Review Fix Exclusive: S.J. Thompson Talks ‘Street Fighting Woman’

Review Fix chats with author S.J. Thompson, who discusses the inspiration and creative process for his new book, “Street Fighting Woman.”

About the Book:

S.J. Thompson’s ‘Street Fighting Woman’ takes one female wrestler who moonlights as a bodyguard, and follows her on an escorting job that will soon shroud her in fierce gang warfare. Set in the 1920s, Thompson’s book is heavily inspired by the real-world history of women’s wresting. It’s a novel one critic recently called a “hallucinogenic trip through the countryside!”

Review Fix: What inspired this book?

S.J. Thompson: The book came about after researching the history of wrestling. And while looking at the 1910s and 20s, this little nugget of information struck me. I always wanted to write a thriller story and when I found out that women’s wrestling was popular in the early 20th century I thought “this will be a really fun backdrop to a tale of danger and excitement”. After that it all fell in to place and I could see my characters and their place in this world clearly.

Review Fix: What was the research process like?

Thompson: I started to read more about the wrestling scene at this time, devouring any morsel of information I could find until I had a picture of how it worked at that time. They would fight in circuses, it would be taken very seriously, that kind of thing. The more I uncovered about this secret history, the more fascinating it became.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this book the most?

Thompson: I think any fan of crime dramas will enjoy this as well as those who like a bit of suspense, horror and mystery. Its an adult book but not salacious (despite being about women’s wrestling) or unnecessarily crude. It is frenetic and a little violent but you’d expect that with the subject matter. The slight horror element comes from one of the criminal gangs who are a little odd looking to say the least.

Review Fix: How does the art improve the story?

Thompson: This is a novel, but I did test the waters by releasing a graphic novel set in the same universe a while ago. I am hoping to re-release this soon as it is now out of print. The art elevated the weirdness as we went for punchy, strong colours and not the sepia tones you might expect in a 1920s set book.
Review Fix: What are your goals for this book?

Thompson: I hope this book sells well and gets in people’s hands and they enjoy it. All I want to do is write something people will enjoy and my goal is they will feel that too.

Review Fix: How is it different from your previous work?

Thompson: I’d never written so much before. I’d written web comics in the past, concentrating on one page a week. I’d also do all the art myself. I also just finished drawing a comic for a new writer which is going to be amazing, but that is a modern day horror story so quite a different setting.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Thompson: I am now writing a sequel to this book, so expect more wrestling action as well as a modern day murder mystery novel with a fantastical twist!

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Thompson: I hope the book encourages people find out a bit more about the wrestling scene in the early 20th century. It is fascinating to see how attitudes have changed. It was happening In America, England and France and the audiences were sometimes exclusively women, so not something you see much of these days.