
Wednesday Aug 27, 2025
S11E4 Summer in the City: How Alex Aster wrote a 400 page book aged 12
“All my publishers, my agents, my film agents, they have all rejected me multiple times in the past - and now I work with them!” ~Alex Aster
Summer in the City is the new romance novel from internationally acclaimed author Alex Aster - known for her Lightlark series and massive social media following.
Alex began writing at the age of 12, when she penned a 400-page novel and tenaciously approached every publisher imaginable. After a decade of rejections, she took matters into her own hands and amassed a 2M+ following across TikTok and Instagram. She then shot to fame with her 4-part fantasy series Lightlark. Now, with her romance book Summer in the City, she’s making a huge pivot in genre.
During this conversation, Alex explains why she’s made the swap from fantasy to romance, how she was able to find success after so many years of trying, and how she used social media to kick-start her writing career.
In this episode, you will learn:
- Why you shouldn’t be afraid to swap genres or change your niche.
- That no rejection is ever final - great authors are years in the making.
- Why traditional publishing isn’t the only route to success.
Find out more about Alex here.
Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.
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You can view the full transcript here.
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