A.B. Jackson launches Stolen Hearts at Spotify HQ – and the queer rockstar mystery continues
The question remains for any curious reader: who on earth is Alexander Morgan based on?
This Wednesday (10 June), author A.B. Jackson welcomed an impressive room of LGBTQ+ friends, creatives and tastemakers to Spotify’s London headquarters for the launch of Stolen Hearts, the second book in his spicy, music-soaked gay-romance trilogy.
As you would expect from a queer-led event worth its weight, guests enjoyed fizz and slick catering. It was a celebration of LGBTQ+ storytelling, of chosen creative families, and of the power of putting queer narratives into the world on their own terms. The fact that an independent queer author was taking up space — and being given a premium platform to do so properly, felt correct.
The book continues the world first introduced in Jackson’s debut, following the charged emotional and sexual terrain around fictional rockstar Alexander Morgan – a character whose blend of magnetism, secrecy and desire has already left readers speculating.
And Jackson did little to quieten that speculation during an intimate Q&A at the event.
Speaking candidly about the inspiration behind the trilogy, the author revealed that elements of the story are loosely inspired by his own relationship with an A-list rockstar ex who remains in the closet. Jackson also alluded to the legal restrictions that still surround that chapter of his life – making clear that, while the books may be fictionalised, the emotional truth behind them is anything but.
In other words: the breadcrumbs have been laid. Readers may do with them what they will. And again, gays, resist the witch hunt please. Nobody should be forced to sashay out.
The evening also featured a live performance from Sam Hurst, whose voice appears on the soundtrack accompanying Jackson’s books. Hurst performed My Anchor and Stolen Moments, bringing to life the sultry, closeted intensity of Alexander Morgan and giving the room a taste of how Jackson’s fictional universe extends beyond the page.
This multimedia project has been supported by Spotify, which has played an important role in Jackson’s journey as an author – from giving him access to its recording studio to helping amplify his work editorially. This is a case of the big guy (Spotify) helping out the small gay, and Attitude’s here for it. Nobody’s counting on Zuckerberg or Musk, after all.
“Spotify has been such an important part of my author journey,” Jackson said. “From letting me use their recording studio to record the soundtrack to accompany the books, all the way through to the editorial support for my gay rockstar romance book, the amazing work Spotify continue to do to uplift gay authors in all genres, to elevate our stories has allowed my story to reach audiences my books otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to.”
For LGBTQ+ indie authors, that kind of backing can be transformative. In a publishing landscape where queer stories have too often been filtered, softened or sidelined, events like this feel quietly significant. They offer visibility not only to the work itself, but to the ecosystem around it: the readers, musicians, platforms and communities helping those stories find their audience.
And Stolen Hearts knows exactly what kind of audience it is speaking to. It is sexy, emotionally loaded and knowingly provocative, drawing on the tension between public image and private truth – a tension queer people know all too well.
At the centre of it all is Alexander Morgan: closeted, irresistible and apparently still keeping at least one secret too many.
As for who inspired him? Jackson may be gagged, but his readers live for the drama and speculation. Including this one.
Stolen Hearts by A.B. Jackson is out now.