Sarah's dog Hawkeye
Sarah Madison has been published since 2010. According to her website she’s a veterinarian, dog lover and competitive horse rider and in between she manages to write. Where does she find the time? She has five books published which are all fan favourites but my absolute fave is Raincheck, a story about a gargoyle.
When I asked Sarah for a bio I stressed it had to be funny and this is what she said: 🙂
I was the Good Girl. I did what I was told. I ate my vegetables with thinly veiled loathing. I worked hard in school and made the honor roll. I said, “Yes, ma’am” and “No, sir” and the average parent or teacher would never suspect that deep within my heart, there was a Bad Girl just waiting to come out.
It was lurking under the surface just the same.
When I was twelve, I went to my mother and told her that I’d outgrown my riding clothes—that I needed new boots and a new helmet. She frowned. “I’d like to know when you’re going to outgrow this horse habit because it is terribly expensive.”
“Gee, Mom,” I said with all the innocence of a wide-eyed twelve year old, “I don’t think it’s any more expensive than a cocaine habit.”
She took me straight to the tack store and told me to buy what I needed.
I flirted briefly with the idea of being an actress when I was in high school. I’d starred in a number of productions and won some awards, and it had gone to my head. It was the adrenaline rush of waiting in the dark wings for my cue, watching the action taking place under the bright lights, and knowing that in moments, I would come to life on that stage. It teased me into thinking that I might have had what it took to make it in that cutthroat world.
Disturbed at what she saw as a dangerous deviation from the straight and narrow, my mother began posting grim newspaper articles on the refrigerator door for me to see: Young Starlet Found Strangled in Back Alley with Electrical Cord.
I retaliated in kind: Honor Student Slays Entire Family with Shotgun.
She stopped posting the articles.
I am still the Good Girl. I work hard at my day job. I take determined, loving care of my family; I’m a professional and an upstanding member of the community. I work with animals, so I have a practical hairstyle and wear little jewelry. I can face down a Rottweiler, free a feral cat out of your ceiling, and drive a forklift. You don’t know it, but underneath those coveralls, I’m wearing Victoria’s Secret. I keep my fingernails clean and cut short, but inside my muddy boots, I’m sporting cobalt blue polish on my toenails. I have a tattoo where only my lover can see it. And I write porn.
So ask me your questions. My answers might be full of wild hyperbole and exaggeration for effect, but I hope they will be entertaining for both of us.
Sarah Madison’s Books
Unspeakable Words
Special Agent John Flynn is everything Jerry Parker is not: dangerously handsome, coolly charismatic, and respected by his peers. Special Agent Parker is dedicated and meticulous, but his abrasive personality has given him a reputation for being difficult. When new information on a cold case appears, Parker is assigned to work with Flynn, and the sparks fly as their investigative styles clash. Contact with a strange artifact changes everything when it bestows unusual and unpredictable powers on Flynn… and the two men must learn to trust each other before a killer strikes again.
Crying for the Moon
Vampire Alexei Novik may have the teeth and the coffin, but he’s given up the lifestyle for an old fixer-upper in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Weary of his past, Alex plans to keep to himself, but it seems his sexy, new neighbor, Tate, can’t take the hint—a good thing, since it turns out he’s handy for all kinds of things around the house. Tate even gets along with Alex’s werewolf friends, though one of them pointedly reminds Alex that their friendship is a bad idea.
If a platonic relationship is a bad idea, the growing attraction between Tate and Alex is a disaster waiting to happen. Loving Tate will draw him into Alex’s dangerous world, and Alex is torn between having the relationship he’s always craved and keeping Tate safe. Tate won’t take no for an answer, however, and seems to handle everything Alex can throw at him without blinking. Just when he thinks things might turn out all right after all, Alex’s past catches up with him—forcing him to make a terrible choice.
Raincheck
Rodney isn’t like other gargoyles. No doubt it’s because of his fascination with humans and their culture. For decades he’s been content to observe from the shadows, but then a lonely human wanders onto Rodney’s rooftop one night and turns his world upside down. David Marshall is everything Rodney has wanted in all his years of solitude. Rodney manages to keep his crush and his identity a secret until David needs a gargoyle’s protection more than late-night conversations with a reclusive friend. Will David be able to see past the monstrous exterior to the true person within? Time is running out, and Rodney must try to grab onto life—and love—before it’s too late.
Practice Makes Perfect 
The now-extinct Brill gifted humankind with the technology of space travel, but the implacable Swarm is determined to wipe all humans from the face of the universe. But the human race won’t give in so easily. On board the spaceship Fearless, a team led by Dr. Rhys Aubrey and Major Jim Tanner is tasked with developing technology for the fight and making new allies to trade for whatever edge they can get.
Every day the Fearless ventures forth to new worlds and faces challenges that forge strong bonds of friendship among the crew—and perhaps something more between Rhys and Jim. In a life filled with danger and trouble around every corner, are Rhys and Jim ready to risk their hearts too?
Scavenger Hunt
While eking out an existence on the edge of the Settled Worlds, looting ships left behind by raiders, Jeff Hawkins comes upon the Dante, just another broken hulk of a spaceship. But this time, amidst fuel cells and ration bars, Jeff finds a survivor in stasis. After meeting Dr. Peter Vale, Jeff will see that there’s more to life than mere survival—especially when it turns out Peter may be worth more to Jeff than a king’s ransom.
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Sarah has free reads on her website and if you would like to check them out here’s link:
http://www.SarahMadisonFiction.com/
Sarah’s email: akasarahmadison@gmail.com
Morning 😀
I have a couple questions:
1. What are you currently working on & when should it be expected to release (approximately)?
2. Are you going to write more in the Crying for the Moon “world”? (loved this book & would love to read more about all of them)
Thanks,
Brandi
Brandi!
You make me hang my head in shame because I DO plan sequels for both Crying for the Moon (two actually) and Unspeakable Words (oddly enough, two as well). I am shaving my head and heaping ashes on my bare scalp because I am keeping people like you waiting. 🙁
Real life (in the form of stuff like working flat out to pay the bills) has been keeping me from writing as much as I would like at the moment. I went through a long period of self-doubt as well. You know how it is, you’re merrily writing along and then all the sudden you think, ‘Wait! Other people are *reading* this??’ and then you are totally convinced you suck and that you are doing everything wrong.
I mean, doesn’t that happen to everyone? 🙂
I have a couple of projects in the works right now: I’m halfway through a novel about a sous chef and a ER doc (entitled Can’t Take the Heat), but it’s really about job burnout and not knowing what you want out of a relationship and being afraid to ask. *coughs* Not that I would know anything about that. I also have a short time travel piece I’m expanding into a full length story.
Then, back to the FBI agents with inexplicable powers, and the prickly vampire and his werewolf friends. In fact, I plan *evil* things to Alex and Tate, as well as tell Nick and Peter’s backstory. 👿
I know all about RL getting in the way of doing what you want/need to do (damn bills & needing food in the house). I swear I need a sugar daddy so I can focus on catching up on my TBR pile that is more of a mountain than a pile. :reading1:
I’m looking forward to all the wonderful sounding sequels & new books that are in the works.
Thanks for answering my questions :flowers:
Brandi
Aw, thank you, Brandi, for asking them! You’ve made me get all excited about these characters again, reminding me that they *are* still waiting (some more patiently than others) for me to get back to the business of telling their stories.
The BF asked me once what I’d do if I won the lottery, and I said, “Write, of course!” He seemed surprised, but writing isn’t something I do because I believe it will help pay the bills (as much as I would love for that to be the case). I do it because I have to. 😀
Hey Sarah,
The lovely ” Practice makes Perfect”, was one of the books that set me off on an expensive SF habit……thank you, I think. 😀
Do you have a favourite M/M book that is a personal desert island keeper ?
Bless you, Raine, because I think of Practice Makes Perfect as my red-haired stepchild. Mind you, I *liked* the story, but it hasn’t done nearly as well as I’d hoped. I was thinking that perhaps it was because of the sci-fi setting, but you’ve shown me that isn’t the case. What sci-fi titles have you been reading? Inquiring minds want to know…
Desert Island M/M book? Can I have a whole series? Because Josh Lanyon’s Adrien (with an ‘e’) English series are not only my current obsession, but my ‘keeper’ books as well. 😀
Well you did ask……
Amy Lane / A Solid Core of Alpha
Angel Martinez / Gravitational Attraction
Anne Tenino / 18% ( rereading now! ) probably more dystopian than S/F
Jaime Fessenden / Dogs of Cyberwar
Marie Sexton / Blind Space
We have same DIK. :hurrah: I used to have long angry conversations with Jake but my mental health finally returned……maybe. 🙄
Jake is a fascinating character–comfortable with his sexuality on some levels and so *uncomfortable* with it on others that he takes it out on Adrien. I wanted so badly for Jake to be the person Adrien thought he could be–and was pulling for them both through the whole series.
When Jake sneakily got him that GSD puppy–the dog that Adrien had always wanted but was never allowed to have–I was lost. *points to photo above* :hearts01:
That is a good list there! *takes notes*
Hi Sarah!
I really loved Rodney and would love more from ‘his world’ or a sequel to see how he is getting on in the world as a human!
Is there a chance of that happening? 🙂
Oh, Ailish, may I confess right now that Rodney is my all-time favorite character? And that I’ve often thought of expanding his story?
See, it almost happened when I wrote Raincheck. I came to the end and realized I wanted more–but more would be like tacking a whole novel onto the end of this novella and I had to decide… I liked the ‘fairy tale’ feel of Raincheck and decided to end it where I did–but I still daydream about Rodney’s adventures in the world as a human–and what has happened to the other gargoyles, and why things are the way they are… *smiles dreamily*
So may I say it’s a definite possibility? Just a little lower down on the back burner at the moment. Though, to be honest, I have so many back burners, I need to add a second stove… 😮
Sarah
I echo Ailish’s question about Rodney from Raincheck. This is MY favourite book that you have written and I would love to find out how he’s doing.
Wave:
I’ve thought about it, I really have. A world where gargoyles have another existence beyond centuries of stone, where they engage in much bigger battles in the next phase of their lives. Where Rodney learns what it is like to be as fragile as a human, and has to choose which path to take in order to protect the one he loves.
On the list? With the seven or so other story ideas before it? I used to worry I would run out of ideas, but they generate themselves endlessly. It’s time that I wage war with. 🙂
Glad to see you! 🙂
I have a more technical writing question. You’ve been published exclusively by Dreamspinner Press, I believe? Was this on purpose, since you found a great publisher, or have you looked at publishing with others in the m/m market? I’m just now bulking up my erotica publishing credits, so I’m always interested to see how other writers approach the market.
Er, ah, no. Not exclusively with Dreamspinner. I have another title, which shall remain nameless, which no one must EVER read, which has not yet earned me a single dime in royalties. 😀
I sort of stumbled upon Dreamspinner, to be honest. Someone sent me a submission call prompt, saying, “This has your name all over it!” Another friend had been suggesting that I submit to Dreamspinner for a while, so you know what they say. If you get hit over the head with something often enough, you start to think it was your idea.
I sent my short story in for submission, but like ALL my short stories, it had grown all out of proportion to the prompt. DSP declined it for the anthology, but suggested I submit it as a standalone story. I did, and to my surprise, Scavenger Hunt was accepted.
A few months later, I sent in Unspeakable Words on a whim. Never in a million years did I expect it to be picked up, and the rest, as they say, is history. 🙂
Will I submit to other publishing firms? Probably. I have some stories that don’t fit in the Dreamspinner lines that might do well elsewhere. I have been impressed by the professionalism and support that I have received through Dreamspinner, though. Another press would have a hard act to follow. 😉
Sarah, one of the things I enjoy about your writing is the individual personalities in your stories. Your protagonists always have real dimension to their characters, and I wondered how the characters and stories evolve. So my question is this: do the characters cause the stories, or does the story develop the characters?
F.J.W., that’s a very good question. I wish I could say that I had a definitive answer…
Most of the time, my stories start with the idea of ‘what if…?’ What if a vampire wanted to live a normal life? What if two professionals with opposite personalities were forced to rely on each other? What if a gargoyle watched from the shadows, falling in love with a mortal man?
I usually start piddling around with those ideas, and then BAM! A title comes to me. The title is usually a good sign that I’m on to something. 🙂
The characters are there, but fairly unformed at first. They rapidly begin to mold the story around them, however. In fact, if the story is positively dragging or the scene is sticky and won’t flow, it’s my best indicator I’m doing something out of character and they’ve gotten balky and refused to play.
In no time flat, I’ve lost complete control of the story, and am reduced to weeping in a wine glass on the sidelines, as my characters take over entirely, demanding that I do this or that, insisting I run back here and stick this line in, and OMG! Did you miss the significance of that whole secondary subtheme???
So the short answer is, thank you, F.J.W. I am glad you like them because they can be terribly bossy at times. My current WIP protagonist is such a tight-ass he literally won’t let me in. We’re in counseling now. 😉
My favorite book is Unspeakable Words, although Crying for the Moon is a close second. So, what’s up next for John and Jerry?
heh-heh-heh. *makes Snidely Whiplash noises*
Bad things. Terrible things. I mean, we love to hurt the characters we love, right? No, I don’t think it is even that really, as much as it is I believe in making them work for that happily ever after. 🙂
Okay. *cracks knuckles* John and Jerry have a lot of things to work out. Their relationship is lopsided in so many ways, with John holding most of the cards and Jerry not knowing where he really stands.
The Fairy Tale serial killer is still on the loose. John is still haunted by the unsolved murder of his sister. And then there’s the matter of his inexplicable abilities and how he came by them. Trying to undo what has been done is going to open a whole new can of worms for the boys, and I am looking forward to being able to torture, I mean, tell the next chapter in their story!
LOVE how the Good Girl manages to not be cowed by the Controlling Mother! 😀 How have those experiences impacted your writing?
Tabby:
Whoa! What a *good* question because I am fond of saying ‘everything is grist for the mill.’
I do think that having the sort of relationship that I have with my mother, someone who requires a level of perfection from me that I cannot attain, has definitely affected my characters and their relationships with their families.
When I was in high school, I once told my mother that I if I came home and announced I was pregnant, she would have nothing left to say, because she had already said everything in condemnation over the fact that I had not loaded the dishwasher.
I think in a small way, I understand what it is like to not be accepted for who you are and what you believe. How you can love your family but need to keep things from them as well. What it is like to grow up in a conservative state, in a conservative town, with a conservative family, and have to frequently bite your tongue in order to keep the peace.
As a result, my characters often deal with issues of self-acceptance, and the acceptance of others. It’s one of the things that attracts me to the M/M genre. In fact, the first time I read a M/M story, I felt a sense of recognition.
I also felt as though I was discovering adult literature for the first time ever–and I’m not talking about the smokin’ hot sex here, although that *is* part of the attraction too! 😀
(oops! Put my reply in the wrong slot initially!)
Hi Sarah!
First of all, this:
“I retaliated in kind: Honor Student Slays Entire Family with Shotgun.”
–makes you my heroine for life!! Gosh, it would have been so good for my mental health to know you as a teenager. 😀
I haven’t read all of your books [hangs head in shame] so I’m not sure if you’ve done this, but…. With your great experience in animal- and people-watching, do you think you’ll write about were-people or characters who are not human/humanoid? (I know Rodney in “Raincheck” certainly isn’t human, but I was thinking of characters more along four-footed or feathered lines.)
Or, have you written any Westerns or books set in a stereotypically Western setting? There’s something about a tall, dark & handsome fellow with a guy on his back…. *sigh*
*snicker*
And your mother would have thought I was one of the *good* kids. 🙂
Aw, I completely understand not being able to read everything–my reading list is far too long at the moment as well!
Crying for the Moon does contain shifters of the four footed variety. I had so much fun writing about them that I’m sure to do more. I have a hard time leaving animals *out* of stories, TBH. In fact, I’ve had one review-complaint that ran along the lines ‘I wished she’d talked less about the wee precious kitties’. :blush:
Or, have you written any Westerns or books set in a stereotypically Western setting? There’s something about a tall, dark & handsome fellow with a guy on his back…. *sigh*
I had to read that twice before I caught your drift! 😀
With my eventing background, I’m a bit of an oddball at the barn. The radio plays country music, the rest of the horses are cutting ponies and barrel racers. Only me and my friends insist on galloping at fences at speed. I know a curb from a snaffle, but I have no more idea how to put on a Western saddle than I do fly to the moon.
I do have a ‘coming home’ story planned about an ad exec who inherits a stable from his father. Is that close enough? 🙂
You know, I had to come back to this and ask myself why I had that reaction to writing cowboy stories when I am obviously not a gay man, a vampire, or a FBI agent either.
I think it comes down to being too close to the subject to get it right. It would be like me constantly trying to put in the clutch when I’m driving an automatic. 🙂
Of course, now you’ve challenged me to see if I can write a decent, believable cowboy story!
I had to read that twice before I caught your drift! 😀
HTG, I wrote that completely meaning, “I’d like to read about a pretty quadreped & his rider.” NO, RLY!!
I always want to read about wee precious kitties & brave dogs & handsome horses & so on. Sometimes I think I only want humans in the story so there can be sexy scenes. :blush:
For me, a ‘coming home’ story would fit the bill perfectly, or even a story about a rich ad exec with a ranch hide-away that he goes to on the weekend. I guess I meant ‘Western’ in the sense of the scenery & solitude (&, ideally, horses ;-)….
Oh yes! Give me an excuse to go to a dude ranch all in the name of ‘research’!
But, yes, I know what you mean. Some days my happiest moments are listening to my mare crop grass while bees drone over nearby flowers. There is such peace in a barn (and where I do some of my best brainstorming!)
Just checking in to say that I LOVED Unspeakable Words; can’t wait for the sequel(s)! :bravo: :bravo: :strike: :whistle:
Feliz:
I love your emoticons here–two applauding but one wapping a baseball bat while another whistles innocently.
Would it help if I said I had about 10 K on paper with the sequel to Unspeakable Words, entitled Walk A Mile? It has a long way to go, but I *am* working on it! 😮
Hi Sarah, I am afraid my brain is too fried tob be funny, so I just echo the thank you for Crying for the moon and Rodney, and others, just you know, thank you 🙂 Cant wait for more.
Thank you, Sirius (the Dog Star, right? From the Starlight Barking or somewhere else?)!
I completely understand the fried-brain thing. I’m just about there myself. I just hope I don’t keep you waiting too long for other installments (I keep buying those damn lotto tickets, but so far, no joy).
🙂
Harry Potter 😉
As long as I know they are coming, I am more than willing to wait :)Thank you again.
Harry Potter! I should have thought of that! :doh:
At the current rate of glacial progress, I wouldn’t hold my breath. But everyone has been so nice and encouraging here today, that I will do my best to get something out as soon as possible!
I am a bit late but, I have to echo Wanted_a_Pony and say that “Honor Student Slays Entire Family with Shotgun” was the most brilliant piece of parent managing I have ever heard of. :hysterics:
I also loved, loved, loved Unspeakable Words and I’m glad you started a sequel. Will another baseball bat help? :strike: :DX:
I am a bit late but, I have to echo Wanted_a_Pony and say that “Honor Student Slays Entire Family with Shotgun” was the most brilliant piece of parent managing I have ever heard of.
Stopped. Her. Cold. 😀
Yes, baseball bats help. Severe looking women in tall boots smacking a riding crop against their thighs also useful. 🙂
TBH, just knowing that people out there *like* John and Jerry and want to know more of their story is the single biggest motivational push I could get. Thank you!
I dunno, Sarah, all these mean-lookin’ green guys with baseball bats might mean it’s time to moo-o-ove along, nothin’ to see here…. :crouch:
I want to put in my 2¢ worth about new books: as much as I look forward to every story from you, you shouldn’t try to cram in too much more than the 110% you’re doing now. It sounds like a damn tough job, balancing the demands of RL & the pull toward writing & the quiet-but-insistent voice in the back of your head that yes, you really do have to sleep every night, and eat real food regularly. :sceptic:
Perhaps, if you want to make good money relatively quickly & easily, you should look into being one of those “severe looking women in tall boots smacking a riding crop against their thighs” with K. & H. (if he can be persuaded not to lick the client into submission) as scene-setters/supporting players…. :whip:
Perhaps, if you want to make good money relatively quickly & easily, you should look into being one of those “severe looking women in tall boots smacking a riding crop against their thighs” with K. & H.
OMG! Now you know my secret!! (Hah, if I *was* a dominatrix, my problems would be solved, wouldn’t they?) 😆