WPS 2026 Day 18: Xan van Rooyen

  

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 18: Xan van Rooyen

Welcome to day 18 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Xan van Rooyen. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Xan van Rooyen's LGBTQ+ Releases

• My Name is Magic
• By the Blood of Rowans
• The Other Me
• Obscura Burning

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

" Nonbinary, demi ace bisexual"

2. What rep do your books have?

"My Name is Magic: queer

By the Blood of Rowans: queer

The Other Me: queer

Obscura Burning: queer"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"Mystery. My work is already dark and I have already included 'murder mystery' style subplots in my books before. I also love all things noir and crime drama. I love shows like True Detective, Mare of Easttown, The Killing, The Chestnut Man, Blind Spot, Dead Winds, and I especially Nordic noir so it wouldn't be too much of a departure for me to write something in this vein with hints of something a little uncanny or otherworldly."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"Music for sure. So many of my stories or characters have grown from a what if spawned by song lyrics or imagery used in a music video for one of my favourite songs. I also love to travel and try to take note of a place's idiosyncrasies or oddities, which have also provided inspiration for story settings and world-building details."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"Oh yes! On October 2nd my adult dark fantasy novel, Born of Malice, comes out from Ruadan Books and I am so excited for readers to meets my neuroqueer cast of fractious demigod siblings forced to set aside past grievances in order to save the city, and people, they love from annihilation. And then, in December, my YA cyberpunk retelling of Dorian Gray, called Exquisite Decay, comes out from Tiny Ghost Press, and I am beyond excited for readers to get their hands on my ultra-queer, anti-capitalist, tear-it-all-down take on Wilde's classic."

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"So many, especially in the creative world! Marsha P. Johnson immediately comes to mind, as does Harvey Milk, and more modern figures like Dean Atta, Hong Seon-cheok, Alok V Menon, Awkwaeke Emezi, Hunter Schafer, Emma D'arcy, Elliot Page--there are truly so many queer creators who are using their platforms to create positive change, inspiring others within and without the LGBT+ community to live their truth loudly and proudly. I also have to mention the lesser known Swedish author Karin Boye who was vehemently anti-fascist and defied convention in the 1930s by divorcing her husband to live with a woman. She battled the rise of Nazism, the patriarchy, and the bigotry of religion, to embrace her sexuality as well as feminism, all while being an incredible poet, novelist, and fighting her own inner battles with depression. One of my all time films, and one that inspired me to start writing, is the dystopian, tech-noir movie Equilibrium. This film is largely inspired by Boye's similarly dystopian and thought-provoking novel, Kallocain, which deserves to be as well known as A Brave New World or 1984. "

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!