For me latest Author Spotlight, I’m joined by the lovely Alexa Milne. We talked about being more of a pantser than a planner, her latest release, and being inspired by other writers.

Take it away, Alexa…

First things first, please introduce yourself!
Hi everyone. Thanks to Charlie for having me here. My name is Alexa Milne. I write gay romance – both m/m and f/f. I started writing fanfiction, like many others, back in 2009. For me the prompt was the death of Ianto Jones in Torchwood. I wrote fix-it stories, then went on to write many types of stories and met many friends in the fandom. After a few years, and many words I decided to have a go at original writing and wrote my first book, Sporting Chance. I was lucky enough to get a publisher and it all began from there.

Tell us a little bit about your writing style.
I always find this difficult to answer. I’m not an intense writer. I don’t spend hours every day at the typewriter. I’m more of a pantster than a planner though I do spend some time thinking about a book and throw all the ideas down on an A3 sheet but there’s no real structure to that plan. I know where the start is, and how the MCs meet, and that there’s a happy ever after but usually have no idea what happens in between. That for me, is the fun bit and usually my characters chip in their ideas.

Describe your books in only three words.
All about families.

What’s your next book about and when’s it coming out?
My next book is out this week. It’s the first in the Wanderlings series and is my first shifter book. The Cat Who Came In From The Cold features cat shifters – the domestic kind. Thom Katt is one of triplets who comes to London to seek his fortune on the stage. Like others he finds himself waiting on tables. Here he meets Tyler, a PhD student who is studying bees. They hook up and Thom sees a chance to solve his current accommodation problem. He persuades Tyler and his sister to take in a poor, hungry, cat shivering in the snow. What Thom doesn’t know is his actions will reveal secrets of his father, and a whole shifter world he didn’t know existed. It will also put him and Tyler in danger. As the two get closer, Thom has to make some big decisions.

Out of all your books, which one are you most proud of?
The first – Sporting Chance because I got it finished and published. It is still my most read book.

What or who (or both) has influenced you most as a writer?
Other writers of romance. I hadn’t read much before I started writing beyond the huge family sagas I read by the inch and loved. Gay romance was new to me. There are so many great writers out there.

What inspired you to start writing?
Seeing other fanfiction writers produce their own stories made me try to write my own.

What’s your writing process like? Do you have a typical “writing day”?
I don’t write to a schedule. I aim to write around a thousand words a day, but sometimes it is more and sometimes less. I write for fun and because I need to get the stories in my head written down.

What comes first for you – the plot or the characters?
It’s a bit of both, but more characters and their relationships. I write a lot of families. Plot develops along the way.

What’s a book that you wish you’d written?
The Society of Gentlemen series by K J Charles.

If you could only write one trope for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Finding family. Family is something I come back to in every story I write because families can be about so many things in our lives for good and bad.

What would be your three desert island books?
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein
The Society of Gentlemen by JR Charles
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

If one of your books could be made into a movie/TV series, which would you choose and who would you cast?
Sporting Chance, probably. Really not sure who I’d cast. I’d need a six foot four blonde in his 20s, and a six foot, stocky, dark-haired wearer of glasses. Any ideas, anyone?

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?
My main hobby is genealogy. I started my own family tree back in the 80s when everything was on paper and film. Now it’s so easy to research, I do family trees for fun.

Finally, what’s your favourite dinosaur?
My favourite dinosaur is a triceratops.

Originally from South Wales, ALEXA MILNE has lived for over forty years in the North West of England. Now retired, after a long career in teaching, she devotes her time to her obsessions.

Alexa began writing when her favourite character was killed in her favourite show. After producing a lot of fanfiction she ventured into original writing.

She is currently owned by a mad cat and spends her time writing about the men in her head, watching her favourite television programmes and usually crying over her favourite football team.

For more information on Alexa and their work you can follow her on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Goodreads, and Amazon.