KINGSCLIFF journalist Tania Phillips is quick to shrug off comparisons between herself and phenomenal fan fiction author EL James who penned 50 Shades of Grey.

That's despite her online book Heat clocking more than 60,600 reads on Wattpad, a site where fans self-publish stories inspired by icons. Under the pen name Madame Tango, Mrs Phillips began writing Heat just before Christmas last year, inspired by and featuring British actor Tom Hiddleston.

"I love his work. I love his intelligence. I love his outlook ... and how fiercely passionate he is about his work," Mrs Phillips said.

"My friends (from Wattpad) were writing about (American) white Christmas and I wanted to show an Australian Christmas."

What started with a "few key scenes" spanning six pages developed into "hot romantic fiction" with 32 chapters, a prologue and epilogue.

Kingscliff, Duranbah and the Regent Cinema in Murwillumbah all make up the backdrop for protagonist Meg and her love interest Tom (Hiddleston). There's also family drama, with Meg's father suffering dementia symptoms for the first time.

"In the end, for me Heat was a test in a competitive genre. Could I get readers? Would people like what I wrote?" she said. "I needed to prove to myself I was 'a writer'.

"What's happened to my little story about a Tweed family has blown me away. Now all I need is a publisher."