Hi. I’m Ruth Madison.
Thank you for taking the time to visit my web site. I am the writer of romantic stories about imperfect heroes and complex heroines.
Here you can learn more about my debut novel, (W)hole, my short stories, and current works in progress. This site also houses my blog where I critique disability themes in modern media, interview other authors who have disabled characters, and share snip-its of my works in progress. I hope you enjoy my web site, and I look forward to interacting with you!
Contact me…
*Facebook *RuthMadison82@yahoo.com  *Twitter *YouTube *GoodReads *About
Introduction
Disability issues are something that I am passionate about. Â Here you’ll find my many opinions about disability rights and also reviews and suggestions of romances and other books you might enjoy that feature main characters who have physical disabilities. Check out the Current Fiction page to see my own contributions to the genre! Come on in and enjoy...
read moreWhat If They Always Called You A Creep?
Today I read a guest post on Dear Author by a woman named Kris who took it personally when people described the terrible behavior of Kathleen Hale as “crazy, mental, batshit, insane”, etc. She writes about how abelist it is to use words that describe mental illness to talk about someone being an asshole. As someone with mental illnesses, Kris took those words personally. If she can find people using derogatory words associated with her disability to describe a stranger offensive, I wonder if she can imagine what it’s like...
read more“A” for Effort
I’m getting kind of tired of seeing these pictures and videos of designs people have come up with to integrate ramps and stairs better. Yeah, it’s super important to find ways to make all buildings accessible to people who use wheelchairs, but I have yet to see one of these designs that isn’t enormously flawed. Like this one that turns some stairs into a ramp….when you step on a lever. Hello? Is anyone paying attention here? You designed this so people who use wheelchairs could access a building more easily and then...
read moreWhen a Character Comes Alive
My goal in all my stories is to create really vivid characters. Characters who will be memorable, who will make the story. I was struggling at first with the main character for The Billionaire’s Secretary. The basic plot is not exactly new! I wanted to bring my own style to it, but Chloe was feeling very bland in the first few drafts. I’m not sure how I thought of it, but the strangest thing brought her to life. I didn’t expect something so superficial to make such a difference, but when I got a sense of Chloe’s...
read moreChanging Titles
So now that I’ve passed in The Billionaire’s Secretary for final proofreading, I’m looking at what story to work on next. A while ago I was working on a story of two brothers and a singing career. I’ve run into a lot of trouble developing the plot. I’ve got characters, but the plot is not solid. For Nano I may rework the whole outline and start fresh on it. I was initially calling the story Be(Longing) but I realized that that style of title is really more appropriate for the Elizabeth line of books. I.e.,...
read moreBook Available for PreOrder!
I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be able to tell you that I’ve got a new book coming out! It’s been a long time! I worked hard to make this book as sexy as I possibly could. For my idea of what’s sexy, you can check out an excerpt at my publisher’s website: http://devlovepress.com/excerpt-from-the-billionaires-secretary-by-ruth-madison/ Super hot, right? The Billionaire’s Secretary will be digital only, so it will come out in an ebook format but not a print format. It’s going to be priced at...
read moreIncome Transparency
I’ve been challenged by my friend and fellow author Matthew Selznick to share information about my income as an author. He makes the point that it’s helpful for other writers to get a sense of what to expect from creative endeavors and most of the numbers you see are articles about the huge success of one or two indie authors. I find that people tend to assume that best selling authors are spectacularly rich and it’s a very glamorous life. Someone wrote a while back about the truth about his income after having a book that...
read moreCasting Directors: You Don’t Have A Leg To Stand On!
(Pun Intended!) There are actors who have disabilities. And yet when it comes to casting shows and movies, 99% of the time the actors are able bodied and pretend to have the disability of the character in question. This is a problem because this actor usually has no knowledge of what it’s really like to have the disability and so their performance is often cliched to the point of being painful to watch. It’s also a problem because people who actually have disabilities remain invisible and true diversity is not represented in our...
read moreDisability in Orange is the New Black
I watched all of the Netflix Original series Orange is the New Black in one weekend and it was awesome. Lots of interesting characters and many stories. Sharp humor and really believable. For anyone who hasn’t heard about this show, it’s the story of a yuppie white woman in her thirties who suddenly goes to prison for a drug crime she committed ten years before during her rebellious and wild youth. It’s based (loosely) on an autobiography. The show takes the opportunity to explore the lives of women in prison and definitely...
read moreDevoteeism From The Other Side: A Disabled Woman’s Perspective
I’m delighted to share with you today a post from an online friend. She is a woman with a disability and this is how she thinks about devs and devoteeism… The disabled and the devotees are basically STUCK. a) the feminists say: you shall not ‘succumb’ to a devotee because of his hero(ine)/saviour notion of you b) the devotees say: you have issues w/ your disability when you reject them That’s bullshit. So why not turn this into a boy-meets-girl-story rather than a sob story?! That’s what I’d suggest....
read moreThe Nasty Business of Reviews
These days absolutely anything is available to review. We all have our opinions and we want them to be heard, no matter what the product. There’s not only user reviews of books, but also reviews of my apartment building and its management, my husband’s kung fu school, and just about anything you can think of. Apps, movies, restaurants, products, services, etc. User feedback is great, but there are some problems with it too. In this landscape of everyone has an opinion, it seems difficult for people to realize that not everyone is...
read moreProgress Trackers
At proofreaders; available for pre-order
What Is Meant To Be
Second draft
Homework & Homicide (working title)
Second Draft
Book Montage
RFW winner October 7, 2011
