For my latest Author Spotlight I’m joined by the fabulous Gigi Rivers. We talked about using music to help set the mood of a scene, writing wounded misfits, and being proud of all her books.

Take it away Gigi…

First things first, please introduce yourself!
My name is Gigi Rivers. I was born in Sydney, Australia, and now I live in Berlin, Germany with my husband and two free-roaming German giant rabbits, Big Wig and Hazel. They also love books, specifically chewing and throwing them. 

I’m relatively new to writing and publishing. I’ve always loved making up stories in my head, but never considered writing them down until a few years ago. I started self-publishing in 2022. 

Tell us a little bit about your writing style.
I write MM paranormal fantasy romance. My books are often sweet, steamy, and with an almost fairy-tale-like quality. And I have a tendency to write about wounded misfits finding love and belonging. 

Describe your books in only three words.
Fantasy. Sweet. Heat.

Can you tell us a little about your latest release?
At the moment, I’m releasing books in my winter holiday novella series, A Nymph Solstice Romance. These novellas are about mountain nymphs and humans falling in love in a quaint medieval village surrounded by forests, mountains, and snow. It promises all the winter holiday feels! Plus some steam. And some of the main characters include a village blacksmith, a baker, a potter, and a botanist.

Three novellas came out last year, and I’ve got three coming out this year. The first two (A Winter Courtship and A Winter Redemption) are out already and the third (A Winter Awakening) is coming out December 6th. 

Out of all your books, which one are you most proud of?
All of them! The fact that I ever wrote and published a book seems pretty amazing to me. And it seems so incredible that I have readers who actually enjoy my books. If I had to choose one, maybe I’d go with To Love A Naiad, book 1 in my A Naiad Romance duology. It is the first novel I ever wrote, and that’s why I’m so proud of it. 

What or who (or both) has influenced you most as a writer?
I’d say the MM genre in general and the authors who write it. There are so many incredible MM authors out there, and over the years I feel I’ve learnt so much from them just by being an avid reader in the genre.

What inspired you to start writing?
I honestly can’t even remember. I’d been reading MM for years at the time, and then one day I thought, “why don’t I try and write one of these?” So I did!

What’s your writing process like? Do you have a typical “writing day”?
A typical writing day for me is just me sitting down to write at home at my desk. I try to write during the day, but sometimes insomnia means I write late into the night or wake up in the middle of the night and just start writing. I have a goal for the number of words I’d like to get done in a day. 

For each book, I find a few songs that I want to listen to when I write that book. And I’ll often just play one song on repeat, sometimes for days. I find it helps me to get into the mood of a scene or book. 

I always have an outline before I start writing. Sometimes it is very detailed. And before I start writing, I try to get to know my characters in my head and get a sense of how the main characters are going to be together.

What comes first for you – the plot or the characters?
100% characters! Sometimes even a world or setting might spark the idea for a book or series. Plot tends to come once I have a sense of the characters and who they’ll be together.

If you could only write one trope for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Snowed-in. I love the vibes and the forced proximity element, and there is so much room to play with there.

What would be your three desert island books?
Only 3! That’s so tough. I’m going to go with three that I re-read pretty regularly. 

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by KJ Charles, Hottie Scotty & Mr Porter by R. Cooper, and (I’m going to cheat and go with a series) Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk. 

If one of your books could be made into a movie/TV series, which would you choose and who would you cast?
The Pirate and the Naiad, book 1 in my Pirates and Water Nymphs series. I think this one would work well. Whilst the romance between the pirate captain and the naiad who hates humans is the main story, there is also swashbuckling adventure, pretty epic battle scenes, and a bunch of sexy pirates! I think that would work on the screen.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Do you have a secret passion or hobby that we don’t know about?
Yoga, lifting weights, and pottery.  

Finally, what’s your favourite dinosaur?
Diplodocus – since I was 6. I got to see a cast skeleton this year! It was incredible! 

GIGI RIVERS spent her childhood daydreaming and living inside the imaginary worlds in her mind. As an author, she now shares these worlds with her readers.

Born and raised in Australia, she now resides in Berlin, Germany. She is mixed race, being half-Filipino and part Welsh. She is a traveller, potter, gym enthusiast, nature and animal lover, an avid consumer of stories, and now, a writer of MM fantasy romance. 

For more information on Gigi and her work you can visit her website, sign up for her newsletter, and follow her on Facebook, and Instagram. You can also join her Facebook Reader Group for more news and updates