Welcome to A Month of Rain and Reads, a celebration of self-published and indie SFF throughout the entire month of November. To find out how you can take part and view the whole list of content, visit our introduction post.
Today we’re interviewing Madeleine Marie-Rose, author of the Jaya! series and more, as they launch their crowdfund campaign on Backerkit as part of The Book Bazaar 2025.
Madeleine is raising funds for Honeycomb Heart. Becoming an adult is already hard. Add in involuntary wanderlust, young love, a swarm of bees, and one extremely sassy octopus — Vivian and Frieda will have their hands full as they start new lives with their new familiars!
Follow the campaign and pledge your support!
Please tell us a little about yourself and your Backerkit project.
I’m Madeleine (she/her). I grew up in Western Washington, an area with rich biodiversity that’s also Sasquatch territory, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that I wound up loving loving nature, the biological sciences, and monsters. I’m in the process of building my own library of self-published SFF books featuring queer and neurodiverse characters.
For 2025’s Book Bazaar, I’m crowdfunding the initial release of Honeycomb Heart, a sapphic romance featuring two young women and their sentient animal familiars. Vivian and Frieda are the descendants of witches; although they knew they’d each receive a familiar when they turned eighteen, nothing could’ve prepared them for their new companions, a swarm of bees and an octopus. When these new family members are unable to thrive in the homes Vivian and Frieda know best, the two newly minted adults must embark on their first adventure to find a place where their familiars can live comfortably and happily. They might start off as strangers traveling together out of convenience, but let’s just say it’s an “only one bed” (and scooter, and tent) situation… Honeycomb Heart is a book full of love – romantic affection, platonic bonds, and self-love, as well as my own love for nature and the animals that have been part of my own life. (It is also full of octopus shenanigans.)
Why did you join The Book Bazaar 2025?
I haven’t been part of a writing group since I was in college, so the idea of working alongside and getting to regularly interact with a bunch of other writers again was very exciting.
Tease us with your Backerkit campaign! What rewards can we expect?
Along with delivering the book itself, I’m hoping to expand the campaign with prequel short stories, as well as offer some small art prints! The events of Honeycomb Heart largely take place as the main characters are visiting different regions within their homeland, and I fell in love with the thought of actually creating some of the pictures they might end up with by the end of their trip.
Why did you decide to self-publish/publish with a small press and what has been your biggest success so far?
Although I always knew I’d be open to hybrid or self-publishing, I initially tried querying my first book. At the time, I was also applying to jobs. Doing both, and getting no traction from either, was just a bit soul-crushing. This was also a time where we were seeing more public individuals and companies openly turning against social progress around inclusion and diversity. So I was not only tired of waiting for others to take a chance on me, but as a neurodivergent lesbian I was also worried about whether I might have to weaken the representation in my books or how I presented myself if I went with a larger trad publisher. I ultimately decided to leave the query trenches for the freedom self-publishing would give me. Being a full-time author is my dream job, and in that dream, I want to be myself, not mask.
As of my writing this in early October 2025, my debut novel Graft is in the middle of crowdfunding. We’ve already passed the initial goal, and I’m incredibly excited to share Ella’s story in all its mutating, stimming, monster-fighting glory with the world.
What is your favourite thing about being an indie author?
I’ve really been enjoying how much freedom I have – if I decide I want to put together a playlist, or come up with art prints, or release a group of short stories related to one of my novels, the only person I need to ask permission of is myself. As someone who can get anxious around certain social situations, that’s a big win for me! On the other hand, I am the only person responsible for keeping myself on track…
What tips can you share on self-publishing or crowdfunding with your fellow indies?
The moment when self-publishing started to feel less like climbing up Everest was when I started breaking it down into a list of smaller tasks – making an author website, securing an email, starting to post on social media, etc. It was a long list, and at first I was definitely adding tasks to it faster than I was finishing them. But it’s helped me immensely to be able to look back and say, “doing this step feels like it will be difficult. But I’ve already done all these other tasks, so I’m sure I can handle this too.” On days where I feel less sure of myself, the crossed-off items on my list are evidence that I AM capable of this, actually, and any thoughts to the contrary are just imposter syndrome. It’s good to know what you struggle with, but keep track of your victories too. Write it all down!
Can you recommend a few of your favourite SFF books from indie/self-published authors?
I’ve recently enjoyed Space Wizard Science Fantasy’s Lesbian in Space anthology, and Jennifer Rainey’s The Last Temptations of Iago Wick.
What are you working on after your campaign?
I’ve got the sequels to both Honeycomb Heart and Graft to work on, as well as a smattering of short stories related to both to work on! I really want to give readers the chance to fully explore these worlds and characters.
About the Author
I’m a lot of things!
An autistic lesbian!
A microbiology major!
A crafter!
Someone way too into dragons, giant robots, and the monster boyfriend/girlfriend/non-gender-specific lover trope!
But the most important thing to know about me is that I have a brain that 1. never shuts off and 2. tends to ask if I can do something a couple hours before considering if I should. Also, I have hands and access to writing software, and I intend to make that everyone else’s problem.
On a more serious note: I’m a writer trying to live my best life by surrounding myself with things I love, and when those things don’t exist yet… I make them! I hope you end up loving them too, and that you’ll consider joining me on wherever this journey takes me.
- Website: MonstersAndMaidensPublishing.com
- Bluesky: @monstersandmaidens.bsky.social
