Author Interview - T. T. Madden
I sit down with T.T. Madden, the author of The Cosmic Color, one of Neon Hemlock's 2024 Novella Series, we have a first look at their amazing cover.
Neon Hemlock’s 2024 Kickstarter campaign is in full swing and today, I am sitting down with one of the authors, T.T. Madden, to find out more about their novella and check out their novella’s cover.
Temple Madden
Temple, who writes as T.T. Madden (they/them) is a genderfluid, mixed-race writer and the author of the mech/kaiju novella The Cosmic Color. Their most recent work, "The Parthas UFO Incident," a UFO horror story, can be found in Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror. They have work forthcoming in Neon Hemlock's own Embodied Exegesis collection, as well as the social horror novella The Familialists. In the brief moments they emerge from the deepest part of the woods where they're working on a folk horror novella, they can be found on Twitter, Bluesky, TikTok, and Instagram @ttmaddenwrites.
AP: Hello Temple! Thanks for coming onto my Substack. I’m excited to share more about you with my readers. Now, you are part of Neon Hemlock's upcoming 2024 novella series with your debut novella, The Cosmic Color. What can you tell us about your book?
TT: The elevator pitch is “genderfluid mechs vs body horror kaiju.” I wrote it while bingeing anime from my childhood; Dragon Ball, Gundam, and the earlier Godzilla films. Starship Troopers, Pacific Rim, and Evangelion are the holy trinity of influences. But I also wrote it while going through a period of exploring my own gender identity. The book is about Eric, a pilot who goes through a similar gender journey when he finds himself plugged into his Instar (the in-world name for the mecha). He has to navigate his own feelings about his body while figuring out that the military he’s part of may not be as trustworthy as he initially thought.
AP: Those are some absolute banger influences! It’s like it’s after school and I’m rushing home to watch anime all over again. This cover definitely nails the vibe, I think. Let’s take a moment to show everyone your badass cover, yeah?
AP: Wow. I’ve gotta say, Neon Hemlock doesn’t miss with their covers and this is no exception. What was it like working with NH for your cover design?
TT: I was brought to literal tears when I saw the cover for the first time. It was done by an artist named btrcp, who was suggested by dave ring, the managing editor at NH. I looked through their Instagram and was extremely impressed, but it felt really serendipitous when I saw a particular drawing of Stevonnie from Steven Universe they did, who just happens to be an egg-cracker of a character for me. The process itself was amazing. Throughout the whole thing, dave and btrcp were really great about making sure I was happy with it, and really receptive to all my feedback. btrcp even did a second illustration that is just as cool that is on the inside for those who check out the book…
AP: That’s awesome. I think writers often worry about how their covers are going to go, but it looks like you were in great hands. Now how did The Cosmic Color come to be, both from a creative standpoint as well as the nitty-gritty timeline of A to Z?
TT: I’ve always been inspired by China Mieville, who’s one of my favorite fantasy authors. I discovered him in college and he already had a big backlog of stuff for me to read. I remember it all being so different, and not really expecting that. I came across an interview where he expressed his desire to write a book in every genre, which I thought was the coolest thing ever, as I’m also really into a ton of different genres, not just scifi, fantasy, and horror. Which is a long way of saying The Cosmic Color is my stab at the mecha/kaiju genre. So the book started with a lot of nostalgia about Toonami and the anime I watched as a kid, and thinking about how I was then and how I am now, and really just putting as much “me” into it as possible.
When I submitted it, it was through Submittable, and Neon Hemlock’s open period for novella submissions in late 2022. In early 2023, dave messaged me saying he’d loved it, accepted it, and we talked a bit about the broad strokes of some edits. My book is releasing later in the 2024 series, so this year dave and I will be doing the big work on the manuscript itself to get it ready for publication.
AP: The work never ends, huh? What does flow-state look like for you? What can you tell us about your creative process?
TT: Whenever I write, I usually have to start with the “weird thing” first. A concept that’ll hook me and let me explore the story, before I think about the heavy, thematic stuff. In the case of The Cosmic Color, the concept was mechs and kaiju and the weird body horror/dysmorphia that could come from that. Then I move on to the idea of characters, who is driving this story, and how does that weird concept affect them. In this case, Eric, the protagonist, literally being inside a different body when you’ve already felt strange in your own for most of your life. How would that feel? How would that psychologically affect someone? There’s definitely a lot of me in Eric. I’ve found out I can’t really write the reverse way. If I started out saying “I want to write military satire,” which is another plot point in the novella, I would have just been spinning my wheels forever and never actually written anything.
AP: Tell us a little about your upcoming projects, The Familialists, and your piece in the upcoming Embodied Exogesis anthology. Was the process the same?
TT: In terms of Embodied Exegesis, I cannot hype Ann, our editor, up enough. I recently looked at my story as submitted versus its final version with all her edits implemented, and it’s lightyears better. I can’t wait to see what she’s put together from everyone else. My story “Each Of Us Is All Of Us,” takes place after the Earth has passed through a space cloud which allows people to manipulate and change their own bodies, letting the protagonist explore her own transness. But the cloud also connects people on a metaphysical level, giving insight into each others’ minds. I used some ideas from The Cosmic Color that I didn’t get to fully flesh out in the book.
The Familialists is another novella I have coming from Off Limits Press. This one is more social horror, and I’m billing it as The Stepford Wives crossed with Get Out and a splash of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Without giving too much away, it’s about a mixed woman, Sorrel, who discovers a terrible secret about her old flame’s new husband and the bizarre neighborhood he lives in.
AP: And what are you working on currently?
TT: I have three big projects I’m bouncing between at the moment. Firstly I’m pitching a novella, The Shapes of Our Screams, which is about a rock band playing a show at a renaissance festival to protest anti-drag laws. While there, they're attacked by sentient neofascist music. I’m also putting the finishing touches on the draft of a folk horror novella I hope to submit soon that looks at a town’s history of witchcraft and urban legends, and how the patriarchy and the idea of campfire storytelling affect a community. And then, finally, I’m starting on a high fantasy/horror novel with a Dark Souls-style aesthetic.
AP: Wow, I love how broadly you explore genres and influences. Someone after my own heart! What are some of your favorite pieces of art or media that have been grabbing your attention over the last few months?
TT: If I’m in the middle of a big project, I tend to binge on a lot of stuff of a similar genre to keep me in the mood, so right now it’s lots of high fantasy and folk horror. I’m getting into countless shenanigans in Baldur’s Gate 3 (Asmodeus Tiefling Ranger for those curious) and am on my second playthrough of Alan Wake 2, which is an absolute mindbender of a story I’m still trying to wrap my head around. I’m also reading Berserk for the first time, and trying to not let those omnibus volumes crush my sternum whenever I do. On the more relaxing side, I’ve also been relistening to a lot of the Guide to the Unknown podcast, which is a lot of fun (also, disclosure, I know the creators, but that shouldn’t stop you from listening to them, they’re great).
AP: I hope people do check those out. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me about yourself and your work. Where can my readers find out more about you and your work?
TT: I’m trying to juggle Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, and TikTok, all as ttmaddenwrites, and I’ll let people know through those handles when my full website is up and running!
AP: Ah, the social media wars. What a time to be alive. Thanks again, and I can’t wait to check out The Cosmic Color.
Be sure to check out T.T. Madden and their work, as well as, Neon Hemlock’s Kickstarter campaign.
Until next time…
Be well, stay safe, and love each other.