"It is REALLY hard not to get caught up in the horse race of publishing"

Author Georgia Clark on nailing ensemble narratives, a game-changing publication ritual, and her heartfelt Christmas rom-com, MOST WONDERFUL

Check out the collection of past Words With (Author) Friends, wherein I g-chat with an author and you get to read over my shoulder, and order Georgia’s queer, big-hearted rom-com, out now!

---

Me: Good morning, Georgia! How are you?

Georgia: Hey! I’m good, how are things?¹

As fine as they can be! Huge congrats on MOST WONDERFUL. How did your launch go?

Fun/joyful/chaotic - all the things. I did two shows at Joe’s Pub, then a book launch event with my friend Becca Freeman at Ripped Bodice, (shoutout to NYC’s only romance bookstore!) Launches are a LOT of energy output but it is exciting to have such a definitive end point and celebration.

That's so great! So much of the job is us alone at our desks—it's fun to be in community, celebrating all that hard work!

damn straight

Can you share a little about MOST WONDERFUL?

Why of course!!

Most Wonderful is the queer Christmas story I wish I had growing up: a funny, spicy, heartfelt ode to queer joy and the magic of the holidays. Set in the snowy Catskills of upstate New York, it follows three adult siblings: responsible eldest Liz, a Hollywood showrunner in love with her leading lady; messy middle child Birdie, a stand-up comedian more focused on wooing women than working on new material; and baby brother Rafi, a hopeless romantic whose public proposal has just been turned down in flames. The close-knit siblings return to their mother’s Catskills manor, heartbroken, scared, or disillusioned, all having sworn off love. But plans change when Rafi begins seeing his childhood best friend in a new light, Birdie meets a local artist, and the star of Liz’s show arrives from L.A.

Oooh, I want to read this in a cabin next to a roaring fire and a real, pine Christmas tree. What was the inspiration for this story?

Make the yuletide gay!

That’s basically it in a nutshell 😭

haha, fair enough! Why did you want to tell a sibling story?

I really love writing about complex, and entertaining, family dynamics. It’s such rich territory. And because I knew I wanted to write a gay Xmas romcom, that would be an ensemble, it leant itself naturally to centering three siblings, as we gather with family around the holidays. As a queer person, I’m making a non-traditional family with my wife and kid, so I’m drawn to non-traditional family units. In MW, the 3 siblings all have different dads, which I thought was interesting. I also just like that dynamic of characters who both love each other and give each other shit.

Yes, sibling dynamics are SO complex and interesting! And the holidays can be a real crucible for drama. (I'm thinking of that episode of The Bear...)

Ha ha, I loved that episode. It’s like, “Oh, I thought my family was crazy..."

The inner workings of families fascinate me

Pretty wild how many people related to that episode! My take was: It was an incredible hour of TV and I never, ever want to watch it again. lol

I know, it’s a stressful show.

I have a chef friend who can’t watch it because it’s just too real

Talk to me about developing the relationships between the family! Because I find romance writers' skills re: developing romance so impressive (I did a bit of it in The Spare Room and it was SO hard), but now you've added another dimension to the tangle.

The relationships between the siblings or their romances?

Between the family members, I mean.

Like, what's your tactic for realistic relationships with an ensemble cast like that?