I finalized the outline for Blackjack back in the winter of 2021, probably. I had planned to write this after finishing Spider Bites, but another project was more exciting. Then I wanted to write it after I Can't Count the Reasons, but I hadn't anticipated how well Spider Bites would be received, and thus, I needed to get to work writing Cave Canem. I have no excuse for writing Your Chariot Awaits instead. I don't know what the hell that book was.

About two and a half years after writing the outline, I gave Blackjack the attention it deserved. I can honestly say what came out of my effort is better than if I had written it after finishing Spider Bites.

Blackjack exists to fill a void in this fandom. They say that every queer person is either a "pirate gay" or a "cowboy gay." The Percy Jackson fandom has no shortage of pirate AUs, many of which I have enjoyed myself, but I realized there was nothing out there for the cowboy gays, and thus, Blackjack was born. Also, my parents used to watch a lot of that Canadian Hallmark-esque show Heartland.

The Western, which you'll see reflected in this plot, and the Hero's Journey, which you'll find in any Percy Jackson book are similar, but certainly not the same. They both include a hero (check), maybe some new friends (check), some daring encounters (check again), and a seemingly impossible task (check yet again). The difference, however, is that the traditional hero (Perseus, Odysseus, etc.) finds his way back where he started, a changed person. The Western Hero (your typical cowboy, the Mandalorian, etc.) is only passing through. He didn't come from home, and he isn't going home. Blackjack is a Western, not just as an AU, but as a part of the genre as a whole.

This isn't a long piece. It's thirteen chapters, plus a prologue and an epilogue, so we won't be spending much time in Olympus, but gold runs dry fast. You have to enjoy it while it's here and cherish it after it's gone. I hope you can do the same with Percy and Blackjack's story.

Although you didn't realize how long you were waiting for this piece, I hope it is well worth the wait.

Stay sweet,

Red

No, dammit, the horse does not talk.

And yes, there are gay cowboys in this.