On Screen & Off AgainWill'Feel Like You're Watching a Movie' — How a Hollywood Childhood Led to Caitlin Cross' Debut Novel(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Caitlin Cross and the cover of ‘On Screen and Off Again’.Photo:Zando – 8th Note Press; Courtesy of Caitlin Cross

Zando – 8th Note Press; Courtesy of Caitlin Cross

The daughter of writer, director and producer Alan Cross, she spontaneously became an extra on an episode of his ’90s sitcomWeird Scienceas a kid. Her classmates were child actors and while visiting her dad on the set ofDesperate Housewives, Cross watchedEva Longoriabetween takes and recalled the star being “very glamorous,” yet “so normal.”“One time, I ran intoMiley Cyrusat my orthodontist office,” Cross recalls to PEOPLE. “And this was the height ofHannah Montana. She and her mom went out a back door of the office, right behind my tipped back chair as I was waiting to have my braces tightened, which is just so not everyone’s experience.”What Cross calls her “super normal” upbringing was one of the inspirations for her debut romance novel,On Screen & Off Again.

The book, out Feb. 4 from8th Note Press, follows childhood sweethearts and costars Wilhelmina Chase and Daxon Avery, who have gone their separate ways in adulthood after their show’s cancellation. When Wil is arrested, she uses her one phone call on Dax, and the two rekindle their relationship, and chemistry, when Dax suggests Wil audition for a movie he’s working on.

Zando – 8th Note Press

After watching her father’s writing process over the years, it was no surprise to Cross when she became drawn to the craft herself. As a kid, she would write stories in a notebook at school, and pass them around for her peers to read.

“It was my first experience getting that thrill of loving doing something, putting the words on the page and then loving watching people be obsessed with what you wrote,” she says. “That feeling is just unmatched.”

8th Note Press primarily focuses on commercial fiction aimed at Gen Z and millennial audiences, as well as genres popular on BookTok, the reading community on TikTok. Cross says working with the publisher has been an “incredible” experience.

“I have wormed all of my favorite [romance tropes] into this book,” Cross teases of her novel. In particular, the “coworkers to lovers” trope, a la “a Jim and Pam [fromThe Office] vibe,” worked best forOn Screen, which uses a dual perspective narrative. Cross also pulled from her own memories on set with her dad to nail down the feeling of Dax and Will’s childhood show,Marnie, Maybe.“I remember just being a little monster child, running through the writer’s offices hallways. I would ding-dong ditch their doors, which I’m sure that they really appreciated,” Cross recalls. “But I was able to bring that kind of silliness to Dax and Will. They kind of spend time reflecting back on being child actors and running wild on the set of their show.”

Caitlin Cross.Courtesy of Caitlin Cross

Courtesy of Caitlin Cross

“There is so much in the book that touches on some tougher subject matter,” she says. “But I think that when you step back, [that makes] the characters are more realistic and multidimensional than not."

“I just want anyone who reads and identifies with these characters to know that you have a safe space with me, and I hope that I have brought some care and love to these experiences,” she adds.

Working on her debut novel taught the writer that she is capable of crossing the finish line.

“I learned how tenacious I can be,” Cross says. “It’s one thing to imagine that you’ll stick through a difficult process like publishing can be, but it’s another thing to actually stick with it and see it through. I was surprised that I could come out on the other side.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.As for her future projects, Cross notes that everything she writes moving forward will be set in the entertainment industry. Those future books will also include much of the romance that she loves as a reader, and that her debut brings too.“I want people to fall in love with Dax and Wil,” she says. “I want them to be kicking their feet, giggling. I want to bring on the butterflies, the giddiness. I want to bring this really cinematic element to it. I want you to read this book and feel like you’re watching a movie. That is my ultimate goal.”

On Screen & Off Againis now available, wherever books are sold.

source: people.com