Fall has begun friends! The leaves are changing, but it’s still near 100 degrees where I am! Goodness! But, I have a refreshing author here for us to cool our spirits. I met Ms. Madden at Cape Con in 2015 at her table and I loved her energy. She is willing to go the extra mile for the authors she works with and works so hard in her writing craft as well, along with her deep affection for horses, research, and Doctor Who. I have got to chat with her at a few cons and she always dazzles me with her displays, conversation, positive nature, and cosplay. She makes writing professional and whimsical for all who work with her. And her two daughters are dolls and love anime like me! 😀 So, without further delay, please welcome Mrs. Markie Madden!

Author Interview:

1. Where did you grow up? Did your childhood have any impact on your writing? I was born in west Texas, but grew up from the age of 10 in Flushing, Michigan. I started seriously writing in high school.
2. Tell us about the first story you ever wrote, published or not? The first full-length book I wrote was called Once Upon a Western Way, and it was the first one I published. It’s since had a makeover and has been re-released as Clash of Times: The Quest.
3. What are you currently working on, writing wise? I have several works in progress at any given time. The first is Ashes to Ashes, book #5 in my crime/paranormal series. The second is The Pharaoh’s Decree, a historical romance set in ancient Egypt and the second in my Pharaoh Queens Trilogy. Plus, I have several others I’ve started on.
4. What is your favorite character you have ever created and why? To date, I think my favorite character is Hatshepsut from The Pharaoh’s Destiny (available now). She’s a real historical figure, but so little is known about her that creating her for the book was almost like creating a character from scratch.
5. Do you have to write in order or do your ideas just come to you and you put them in order later? I write from start to finish for the most part, but rarely I do come up with a scene or chapter out of order.
6. What was your path like until you found writing? I’ve written most of my life, off and on. When I worked outside the home, I was in law enforcement and a pharmacy technician for a short time.
7. How is your relationship with your publishing company? Well, I own it, so I would certainly hope it’s a good one!
8. Tell us about your covers. I design my own covers and I really enjoy all the work that goes into one. I love to learn and learning Photoshop was a challenge for me.
9. What inspires you to write? I’m not sure you could say any one thing inspires me to write. I just have to write. It’s who I am, as if I was born to write.
10. How do you get book reviews? I often gift books or hold giveaways in the hopes of getting reviews, but to be honest, book reviews aren’t something I spend a lot of time worrying about or trying to get.
11. What is harder: writing, editing, or marketing? For me, marketing is the hardest part. I’ve never been good at selling myself, like in an interview for a job, and that’s basically what book marketing is.
12. If you could publish every book idea you’ve ever had, how many books would you have out right now? I have 20 titles already planned for my crime/paranormal series, so I’d have to say I’d probably have over 30 or 40 books published!
13. Have you ever considered co-writing a book or series with another author? I haven’t, though my company has published three anthologies of short stories from authors all over the world.
14. What do you do to relax? I like to play with my dogs and go horseback riding on my horse, Athena.
15. If you could tell your 14 year old self one thing, what would it be? Never give up!
16. What advice would you have for this upcoming generation? The upcoming generation has it pretty easy. Honestly, I think they need to have a better grasp of ‘real world’ situations (I say this after the recent outbursts about removing historical statues).
17. Have you ever read a book that changed your outlook on life? I love the Clan of the Cave Bear books by Jean M. Auel. Because it’s based in prehistoric times, but well-researched, you gain an excellent understanding of the hardships our ancestors had to endure.
18. Do you have a classic piece of literature or a classic author you are fond of? How about one that is overrated? I don’t really read classical literature or writing.
19. Any type of music that gets your writing juices flowing? I often write to the soundtrack from the Da Vinci Code movies.
20. If you could pick three people who are your heroes or role models, who would they be and why? One of my heroes is David Harshfield, English teacher (retired) at Flushing Senior High School back in the early 90’s. He was a self-published author before it was ‘cool’ and always told me that what’s not possible today might be commonplace in the future (and, he was right!). He’s the reason I kept writing and trying to publish my writing.
21. Dog or cat person? Dogs. I’m pretty sure cats are an alien species.
22. What do you want to eat right now? Taco Bell!
23. If you could be in any movie that has already been made, which one would it be? The Man From Snowy River
24. What is your favorite holiday or time of year? Spring

Author Bio:

Markie Madden was born August 19, 1975, in Midland, Texas. She grew up in the small town of Flushing, Michigan. While in high school, she took creative writing and was a photographer for the school newspaper. In 1993, she won the National Quill and Scroll Society award for best photo in a high school paper. She began writing her first novel, Once Upon a Western Way, while still attending school.

Markie is now married with two teenage daughters, three rescue dogs, and her horse, Athena, who is featured on the cover of her horse care guide, Keeping a Backyard Horse. She tried many times over the years to publish her novel, first on her own, and then hiring a literary agent, all without success. In early 2012, after getting her first smart phone and e-reader application, Nook, she discovered the world of self-publishing through a website called Smashwords. She finally published Once Upon a Western Way through this distributor in April, 2012.

In the late spring of 2013, Markie came down with a mysterious illness, which was ultimately diagnosed as leukemia (AML specifically). She underwent a rigorous treatment of chemotherapy, during which, at one point, her life was endangered. While she was hospitalized, an old high school friend who is also a published author reconnected with her. Since cancer and the treatment of cancer forced her out of the traditional workforce, Markie turned her attention back to the world of writing.

By December of 2014, Markie was the successful publisher of three books, her first published work, Once Upon a Western Way, now available in print as well as e-format, as well as a self-help guide to horse care, Keeping a Backyard Horse, available in print and e-format, and her cancer memoir, My Butterfly Cancer, available in print, e-format, and audiobook. Her other two will soon be available in audiobook format as well. Markie has founded Metamorph Publishing, in order to publish her own books, and she is now working with two other independent authors as well.

Currently, Markie lives in the small town of Fisk, Missouri, with her family, her dogs, and her horse. She is still writing and is working on a crime/paranormal series called The Undead Unit Series. Book one of the series, Fang and Claw, is now available. The second book of the series, Souls of the Reaper, is expected out in 2016, along with a thriller novel entitled Cured Delusions. You can find her at her website: https://metamorphpublishing.com.

Book Spotlight:

The year is 1477 B.C.E. and history is about to change… Hatshepsut, the Great King’s Wife, is thrust into a world of intrigue and politics when her husband, Pharaoh Thutmose, dies suddenly, leaving Egypt with an heir who is barely two years old. The Queen must step into the role of leader, and there are few whom she can trust. When Hatshepsut is crowned as Pharaoh, she grooms her daughter, Neferure, to take the place of heir, rather than Thutmose’s infant son from another woman. Neferure, though young, is still older than the boy who should by all rights be king. The future of Egypt rests in the hands of a single woman, the most powerful woman in the ancient world. Can Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s people accept her unorthodox reign, and her plans to usurp the men’s place as rulers of a Kingdom, decreeing that only women are suitable leaders?

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 Fang and Claw (free series starter)