Bio:
Madeline is a two-time RITA award finalist author and winner of Australia's premier RUBY award. She loves to write contemporary romance that digs deep into the hearts and minds of her characters, forcing them to be the best they can be in difficult situations. Her characters are flawed, compassionate and brave, but she always gives them happy endings. She loves to hear from both readers and writers on Facebook or Twitter or you can visit her website: madelineash.net
What is one 'must have' when you are writing?
An emotional connection to my characters. If I'm not feeling with my characters in every moment of every scene (and I mean both my leads, not just the POV character), then I get a sense of disconnection and the words don't mean anything to me. I might as well be writing a shopping list (except I love writing lists, so that's a bad example). This also means that my characters need to be feeling something in every moment for me to connect with--poor things never get a moment's peace!
What are you reading at the moment?
I'm re-reading Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. It's a comfort read--funny, smart, warm, with all the feels.
Name one thing you're scared of.
Having to go the clothesline after dark. It's a spider zone. I inch my way there and run all the way back.
Like to share something that recently made you happy?
Seeing my nephews again after months of lockdown. They're aged one and three--the delight on their faces was like the sun rising in my heart, I swear.
Who is your favourite literary crush?
In literature, oh dear, none. I don't read it! But in genre fiction, I'll have to go with Rhys from Court of Thorn and Roses. Because he is everything. Roarke from JD Robb's In Death series is a very close second.
If you were the main character in your favourite book, who would you be?
Ohh no, this question means I need to decide on a favourite book! I'll go with In Other Lands, because I don't think I stopped laughing the entire time I read it. And despite the main character being a sassy smartarse, he was also hysterical, and I would love to spend all my time around him, including my future, so I guess that means I want to be Luke. He was very gorgeous and sweet and talented, so there are worse characters to be...yes, actually, this is working for me on many levels--Luke!
What is the premise of your latest book?
Her Cowboy Prince came out June 2nd, and is book #@ in my Cowboy Princes series. The series premise is three triplet cowboy brothers unexpectedly inherit the family throne, and book two centres around Kris being a cowboy royal who will never be tamed--and his best friend Frankie, whom he didn't realise had been sworn to protect him their entire friendship.
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| Meet the cowboy royal who will never be tamed and the best friend sworn to protect him. Kris offers Frankie his future--but her past proves the person she most needs to protect him from is herself. Buy link: https://books2read.com/her-cowboy-prince |
What are you working on at the moment?
The third book in my Cowboy Princes series. Tommy is a complex, wounded mess of a character and I can't wait to make him happy.
Are you a plotter, pantser or somewhere in between?
Maybe a little in between. I need to know the story arc, the character arcs, the turning points, the emotional touch points, the reveals, and the reactions. But I don't write synopses ahead of time or outline chapter by chapter or anything. It's really just understanding my characters and their emotional journeys before I start. Like, if the story is an accordion, I need to know ahead of time where I'll push and pull that emotional tension. Everything else tends to fall into place.
What do you love to love?
My family. I love our love.
What do you love to laugh at?
My partner's sense of humour. Our conversations go on epic tangents and leave me in stitches.
What do you love to learn about?
The lives of others. It's my favourite part of being a writer. They say to write what you know--but I don't want to write mirrors, I want to write windows, so every book sees me learning, expanding my knowledge and empathy and understanding in order to know more--then I can write about it.
Thank you for hosting me!
I love your answers to the questions, Madeline! I looked up every book you mentioned (book nerd here) and they look fun. I haven't read any of them except for the 'In Death' series - and then not all of them, either - so I have lots of good reading ahead. And, hello cowboy prince! He looks gorgeous. all the best for your ongoing series, and lovely having you here on BITB.
ReplyDeleteHi Miranda! I'm a big YA fantasy fan, so the books I mentioned definitely lean hard in that direction. Thank you for having me and for the best wishes on my series - I fear my biggest challenge will be letting these characters go at the end of it! xx
ReplyDeleteHi Madeline! Thanks for joining us today. I love the sound of your Cowboy Princes series, especially the wip. I totally empathise with your fear of going to the clothesline after dark. We're surrounded by bush on three sides and there are a heap of critters (as well as spiders) just waiting to pounce. You'll never see me run faster than I do on those occasions.
ReplyDeleteHi Marilyn, thank you for having me! It has to be a critical situation before I'll go to the clothesline after dark. Yours sounds way scarier than mine though - amazing that you brave it at all! x
DeleteHi Madeline. Cowboy triplets? Yes please. Sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHaha, thank you Cassandra! Those triplet cowboy princes make for very fun writing. Each gorgeous in his own way and their bond is my favourite part of the series :)
DeleteHi Madeline. So lovely to have you join us here. Cowboy triplets? That grabbed my attention. Got to read their stories. And you crush on JD Robb's Roarke? Gotta admit I do too. He's just...Roarke. I don't need to say more.
ReplyDeleteHey Madeline. Am late to this, but wanted to say thank you for dropping by! And I've grabbed your Cowboy Princes to read - sounds like a fabulous premise... can't wait to dive in.
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating to gain an insight into how authors work. Thanks for sharing so much of yourself, Madeline.
ReplyDeleteSo lovely to have you as a guest, Madeline, and to learn more about you through all your responses. Thank you for being here!
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