Indie Support Sunday: Madison Diaz

Oct 19
6 min read

Madison Diaz and I met like most indie authors do—on Instagram. Maybe even through a group with other amazing indie authors. She’s one of those amazing people who does everything and makes it look easy. For example, Madison not only writes upmarket full-length romance under this name, she writes ‘unhinged smut’ (her words) novellas under Alexandra Madison. And as someone who has read at least one of those novellas I can promise it’s unhinged in all the best ways.

Her journey to becoming an author began at a young age when she’d read her stories out to her friends over the phone. And shared her journal as well! This is totally amazing since I always think twice before publishing a book at this age.

While she’s working on more stories—under both pen names—Madison’s books are all currently available everywhere you buy books. You can also snag the anthology she was part of recently—Bi The Way, I Love You.

BEING AN AUTHOR

Who or what inspired you to write?

I’ve been writing for as long as I’ve known how to. I used to write stories as a child in my bedroom and call my friends on the phone to read them out loud. I also kept a journal that I would give to my friends in middle school for them to read during study hall. My life has always been going in this direction, honestly.

What’s the best and worst part about being an indie author?

The best thing about being an indie author is having creative control over your work—nobody to slash your stories or water them down to be more palatable for general audiences. The worst part about this is that you have to do every aspect yourself, and it can be a lot to wear so many hats and run an entire business by yourself for very little profit, if any.

Why did you choose to self-publish instead of going the traditional route?

I already knew I would face issues finding representation based on my identity as a Puerto Rican author, and I also figured I’d get rejected for writing the stories I want to write.

When you’re not writing, what do you do to get the creative juices flowing?

Listening to music inspires me a lot. I enjoy painting and writing poetry, and they’re how I work through my creativity if I’ve taken a break from writing fiction.

If you were to recommend books to me (in any genre), what would they be?

Hard Time by Cara McKenna, A Place in the Sun by R.S. Grey and the audiobook for Almost Maybes by Anna P.

What are your top 5 tips or pieces of advice for aspiring authors?

Keep writing and writing and writing. You’ll never get better if you’re not writing lots of words.
Study story structure because it makes plotting and outlining your novel much easier.
Write for yourself first, and edit for others. Stephen King has this advice in his book On Writing, but I agree with it!
Hating your work is part of the process, and it means you will reach a breakthrough soon.
Keep notes about your WIPs, but don’t spread yourself too thin. Try working on only one or two projects at a time. More than that, and you will go crazy.

ROMANCE AS A GENRE

Why did you choose romance as the genre to write in? What is your favorite thing about the genre?

I have always enjoyed the romantic aspect of the genre. I enjoy when characters fall in love, especially when it feels organic and authentic.

If not romance/subgenres of romance, what genre would you like to write in?

I have thought about thrillers or horror as my genres of choice if I couldn’t write romance anymore.

What are your most and least favorite tropes?

I have lots of tropes I enjoy, but friends to lovers and brother’s best friend are my favorites. My least favorites are probably amnesia and bully romance.

What are some tropes you want to write in the future?

I’d love to write a brother’s best friend book because I haven’t yet. I have 16 books planned, though, so the trope could end up in an unplanned novella I write one day.

What are some topics (sensitive and otherwise) that you think should exist more in romance?

Something I love about Cara McKenna is how realistic her MMCs are. They’re usually men who deal with toxic masculinity and often have to confront that while also opening themselves up to love. In romance, we often ignore those hardships when they’re actually very prevalent in real world relationships.

If you write open door romance, why did you choose that and what inspires your sex scenes?

Open door romance can often increase the intensity of the book. These scenes are meant to establish how the relationship is moving forward. As someone who also personally sees sex as an indicator for how I feel about a partner or a potential partner, I find it important. Having sex with someone who cares about you and desires you can feel magical and euphoric. Sometimes it can even feel as if this is how nature intended us to be. That shared magic between two people can represent a lot about themselves and their relationship, so I use that as inspiration. I ask myself what’s the point of this scene? What triggers it? What do I want the result to be?

YOUR BOOKS

What inspired your published stories? How and when did you come up with these stories and plots?

Each of these stories have come to me as characters and concepts. I’ve wondered what would happen if this person dealing with this personal issue finds the person they’re meant to be with? What happens to block their love, or what external conflict are they dealing with to overcome for love?

Can you briefly tell me about your books?

I have two pen names. Madison Diaz writes upmarket romance that deals with realistic issues while maintaining a light-hearted atmosphere for readers to feel safe. Alexandra Madison writes unhinged smut that works as entertainment or a palette cleanser between longer novels.

Do you already have a favorite character from the stories you’ve written?

So far, I really like Jake and Emerson from Off the Grid. They are so funny together. I love all my characters.

If you were to cast your book for a movie/television show, who would you cast in the lead roles?

Oh, this is a hard one. I don’t usually think of actors as inspiration for my books. Zazie Beats comes to mind for Emerson from Off the Grid. And Henry Cavill was my Jake inspiration.

How much of yourself do you put into these characters?

I definitely put sides of myself in my books, but my characters have minds of their own. It’s funny when people don’t like certain characters because I really relate to them.

What is a story/stories that you really want to tell?

Far off in the future, I have a romantasy series in mind that involves witches, curses, alchemy, and more!

Is there one common element that readers can find in all your stories?

Healthy communication will always be part of my books. I’m not fond of the miscommunication trope, so if it happens, it’ll be for a really good reason.

What’s next on the bookshelf for you? Anything you can tell us about a future project?

I’m working on my next full-length novel from Madison Diaz, but it’s still in the beginning stages. The characters are from the first novel of my Forbidden Flames series, and I’m excited to share more about that soon! The book deals with grief, escapism, loving again, etc.

When you write these stories, what are you hoping your readers will feel?

I’m hoping my readers will feel like they can escape the chaotic mess we live in and go to a place where love wins and the sex is always hot!