We chat with author Madeleine Roux about Much Ado About Margaret, which is set in Regency England and follows a rebellious writer and the man who risks everything to publish her.
Hi, Madeleine! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Absolutely! I’m a writer living and working in Seattle. I’ve published over twenty novels for kids, teens, and adults, but I’m probably best known for my young adult horror series, Asylum. I’ll always publish horror of some kind, but I’ve also cherished branching out into science fiction, fantasy, and romance. And, of course, I’ve had good fun doing books for brands like Marvel and D&D. I’m sure that sounds wild, but I’ve always been interested in a huge range of genres and my writing reflects that. When I’m not working, I like to powerlift with my partner, play videogames, spend time with my dogs, cook, and travel.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Very young, so young I can’t really put an age on it. My parents have some funny samples of my first “books” which were tiny paper pamphlets I stapled together and illustrated. One of them is about Ariel from The Little Mermaid interviewing the different Disney princes to find out who she should marry, then deciding none of them are good enough and running off with Sebastian the crab to just vibe and see the world. I grew up in an artistic household—my dad was always painting or sketching, and my mom got me into Jane Austen and Shakespeare from a young age. I can’t remember a time in my life when stories and storytelling weren’t front and center.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Mitten by Jan Brett
- The one that made you want to become an author: Winter of Fire by Sherryl Jordan
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Possession by A.S. Byatt
Your latest novel, Much Ado About Margaret, is out October 22nd! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Wow, that’s hard! Let’s see: Charming, sweeping, earnest, intentional, and, well, romantic!
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect to fall into a world that’s based on history but has magic sparkling around the edges. I wanted to create an atmosphere that feels like somewhere you’d like to go, that by the end of the book, you’ve made friends with some of the characters and can imagine yourself spending time with them, wandering the same beautiful gardens, sitting in the same expansive rooms. They’re also going to get a love story about two strongwilled people who have flaws and challenges, but ultimately they are better and more healed when they’re together.
Where did the inspiration for Much Ado About Margaret come from?
I’ve been a Jane Austen nerd and a Shakespeare nerd since childhood, and it just felt natural to combine the two things. Shakespeare’s plays were actually hugely popular during the Regency period, so it’s not a stretch to have those influences transfer. Both writers have such a transportive quality to their work, and that for me is a huge strength of romance, the way you can get swept up in the lovestory of two total strangers. I looked to my own childhood growing up in an artistic home to come up with Margaret Arden and her family, and then pulled inspiration from the cheeky magic of Shakespeare’s comedies and the quiet beauty of Austen’s novels to build the rest of the world. The hero, Bridger, really came from experiencing so much Regency content that glossed over what effect it would have on men to go to absolutely brutal war and then return home to, you know, take a turn around a drawing room or shoot some ducks. I wanted the challenge of showing a man with real challenges, genuine PTSD, and still portraying him as lovable and well-rounded, worthy of good things, not a caricature.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I love everyone equally in this one, but I always have the most fun writing the villains. It’s incredibly enjoyable to sit in the mind of someone who doesn’t like your main characters much. And it’s a great way to see if you’ve actually made flawed heroes—is there any legitimate criticism of them? If so, let’s explore that from another person’s point of view, you know? Regency novels just aren’t any fun without arrogant, snobby villains throwing their bitey, mean-spirited opinions around.
After fantasy and horror, what’s it been like shifting to writing a romance?
It’s not terribly different, to be honest! Of course, there are always genre conventions you want to be respectful of—I might not give happy endings in my horror books, but I absolutely make sure to when I write romance. You’re still trying to create characters that feel real and setting interesting obstacles in front of them, then letting them loose at those obstacles to watch them grow. I think genres can inform each other wonderfully, because all of them do something the best, but you can take those skills and apply them elsewhere. Tension and stakes are always high in horror, and worldbuilding is crucial in fantasy and sci-fi, and those aspects mesh beautifully with romance.
What’s next for you?
Right now, I’m working on a few things I can’t announce yet, but also the follow up to Much Ado About Margaret. In fall of 2025, my next young adult horror, A Girl Walks Into the Forest, will be coming out. It’s a gory, A24-inspired love letter to Baba Yaga and folk horror…quite a departure from this romance novel, but it’s fun to contain multitudes!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
I’m a huge Rebecca Roanhorse fan so getting Mirrored Heavens was a joy. Malas by Marcela Fuentes is probably the book that’s stuck with me the most this year. Mike Chen is putting out the third in a Marvel What If? series I kicked off earlier this year and I can’t wait to get my hands on it! It’s coming out later this month and the premise is so wild I just have to see how he handles it—What If…Marc Spector Was Host to Venom?
