SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Madison Michael!

Joining me today in The Loft is author Madison Michael. Maddy writes steamy romance with rich, sexy men and smart, sassy women. Her novels embrace deep abiding friendships, flawed characters, and the journeys people take on the road to love. Maddy's love of Chicago is evident in her books, where her home town is used as background and inspiration for her stories. Maddy claims to be a news junkie, lover of all things "Hello Kitty," and anything with too much sugar. When not writing, Madison is likely to be decluttering—a never ending battle--and exploring new movies and new recipes, and lunching with smart, sassy women.

Author Madison Michael

S: Good morning, Maddy! Thanks for joining me this morning.

As a writer, did the pandemic and the subsequent isolation work to your benefit or detriment?

M: The first year of Covid-19 was not my best, personally or professionally. Fortunately, I traveled twice right before the lockdown, so I was in a relaxed, post-vacation headspace. Great, until it came time to get back to work. For months I wrote nothing. Ideas were flowing, I couldn’t blame writers’ block. I watched a lot of TV, ate way too much take-out Chinese, and avoided my desk. Honestly, I was having trouble with the entire concept of creating light-hearted romance while the world imploded. Then I realized that’s what I was watching, and reading, and craving. That epiphany got me back to work, and 2021 was one of my most prolific.

S: I stunned by the pandemic, mostly by the inept governmental response. I had to work hard to avoid bringing it into my books. So, like you, I tried to focus on the happy.

Do you adhere to tropes when writing romance? Which ones do you enjoy writing? Are there any tropes that make you squirm?

M: People talk about tropes all the time, but I usually ignore them and simply create a story, a plot. However, when I am done, I discover that I have adhered to certain tropes and avoided others. I don’t like older men/younger women, although my novella, "Studmuffin," is about an older woman and a younger man. I don’t like to mess with things I know little about, although I have never been a billionaire or dated one. I avoid tropes around abuse and adultery. I want to make people happy. And without a doubt, extended family romances make me uncomfortable, although I don’t know why. I tend to stick with billionaire/millionaire characters, both male and female, who need to learn that money can’t buy love. In my Beguiling Bachelor series, I move from a Cinderella heroine all the way to a story where the female lead has the money. I enjoyed that journey from the helpless to the strong. My new All’s Crazy in Love series is about enduring friendships, as is my Beguiling Bachelor series. I have been blessed with incredible women in my life and I love honoring them with my writing. I guess that would be my favorite trope—great friends supporting each other as they find love.

S: That's one I enjoy as well. Are there any characteristics your lead characters share?

M: Ambition. All of my characters, in every book share this trait. They are never looking for a handout. Whether it’s the desire to succeed in business, love, or life, they want to achieve results based on their own efforts and merits. In "Bedazzled," for example, we have a poor-as-a-mouse artist trying to succeed as a designer, and a billionaire real estate mogul who wants out of the family business so that he can prove his worth independent of the family. In the next book, "Beholden," we have a woman desperate to regain her proper role in society, but when she is offered a helping hand, her instinct is to reject it. My characters vacillate between taking help and being independent. Of course, usually the help comes from a handsome hero or an irresistible woman. One of the reasons I chose to write romance was my love of this struggle, which I experience in my own life and see around me. Women want to achieve on their own, and they think they must do everything. My friends who were raised in comfort feel they have much to give back, and my friends who struggled are proud of their success but sometimes forget others who helped along the way. This is the heart of my stories. Couples who are struggling to achieve their goals, who are sometimes too focused on their ambition, too swift to protect their current achievements, their secrets, their fears, and their hearts. I write about couples who, because they find one another, overcome these flaws. It is the love between them that allows a woman to lower her walls, a man to ask for help, a friend to come to the rescue. All of us are flawed, in romance and real life. When we surround ourselves with the right people, people who love us and only want what is best for us, we are able to release our fears, and transform our flaws to strengths. And being better together, for me, is what a great romance is all about. Oh, and some hot sex!

S: How did you meet your current partner? When did you know he/she was “the one?”

M: Michael and I met online almost 10 years ago. It was his first day on the site, my last. I was disappointed with the people I had met, but then Michael caught my eye. He described himself as a martini and jazz man—not my usual sort. But I wanted to see what was behind his profile. The clincher for me came early in our first date. We went to dinner, having moved our plans from coffee, to drinks to dinner because of scheduling problems. He brought a rose, which you must admit is a good start. And he had blue eyes to drown in. But he took a phone call during our date, and it sealed my fate. “It’s my daughter, calling from college,” he told me, explaining how infrequently he got a chance to speak with her. My heart melted. “Aw, he’s a good dad,” I thought. From that moment, I felt I could trust him, and I opened up. Our dinner was great, conversation easy. We had a ton in common and there was clearly chemistry sparking between us. The goodnight kiss rocked me to my toes—need I say more? We’re coming up on our 10-year anniversary.

S: That's a wonderful story! What would you like to people know about you?

M: I am an ambassador for Chicago and pay homage to it in almost all my books. It is a beautiful city with more to offer than even I can imagine. We have parks, lakefront, museums, music, and architecture to rival any city in the world, as well as food to fatten you up. And friendly people. Don’t let the city of Al Capone scare you away. Come visit our city of neighborhoods.

S: I worked in Chicago for almost 10 years. I really miss the food!

What is the best/worst thing that has ever happened to you as a writer?

M: Without a doubt, the best thing that has happened to me as a writer is finding my tribe. They keep me going on a bad day, help me in a million ways, and are my dearest friends. The worst is harder to pinpoint, but I imagine it is the first one-star review I received. It was like a stab to the heart after pouring all my effort into my work. Truth to tell, it turned out to be a blessing because the reviewer wrote about why she hated the book, and once I got over my hurt feelings, which I admit took a while, I was able to learn from the experience and write better books.

S: Reviews can be confusing. A three-star review that praises the book or a one-star review that offers no explanation aren't helpful. Like you, I want to know what I can do to make my books better.

What famous book do you wish you had written?

M: "To Kill a Mockingbird." First, because I loved the book when I read it as a teen and I still love it today. Writing something with that kind of staying power must feel awesome. Second, because the story offers a very strong message told through the eyes of a child so that it feels non-threatening, even to those who might otherwise be offended. The entire concept was brilliant. My second choice might be "Pride and Prejudice." I’d have a whole society following me hundreds of years later, and I would have written one of the premier romances of all time, and the royalties would be amazing!

S: What’s the best advice you have ever been given?

M: Not exactly advice, but a line that impacts me when I am sitting on the fence, unable to make decisions. “He who hesitates dies.” It’s kept me from stopping in the middle of traffic a few times, which is lifesaving, and its helped me take the plunge into writing, among other things.

S: That's great advice ! What inspired "Bedazzled?"

M: I was spending a great deal of time helping a dear friend, who was starting her own jewelry design business. I was setting up her inventory systems, but we spent a great deal of time chattering. She became the inspiration for Keeli’s career and my biggest cheerleader. I hadn’t been back in Chicago long at that point, having moved about the country for a long time, so honoring my roots was important to me too, showing readers the beauty and the excitement the city had to offer. So, my main character was determined, the setting was fixed, and then I started to write. Initially, the story was all about her, and totally from her point of view, but halfway through my second draft, I gave the hero, Wyatt, his Beguiling Bachelor buddies, and the book took a new direction, and the series was born. Don’t have me committed, but once Wyatt started sharing his emotions with his friends, he told me where he wanted the plot to go. I swear!

S: Ialways say my characters write their own stories. Sometimes, they do tell you where they want to go.

Is there anything special you would like people to know about "Bedazzled?"

M: Absolutely! I spent almost all of this pandemic committed to a full revision of the Beguiling Bachelor series. I hired a professional editor for the first time in my career and let her tear it to shreds--kindly, of course. Now I am presenting a better, shorter, tighter story and I have taken into account five years of feedback from readers, as well as input from a genius editor. This version of "Bedazzled" is a far better book than the first book I ever wrote, and I am beyond excited to share it today.

Here's the blurb--

Can You Topple into True Love?

Feisty Keeli Larsen has nothing more to lose.

She’s left her home, her family, and her job to pursue a solo career as a jewelry designer. She’s poured her last dime into the new venture. but reserved her heart for an unattainable prince charming. He’s Chicago’s most eligible bachelor, a real ladies man, who doesn’t know she exists. He’s a billionaire to boot. She can’t even afford a warm winter coat.

Wyatt Lyons Howe IV has nothing more to gain.

The handsome billionaire has everything money can buy. Groomed as heir to a far-reaching family empire, sexy, successful, and brilliant, he wins at everything but arguments with his father. Wyatt is weighed down by responsibility, that rests heavily on shoulders that don’t want the burden. This beguiling bachelor is suffocating under family expectations including an unwanted fiancé.

Keeli is sinking under debt, Wyatt under privilege until a one-minute elevator ride and a misplaced hand alter the trajectories of their lives. The unknown Keeli is on her prince charming’s radar at last. She needs him. He wants her. Or is the opposite true?

What if she’s seeking a bankroll? What about his ‘love ‘em and leave ‘em” reputation? Can Wyatt risk his heritage, family, and fortune for a starving artist who stumbled into his life

Here’s the sexy, satisfying roller coaster ride that results when two people destined never to meet find themselves bedazzled.