The Nerd Daily recently had the chance to catch up with Tobias Madden, author of the upcoming YA romance Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell. We got to ask Tobias all our burning questions on sophomore novel fears, favourite musicals and so much more!
Hi Tobias! Thank you for chatting with us! Why don’t you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Sure! I grew up in a country town called Ballarat (where both of my books happen to be set) and I now live in Sydney with my husband, Dan (who I met doing a Australian tour of Cats, back in my acting days) and our beautiful dog/son, Ollie. I worked in publishing for a few years, and I now write gay young adult books and work part-time in theatre marketing! My biggest achievement in 2022 is completing a full rewatch of Grey’s Anatomy—yes, all eighteen seasons. (And Lexi Grey is my favourite character, in case you’re wondering.)
Lightning round: What was the first game you can remember playing, a musical soundtrack that you could listen to on repeat for the rest of time and one lie you’ve told that didn’t end well?
The first game I remember playing was a Simpsons platform game on an ancient MS DOS PC, which is a very old kind of computer that didn’t even have a desktop. A musical soundtrack that I could (and do) listen to on repeat is Beetlejuice. There are several that I have on permanent rotation, but that one never gets old. And I actually can’t think of a single time that I’ve lied (like, properly lied, not just a little white lie). Unless I’m lying right now… we’ll never know…
Now, let’s talk about Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell! What can readers expect?
Readers can expect a bright, funny, swoony, gay rom-com, packed with drama. It’s the gaming/theatre mashup book of my dreams, and I cannot wait for people to read it!
Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell is your sophomore novel. What has your experience been like writing this story? Were there things you didn’t expect being an issue (or a highlight!) after having written and published a novel before?
Everyone always says that writing your sophomore novel is difficult, and they are certainly not wrong! I think there’s a lot of pressure on Book Two, most of which is probably self-imposed. You’re trying to write something different to your debut, but not too different, because you want people who enjoyed your first book to like this one as well. I definitely didn’t expect it to feel equally as terrifying as the first time around, but it did. And from what I’ve heard, that feeling never goes away, no matter how many books you write.
Since Noah is both a gamer and eventual musical star, tell us your favorite game(s) and musical(s) that you’d recommend to our readers!
I’m an old-school gamer, so my faves are early 2000s PC games like Diablo II, Baldur’s Gate II (both of which inspired Spire of Dusk II in the book, if you hadn’t already guessed) Quake, Half Life, and the OG Sims. My list of favourite musicals is LONG, but some highlights (that I’ve seen live) are The Color Purple, Hamilton, Beetlejuice, Hadestown, Cats, Wicked, The Book of Mormon, RENT, Six, Legally Blonde, and Mary Poppins.
Let’s talk about online friendships for a second! In your opinion, what is the best and worst part of finding online friends through gaming or social media?
I think the best part is that you can connect with people from all over the world! I’ve made friends online that I’ve then met in person while travelling, and those friendships are just so special. We’re so lucky to be able to expand our circles to a global level! I think the worst part of making friends online is that you never really know who you’re actually making friends with! I’ve been lucky (so far) in my experiences, but not everyone on the internet is who they say they are…
Noah faces a lot of struggles in this story, one of them not knowing when to tell the truth after an incident that branded him an outsider at school. What do you want readers to take away from Noah’s story?
I love examining the concept of ‘truth’. There’s a grey area between our black and white idea of ‘truth vs lies’ that I find incredibly interesting. Like, should everyone be completely honest all the time, regardless of the consequences? And if not, when is it okay to lie? Where is the line? And who decides where that line is? I’d love for readers to come away from Noah’s story asking themselves these kinds of questions.
Despite the tough topics, Noah is also pushed out of his comfort zone in this story and finds confidence in unexpected places (and friendships). What is something you’ve always wanted to try?
I’ve always wanted to try skydiving! I’m not afraid of heights, but the thought of jumping out of a plane definitely scares me. It’s on my bucket list for sure!
Noah and Eli’s fast friendship (IRL) and eventual romance is nothing short of swoonworthy – though it has its obstacles of course. Without spoiling too much, did you have a favorite scene while writing their tale?
I had many! Their journey together was honestly too much fun to write! If I was forced to choose a favourite, it would probably be the scene that takes place in a Melbourne hotel room on Eli’s birthday (IYKYK). It’s unbelievably cringey and awkward and adorable.
With Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell releasing soon, are you already working on another project? If so, can you share a tidbit about it with us?
I sure am! I’m almost ready to submit Book Three to my editor, which is super exciting. I can’t say too much about it yet, but I can tell you that it takes place in the protagonist’s first year out of high school, and there’s a bit of a travel element. I’m very excited to be able to share more about the project soon!
Last but not least, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
One of my recent reads was The Guncle by Steven Rowley, which I absolutely adored! It’s an adult novel, but I know YA readers will absolutely fall in love with it. It’s beautifully written and laugh-out-loud funny, with gorgeously realized characters!
