Interview with Molly Cutpurse

There are writers who craft stories, and then there are those who breathe life into entire worlds, Molly Cutpurse belongs unmistakably to the latter. A British author from Stratford in East London, Molly has carved out an extraordinary legacy as one of Amazon’s most prolific storytellers. With over sixty novels to her name, she weaves tales of women who love deeply, persevere stubbornly, and endure elegantly, often against the grain of their time and circumstance. Yet behind her impressive literary output lies a woman of serene solitude, a quiet observer of life who rises at four in the morning to greet her characters before the world stirs. Though she describes herself as a “hermit,” Molly’s inner world is vast and luminous, built on poetic sensibility, wit, and a lifetime of contemplation. Her work spans family drama, science fiction, and haunting period pieces, always centering human emotion over spectacle. The beloved Miriam series, based in part on her mother, follows one woman’s life from cradle to grave, while novels like The Christmas Eve Ghost or Seven Sisters paint Victorian or postwar England with ghostly tenderness and piercing truth.

 

Molly is a transgender woman, though her writing rarely draws overt attention to this. “It’s the work that is important,” she says simply. And yet, her presence in literature matters deeply, her portrait now hangs permanently in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, a quiet yet powerful symbol of trans visibility through creative excellence. Now in her sixties, Molly continues to write daily, surrounded not by noise or fanfare but by the gentle discipline of her craft. She has known great love, thirty years with a beloved partner lost to cancer, and she carries that love with her in each sentence, each sigh between the lines. Though she dresses modestly, avoids social media, and prefers solitude to spotlight, her books speak with eloquence and emotional clarity to generations of women, especially those who understand what it means to quietly fight for their place in the world. It is my pleasure and honor to speak today with a woman whose life proves that literature can be both refuge and revolution.

Interview with Lauren Foster

Lauren’s story begins in the warm light of Durban, South Africa, a place where the ocean meets the sky, and where a young girl, born with the XXY pattern of Klinefelter’s syndrome, dared to dream in full color. While so many transgender journeys begin with heartbreak, Lauren’s began with a rare and priceless gift: the unconditional love of her parents. They stood beside her as she stepped into her truth, supporting her hormone therapy as a teenager and her gender-confirming surgery at just eighteen. From there, her metamorphosis was not hidden in shadows but unfurled in dazzling daylight. She emerged like a butterfly in mid-flight, moving through the fashion capitals of the world, Paris, Milan, New York, her face gracing the covers and pages of international magazines, her presence turning runways into theatre. Mexico City gave her one of her most treasured moments: the day VOGUE requested her, the day she held that glossy issue in her hands and wept with the quiet joy of a dream realized, a triumph she could not yet share in full.

 

But beauty often draws both admiration and intrusion. When a tabloid journalist sought to expose her past, Lauren chose courage over fear, stepping forward to tell her own story. The headlines screamed in cruel type, “REVEALED: VOGUE MODEL WAS A MAN!”, but Lauren’s spirit was not undone. She pivoted, reinvented, and rose again, her life now a kaleidoscope of reinvention: model, actress, party promoter, activist. She danced in the glow of Studio 54, laughed in the wild company of rockstars and icons, including Holly Woodlawn. Today, Lauren’s radiance is matched by her purpose. Through her activism and her sheer presence, she remains a living testament to elegance, resilience, and unapologetic authenticity. It is with deep admiration, and the honor of calling her not only an icon but a friend, that I welcome Lauren Foster to our conversation today.

Interview with Milene

Every now and then, you meet someone whose story makes you want to put down your coffee, even if it’s a triple Venti latte, and just listen. Today’s conversation is with Milene, a young transgender woman from Canada whose warmth, honesty, and sense of humor shine through every word she writes. She’s not just navigating her transition, she’s sharing it openly with the world through Reddit, turning what began as a personal diary into a source of encouragement for others on similar journeys. Born and raised in Moncton, New Brunswick, in a French-speaking household with her mom, dad, and two younger brothers, Milene has always had a strong sense of family, even when her path in life took unexpected turns. Now living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, she’s balancing her day job at Starbucks, where she’s working toward her coveted “coffee master” black apron, with dreams of entering medical school. Between perfecting latte art and weighing out specialty Arabica blends on a clover machine, she’s also making time for her other full-time calling: being a visible, positive voice for the transgender community. 

Interview with MJ Rodriguez

Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez, better known to the world as MJ Rodriguez, is an actress, singer, and trailblazer whose career has been defined by authenticity, resilience, and extraordinary talent. Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, MJ discovered her love for the stage at a young age, immersing herself in performing arts schools and honing the skills that would later propel her into the spotlight. Her breakout role as Angel Dumott Schunard in a celebrated theater production of Rent earned her the 2011 Clive Barnes Award, marking the beginning of a journey that would see her redefine what it means to be a performer in both theater and television. Over the years, MJ has captivated audiences with her magnetic presence and raw emotional power, appearing in acclaimed series such as Nurse Jackie, The Carrie Diaries, and Luke Cage. Each role has allowed her to bring heart, nuance, and authenticity to the screen, earning widespread acclaim and cementing her status as one of the most compelling talents of her generation. 

Interview with Fay Louise Purdham

In a world that often demands conformity, Fay Louise Purdham stands as a luminous testament to the power of authenticity and the courage it takes to live one’s truth. Hailing from the vibrant city of Newcastle, Fay’s story is not just one of beauty queen titles and media spotlights, but of a deeply personal journey woven with resilience, hope, and an unyielding belief in the strength of the human spirit. From the tender age of eleven, Fay began the courageous path of becoming herself, a path marked by quiet determination, moments of hardship, and a steadfast refusal to be defined by others. Without the comfort of clear role models, she forged her own way, becoming her own beacon of hope and strength. This journey of self-discovery was never about simply fitting in, but about shining out, boldly, authentically, and unapologetically. Her nomination as a Positive Role Model at the National Diversity Awards in 2017 was not just recognition of her public achievements but a celebration of the woman behind the titles: an actress, model, spokesperson, and patron to courageous children, whose compassion and advocacy touch the lives of many. 

 

Fay’s participation in the 2015 Miss Transgender UK pageant was more than a contest; it was a platform to uplift others, to share her story, and to inspire those navigating their own paths through life’s complexities. Yet, beyond the glamour of red carpets and the dazzling allure of fashion, Fay finds true beauty in the everyday, in the comfort of a partner’s oversized clothes, in the quiet moments of love and acceptance, and in the fierce hope she carries toward motherhood. Her journey is a reminder that strength and softness can coexist, that vulnerability can be a source of power, and that the most profound transformations are the ones we nurture within. Fay’s story invites us all to reconsider what it means to be brave. It is not about standing on stages or holding signs, but about living fully and lovingly, embracing every part of ourselves, and lifting others as we rise. In her words and in her life, Fay shows us that love, starting with self-love, is the foundation upon which we build our truest selves. As you read this interview, may you find inspiration in Fay’s grace, her honesty, and her unwavering belief that to be truly beautiful is simply to be yourself.

Interview with Caroline Cossey

There are women whose lives shimmer quietly, glimpses of grace in the everyday. And then, there are women like Caroline Cossey, whose very existence reshaped the world’s understanding of beauty, courage, and what it means to live as your whole self. Born in the pastoral calm of Brooke, Norfolk, Caroline entered the world with a secret written in her chromosomes, an intersex variation that gave her a soft, feminine appearance long before doctors could explain it. But in the rigid world of mid-century England, difference was not met with wonder. Caroline’s girlhood was laced with confusion, shame, and bullying, her delicate features marking her as an outsider before she even had the words to defend herself. Yet even in those early years, there were glimpses of the woman she was becoming: the way she and her sister Pam would play dress-up in their mother’s clothes, or how she longed, quietly and achingly, to be seen. To be recognized. To belong, not in disguise, but in truth. 

 

At sixteen, she left school and fled to London, where the city’s electric anonymity gave her a taste of freedom. She took jobs as an usherette, a shop assistant, a showgirl. By seventeen, she had begun hormone therapy. By twenty, she had undergone gender-affirming surgery. And by twenty-one, she was reinventing herself in front of cameras, tall, poised, breathtaking, as the model known as Tula. The world saw the glamour. The magazine spreads in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. The dazzling smile on television. The magnetic presence in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. What they didn’t see, until a tabloid brutally outed her, was the private cost of that visibility. In one day, the headlines erased her privacy, twisted her womanhood into scandal, and left her emotionally shattered. But Caroline didn’t break. She rose. She chose, instead, to tell her story on her own terms. Through her memoirs, I Am a Woman and My Story, she gave voice to a truth the world wasn’t ready for, but desperately needed to hear. She showed us that trans women are not shameful secrets, but full and radiant beings, capable of loving, hurting, rising, and remaking the world in our image.