, and broke musicians who summon dark forces to pay rent?”
There’s No Five Year Plan, Only Purpose
While other creators map out their five-year plans in bullet points, Aye isn’t interested in forecasting. Her direction is spiritual, intuitive, and refreshingly unbothered by industry pressure.
“People often ask me what I want to do with my career, and all I know is I’m a worldbuilder with a love of strange tales with deep messages,” she says. “Wherever God calls me is where I will go!”
Aye’s mission is crystal clear: to guide fellow aliens through the absurdity of life. Her stories speak to the neurodivergent, the anxious, and the emotionally exhausted. Through her wildly creative fiction and raw Substack diary, “Diary of a Sad Black Woman,” she’s helping to normalize vulnerability in a culture that often treats it as weakness.
“Whether through my woeful fiction or my oversharey Substack, we’re normalizing emotional expression and seeking joy together, despite our differences.”
No Ads. No Book Tours. Just Pure Vibes.
One of the most impressive things about Aye’s rise? She’s done it all without traditional marketing.
“Social media has been SO crucial,” she explains. “I don’t spend money on ads, and I don’t do in-person events because of my anxiety. So I rely wholly on organic marketing.”
That means everything from cosplaying her characters to writing blog posts in their voices to whipping up fake press releases. It’s all part of her unique brand of chaos.
“I usually just do what seems fun to me,” she laughs.
She does credit fellow indie author Jessica Phylicia for one smart strategy: building a street team of dedicated readers to spread the word. Aye admits she hasn’t activated the team yet because of her ADHD, but she’s excited about the potential.
“It’s a great idea! Haha.”
Film? TV? Maybe a Magazine? She’s Open
When I ask her if she imagines one of her worlds hitting the big screen, Aye responds the way you’d expect someone who moves through life with trust and faith.
“The only looking I do is towards the Lord,” she says with a smirk. “Honestly, when it comes to anything beyond my control, I truly turn to God.”
That said, you can’t read something like Tuesday’s Blues, or I Live to Serve the Witch without imagining them as stunning, genre-bending series. Her blend of humor, horror, queerness, and emotional depth is perfect for the current era of elevated genre TV.
So what is coming up next?
“I’m a chaotic being, so any collaborations or new projects will also be news to me,” she jokes. “But I’m looking forward to writing the final book in the How to Be a Better Adult series, the sequel to I Live to Serve the Witch, and of course, Tuesday’s Blues.”
And there may be something else bubbling.
“I have been thinking of creating a magazine, though. We’ll see!”
Leading the Soft, Strange, and Spiritual Revolution
Jacque Aye isn’t waiting for permission from the literary establishment. She’s not concerned with fitting into anyone’s mold. She’s telling stories for the girls who cry in their rooms, talk to spirits, obsess over astrology, and still have to pay rent. She’s proof that being strange doesn’t disqualify you from success; it’s the blueprint for it.
Her career isn’t just a win for Black indie authors or for speculative fiction; it’s a win for all authors. It’s a signal that softness, sadness, and strangeness are not liabilities. They’re superpowers.
And if Jacque Aye is building the next universe, trust people are lining up to move in.
