Madly, Deeply by Erica Crouch is a retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's poem Annabel Lee. Annabelle Lee is one of my favorite poems. I knew going into Madly, Deeply that it was going to be sad; I didn't expect the gut-wrenching emotion that I went through.
The writing was stunning and gorgeous; perfectly matching the era. I think I have come to love Erica's beautiful prose the most about her novels. I want to purchase the paperback just to flag all of my favorite quotes! The writing just made the romance even more all consuming for me. Annaleigh and William have this soul mate type love and you never actually see them fall in love, that happened before the start of the novel. Despite not seeing how they feel in love it still pulled and exploded my heart with so many feelings.
This story has ghosts, love, and will leave you with a heartache that you won't believe. Madly, Deeply is ethereal and beautiful, but unbelievably sad. It is definitely one of my favorite reads of the year so far. If you are a fan of Annabel Lee, then you must read this. When you know the ending of a book will be sad and your heart gets ripped into pieces anyway, it has to be amazing.
What
inspired the story?
I’d known for a while
I wanted to write a Victorian ghost story. I thought combining the eery feeling
of ghosts stories with that era would be really stunning — gothic writing
already has a dark mystery to it! So when I began plotting a story for the
Patchwork Press anthology (which this was originally supposed to be a part of),
I started with the idea of a ghost haunting a boy who she fell in love with.
The story remolded itself a couple of times before I landed on the plot that I
did, and then based it on my favorite Edgar Allan Poe poem, Annabel Lee,
which is a wealth of inspiration in and of itself.
When
did you know this was no longer a short story for the anthology?
I
think about halfway through. The anthology story was supposed to be between
15-25k, but I was only a few chapters in and nearly at the lower end of the
word count goal. I originally thought that I could just keep writing and then
go back to cut it down in edits, but once I started revisions, I found nothing
that I could cut. Not that there wasn’t anything I wanted to cut
(because I know sometimes you have to kill your darlings), but the story didn’t want to condense.
So, with the encouragement of Kellie Sheridan, I ended up expanding it, and
giving it the room it wanted to breathe.
How
was writing this different from Ignite/Entice?
Wow,
in so many ways. The story is completely different — in setting, tone,
and characters. It’s not so action
based, but it’s still dark. I
think, in some ways, it’s darker than Ignite/Entice,
maybe just because of its subtlety. There is more of a slow build to the “big event” in Madly,
Deeply. I think the biggest difference is that Madly, Deeply is more
focused on character while Ignite/Entice is more focused on plot, if
that makes sense. It’s also much more romance-themed. Not
to say that Ignite doesn’t
have romance, but it’s not the focus of
the story. I think both Ignite/Entice and Madly, Deeply are about
love (family love and romantic love), loss, and survival.
What
is one line from the story that you adore, above all the rest?
Ah,
a tough one. I don’t think I have any
one absolute favorite line (at least not one single line). I do have a
lot of favorite scenes/moments… But
if I had to pick, I think I really love this line: “He studied her like
a blind man who had been gifted temporary sight, as if this were the first time
he was seeing her and he’d never get another
chance to behold her again.”
What
are the new titles that are in the works?
The
next title coming out will be the Patchwork Press anthology, where I have a
short story involving séances and murder.
Right now, I’m writing Incite
which I’m hoping to keep on
schedule to come out this fall. And of course, I have the new adult sci-fi
series I’m writing (Cut,
book one of the Undying series) and the Robin Hood re-telling!
Is
there any advice you think every writer should hear?
You’re allowed to suck,
and you will get better if you work at it. I think writers put so much pressure
on themselves to be perfect. To write that perfect first draft, to release that
perfect final draft. It’s not going to
happen. Your first draft could be terrible, but you get so many tries to revise
it, so don’t let that stop you
from writing! And even if you love your final product, there will be someone
who doesn’t. That’s okay! REALLY! It
might not be their cup of tea. People have different tastes, and just because
someone doesn’t like reading your
book, doesn’t mean it’s not great. I also
really think writing takes a ton of practice and thought. Be thinking about
your stories when you’re not writing on
it — always be working
on something. Don’t let your writing
muscles atrophy!
Is
there a genre that you are afraid to write?
Hmmm… I don’t think so! I
really want to write in every genre. I get bored working on one thing and I
feel that boxing myself in to just one genre would drive me mad. I don’t think I’d be afraid to try
everything — though I can’t say I won’t be nervous for
certain until I’ve actually tried
everything once!
If
you were to fancast, who would play the three main characters?
I
actually just wrote a post on my blog about the Madly, Deeply fancast! I
never had a set of celebrities in mind when I went to write Madly, Deeply — and if it became a
movie, I’d imagine the cast
being filled with unknowns (there’s only so many times you can see the
same actress play a book-to-movie role). So my three picks are relatively
new/inexperienced, but I think they’d do a fantastic job:
Gabriella
Wilde as Annaleigh Wells
Ben
Barnes as William Calloway
Emily
Rudd as Mary Calloway
What
book have you cried the most while reading?
The
Fault in Our Stars by
John Green (obviously) got me. But so did the ending of Clockwork Princess by
Cassandra Clare. I remember crying hysterically watching The Book Thief movie,
and I think it was nearly as bad as it was when I read the book! I’d call it a
three-way tie.
What
is your current read?
I’m jumping between
two books right now: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson and Fragments (Partials
#2) by Dan Wells.
What
is a great summer read that you would recommend?
The
Throne of Glass series is spectacular! I absolutely loved the first
book, and I just finished reading Crown of Midnight (book two) a few
weeks ago. It was just… I don’t even have the
words to describe how much I love it. I can’t wait until the next book comes out
this fall!
What
can we expect next from Patchwork Press?
A
few new authors are joining the Patchwork Press team next year, so I feel like
we’ll be getting a lot
more diversity in our catalogue! The anthology, as I mentioned, will be coming
out soon. I also will be releasing Incite, and an omnibus edition of the
Ignite series as well as audiobooks for the series! We’re definitely
looking at expanding both our titles (in genre/age group/tone), platforms
(ebooks, paperback, audiobooks, etc), and our interaction with the blogging
community! Hopefully, you will even be able to find us at some conventions! :)
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About Erica Crouch
Erica Crouch is a young adult author from the colorful city of Baltimore, Maryland. Her debut
novel, Ignite, was published June 2013, and its e-novella sequel, Entice, was released Nov. 2013.
The final book in the Ignite series, Incite, is expected 2014. A compilation of the series will be
released winter 2014.
Erica is the cofounder of Patchwork Press, an author-powered publisher of MG, YA, and NA
titles. She is the head of editorial services and design, with more than ten projects to her name.
Currently, she is studying English and Creative Writing with a specialization in Fiction at
Southern New Hampshire University. She is a vlogger for the YAWordNerds with over 400
subscribers. When Erica isn’t writing, she’s reading an overwhelming stack of books, watching
an obscene amount of Netflix, and procrastinating.
LINKS
Title: The Hazards of Sex on the Beach 
Check out my review of Flight by Alyssa Rose Ivy.
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