Interview with Milena McKay
Welcome, Milena! Thanks so much for agreeing to share your thoughts and experiences as a writer and fan with my readers.
First, tell us a little bit about your background as a writer.
Well, to be perfectly honest, I have none. Unless you count legal briefs, I have never written anything before I started working on fanfiction in 2020.
I can’t even truthfully say I was aware of what writing meant, in terms of commitment and discipline, hence my initial venture into fanfiction. It was like a litmus test in more ways than I think even I imagined. The Other Woman was born out of my sheer stubbornness to not start something I cannot finish.
You’re well known as a writer of ice queens. Your most recent book, These Thin Lines, moved away from that. What made you decide that was a creative step you wanted to take?
Chiara’s character was the one who drove the story for me from the beginning, so she was on my mind and at the tips of my fingers first, before the plot even fully crystallized. And she was always who she ended up being in the book. Vi’s characteristics changed along with the plot, but Chiara remained unapologetically herself, hence it was never a question of whether or not she could’ve been an Ice Queen.
I’m returning to that type of character though in my current WIP.
What are the greatest challenges and rewards of moving from fanfiction to published work?
I can’t say that I’ve ever thought about the issue this way, so now you have me stumped!
I do appreciate a greater audience that came with published work. But it also involves a greater responsibility, for the characters, for the plot - because they are fully mine and I cannot simply fall back on canon or fanon when in doubt or in trouble with the story.
Still, fanfiction will and always be my first love and I continue to read enormous amounts of it. My favorite authors came from the fanfiction scene, I’m sure you even know some of them ;)
For sure! Next question: writers have a thousand ideas all percolating at the same time. How do you decide which of those ideas will become books?
I have a notebook where I keep my ideas and plots. Currently there are 17 fully plotted, or somewhat plotted novel ideas. Usuallythey have an order of priority, but lately - as was Chiara’s case - they jump each other in the queue. I was in the middle of writing another story, a somewhat historical novel, but Chiara just wouldn't leave my mind and so These Thin Lines was written.
Seventeen plotted ideas is incredible. I’m so jealous. Now let’s talk craft! Your characters are larger than life and have such distinctive voices: for example, Neve Blackthorne of A Whisper of Solace doesn’t sound like anybody else out there. When you create a character (or adapt one from fanfiction), where do you begin?
Name.
It always starts with a name. It has to have a meaning that would go a long way towards drawing out the character in my head. All my characters, from Vivian DeVor to Chiara Conti and Neve herself have names that sort of determine who they will be. A life predetermined, if you will.
Once the name is set and they take shape in my mind, who they are, what they are about becomes very clear. And how they interact with their world takes a more concrete space in the plotting notebook, the story flows from there.
Can you tell us anything about your next project?
Since the first draft is not finished, and I am superstitious about disclosing details before the first draft is done (you never know when Chiara Conti will jump the line again) I will not share much. However this is what I can say, it's a revisit of a very familiar setting, a very familiar character that the readers have met before. I hope they will be excited to see her again, in a slightly different light.
In addition to this mysterious project–that I hope to announce very very soon–I have started a prequel for A Whisper Of Solace on my Patreon account, “McKay Off The Books,” where lots of shorts stories, Q&As and assorted bits and pieces already found their home or are yet to make their way there.
Last one: you're sitting down with a celebrity or historical figure. They're willing to tell you a secret--but you can never tell another soul. Who is the person, and what do you want to know?
Since I absolutely do not want to know any of the world secrets that had or could have any ramifications on the past and future, I’d probably try to indulge my curiosity instead.
I would love to sit down with Katharine Hepburn and listen to her speak–oh, that voice–about her fascinating life. She was always very brave and vocal about living on her own terms and with success came the power to do so. Rumors about Old Hollywood sapphics were plentiful and so I’d love to hear about her life and her choices. And did I mention the voice?
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