Madison Rachel

BEFORE vs AFTER cutting out all the scene labels & notes to myself about how long each chapter is...

Shaved another 5 pages & 493 words off UNTIL THEY KILL ME.

I have 3 tiny vernacular edits for my agent to confirm, and then this bad boy should be ready to meet the next wave of traditional publishers.

It's only been SEVEN YEARS of writing 😂

#publishingupdates #traditionalpublishing #thrillernovelist #thrillers #debutauthor

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5 months ago | [YT] | 1

Madison Rachel

So there I was, meandering Cracker Barrel’s gift shop with someone else’s baby.


The baby (belonging to my friend) started fussing, so I said in my most comforting, feminine voice, “Hey baby. Is there anything I can do for you?”


And this young man in front of me whipped around, looked right at me, and went back to looking forward as if nothing had happened.


Pretty sure I accidentally invented a new opening scene for a romcom. Writers, take it and run 😂 free of charge lol

7 months ago | [YT] | 0

Madison Rachel

considering changing the Chinese characters from “until they kill me” to “I will not die”.

So the cover would say, “I will not die until they kill me”

The novel is about choosing to live even when hope is lost, because you never know what might happen next…

And yes, the (really good) stick figure on the cover is holding her throat choking in the woods — teaser 👀

#thriller #novelist #storytelling

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9 months ago | [YT] | 2

Madison Rachel

Look at the REVERSE LIGHTING under the table!! I literally ran through the cold, February grass to get my phone, come back, and take a photo before the lighting changed.

I've never read about this lighting in a #book, watched it in a movie, or heard it in a song.

It made me consider--reality is UNBELIEVABLY subtle. There are ten million things we see every day but don't notice. That's why it's so hard to write realistic fiction that is BELIEVABLE.

Because if you're writing #fantasy, the reader willingly suspends their disbelief. If you're writing nonfiction, the story is true, so people believe it.

In writing realistic #fiction, however, you don't get the liberty of fantasy OR the clout of nonfiction. So realistic fiction #authors must undertake a different kind of intentionality, always having eyes open for unexpected, realistic moments of beauty to flavor their #storytelling.

Have you found any of these moments lately?

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10 months ago | [YT] | 2

Madison Rachel

The Legoland employee said they generated a Ferrari model on the computer. Then a Lego engineer spent months assembling it, one brick at a time.

In retrospect, I'm realizing what a powerful illustration the Ferrari is. If we step back and mentally create a model of a life, dream, or plan we want to build, we'll be postured to create it in real life.

All we have to do is show up day after day, lay brick after tiny brick, and watch our beautiful creations materialize.

#writing #legoland #lego #creativity #creative

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10 months ago | [YT] | 1

Madison Rachel

Almost 2 years ago, I was driving home from Florida when my sister Mia and I decided to write a kids’ book. We revamped a project she started when she was 12. We basically redid the entire thing, keeping the cute, whimsical feel.

We signed on with Mara Cobb with Martin Lit last year.

Today, we found out the book has hit the traditional publishing industry. Now we’re just waiting for editors to reply! 👏

#traditionalpublishing #kidlit #childrensbooks

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10 months ago | [YT] | 0

Madison Rachel

STORY CONTINUED 👉 Kellum (12 years old) sat in a chair, bleeding onto the deck. His axe had glanced off the side of the log & gone into his foot. It wasn't until he went to swing again that he noticed blood coming out of the top of his shoe and yelled for help.

I got on my knees and held his foot in my hands, alarm ringing in my brain.

"I'm okay," he said with a smile, through chattering teeth.

The wound on his foot was an inch and a half long and shaped like a football. The puddle of blood to my left on the deck was the size of my hand & thick as jelly. A trail of blood led up the stairs.

I told him we had to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding.

He agreed to let me try.

I had no idea if he was going to scream or what would happen, but I adjusted my grip on his foot and applied firm pressure to the injury.

I'll never forget the feeling--my hands slimy with blood, watching the incision close to a seam between my palms, resting his foot on my knee and feeling blood smear onto my skin.

Fortunately, he was in so much shock, it didn't hurt him. He didn't complain at all, except to verbalize his concern that his blood was on my clothes and might stain them.

At the hospital, they found he'd chipped one of his bones. And he was mere millimeters from severing major blood vessels at the top of the foot. The boys teased him that he should have been barefoot; at least then he wouldn't have ruined his shoes!

The funniest part was when we went to Wal-Mart afterward, still covered in blood. I've always wondered what people thought of us that day.

Since then, Kellum's foot has healed. It was such a memorable experience, though, the story of his accident made it into my thriller novel.

In the book, a boy chops his foot with an axe...except the power grid has gone down. So the characters have to figure out how to fix the injury without a hospital's help.

Moral of the story -- tough nonfiction situations make the best fictional inspiration.

And if you're going to split wood, save yourself the trouble & take your shoes off ;)

11 months ago | [YT] | 1

Madison Rachel

Hey READERS I’m now only 7 followers short of 200…

Anybody interested in survival skills + apocalyptic thriller novels and want to join along with me in 2025??

#novelist #readercommunity #storytelling

1 year ago | [YT] | 1

Madison Rachel

When you take photos instead of working on your #novel

Which is your fav?

#creativeimagery #beautyinunexpectedplaces #novelist

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1 year ago | [YT] | 2

Madison Rachel

The silence,
transient as hope,
is scattered abroad,
with the singing of a thousand shreds of fire
through the trees.
The voice of your feet chants,
unashamed,
as the drums to a song
that’s lasted through the ages.
The drums of your feet,
wading through the ashes
of the sunset of the year.

#autumn #poetry

1 year ago | [YT] | 2