Madeleine Henry
Author Interview - Madeleine Henry
Author of The Love Proof and The Last Celebrity
About The Last Celebrity:
3-second version:
A mysterious vigilante group hunts down celebrities in a ruthless effort to promote equality.
30-second version:
In front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden, a pop star is kidnapped by a new vigilante group called the Nomen. They leave behind a chilling manifesto leveled against the cult of celebrity, and the names of forty-nine other rising stars about to disappear forever. Bestselling author Fiona Hart is on the list.
One by one, targets vanish without a trace. Fiona can’t shake the feeling that her every move―on a public street or even in the privacy of her own apartment―is being watched. Though the world may be gripped by fear, Fiona refuses to let it destroy her. Then her friend, popular shoe designer Gwen Gordon, goes among the missing. And time is running out for Fiona.
As she unravels the Nomen’s true and twisted motivations, the last celebrity in hiding will risk anything to save herself and those she loves.
About The Love Proof:
“A brilliant physicist studying the nature of time embarks on a journey to prove that those we love are always connected to us, leading to surprising revelations in this fresh and unique love story.”
Author Interview - Madeleine Henry
Author I draw inspiration from:
2026: Cormac McCarthy, Blake Crouch, & Marisha Pessl.
The top shelf in my office is reserved for my favorite books of all time, including novels by these authors as well as ASTROPHYSICS FOR PEOPLE IN A HURRY by Neil deGrasse Tyson (which my husband gave me on our third date).
I love McCarthy's high-stakes stories of survival, how he always cuts down to the jugular of things, crafting do-or-die circumstances you just can't ignore. I love the ideas underpinning all of Crouch's work, which has been streamlined down to its core. I love Pessl's style and deep world building: you can just feel her having fun.
2021: Jill Santopolo meets Blake Crouch. I like to think of The Love Proof as moving and mind-bending, a book that will engage your heart as much as your intellect.
Author Interview - Madeleine Henry
Favorite place to read a book:
2026: 99% of the books I read are audiobooks, which I "read" all over the place.
Ideally, on a long drive.
2021: Audiobook on a walk outside. My previous jobs in finance piqued my appreciation for movement.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
2026: Ryland Grace from Andy Weir's PROJECT HAIL MARY, so he could teach me more about the universe. How would this play out? I imagine that I would be the one peppering him with questions, and he would be slightly annoyed (presumably preoccupied with much more interesting or pressing problems, such as the immobilized elevator).
2021: Sherlock Holmes, so I could pick his brain for tricks to be smarter.
Author Interview - Madeleine Henry
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
2026: I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember.
When I was in second grade, I would write stories inside blank white books, draw art on the covers, and collect them in my room. (I remember one being about a pig who wanted to learn more about this thing called "bacon.") In third grade, I would bring stories I wrote to school and read them to the other kids. (I remember one about a "Mr. Green" whose bones were elastic.) In fourth grade, I bound all the poems I'd written and imagined getting them published one day. I wrote my first two novels in college, and even when I was working in investment banking, I was still writing fiction on the side.
2021: Always. I self-published books of poems as a nine-year-old. In college, I worked one-on-one with a professor at Yale to write a novel each semester of my senior year. During that time, I chose classes to take place only Monday-Wednesday, then Thursday-Sunday I would commute into New York City, stay at my parents' apartment, and write.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
2026: Hardbacks: I love how they lend gravity/substantial weight to stories. I dislike the physical feel of the covers and their limited portability.
Paperbacks: Great for travel. Perfect for when I want to be absorbed in the story without the distractions built into a phone, and when I want to catch every single word. Drawback: I run out of space for them!
Hardbacks and paperbacks: I love being able to see how stories look on the page. I love seeing the physical shapes that they take (how long the paragraphs are, etc.). It gives me a feel for momentum that I don't find in other forms.
Ebooks: Love that my storage capacity for these is essentially infinite! Dislike that I can't keep them in my library/can't have the stories be physically present with me in my office.
Audiobooks: My preferred form, so I can read on the move. Dislike that I will inevitability miss a little bit of everything I listen to.
2021: Audiobook! I love holding books, knowing instantly how far along I am in a story, and seeing how words look on a page, but audiobooks let me be mobile. I really cherish the opportunity to move.
The last book I read:
2026: I am currently reading TALKING TO STRANGERS by Malcolm Gladwell (the audiobook), which looks at why strangers are so easy to misjudge.
The latest chapter has been about our instinct to believe that others are telling the truth. This is apparently our default setting: we assume people are being honest. In general, doubts alone won't change our minds until we find overwhelming, definitive evidence that forces us to overcome this bias. It's a good reminder to be a little more skeptical at times...
2021: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Author Interview - Madeleine Henry
Pen & paper or computer:
2026: Computer!
Writing longhand would be frustrating for me because I can't keep up with the pace of my thoughts. Typing lets me continue to think uninterrupted. I would also be frustrated by the prospect of typing up all my notes (as one must do eventually).
Also, I like to save all versions of my manuscripts electronically, which makes it easy for me to go back and reference old material. You never know when that chapter you cut might actually make its way back into the story! Working on a computer helps me navigate the prior drafts easily.
2021: Computer!
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
2026: Robert Langdon from Dan Brown's work.
I think we would get along because we would never run out of things to talk about. I find his work fascinating, and would always want to learn more. (Not to mention, Robert would have some crazy personal stories for me, after all his adventures.)
2021: Papa in The Shack by William Paul Young.
In this book, God visits the main character Mack in the form of Papa, the warmest woman I've ever read. Why not hang out with a maternal God?
Author Interview - Madeleine Henry
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
2026: Entrepreneur!
I love the entrepreneurial aspects of writing novels: the autonomy, the uncharted path, and the deep sense of personal connection to your work. I definitely have the personality type where I can stomach risk and uncertainty as well. Even though writing is an "intellectual" pursuit, there is also something deeply satisfying about putting together a tangible product, delivering that to people, and having that be a springboard for connection.
(Still, no matter what I chose, I'd probably spend my time there wishing I were writing.)
2021: Wishing I were!
Favorite decade in fashion history:
2026: Today! I actually love checking out recaps of some runway shows and really enjoy peeking at red carpet looks every now and then. I really enjoy thinking about the use of color, draping, and textures. (A recent favorite: Margot Robbie's red velvet dress at the Wuthering Heights premiere in Paris. Beautiful, seamless with the movie's lush aesthetic, and I loved how the red velvet echoed a premiere's traditional red curtains.)
For this reason, I made one character in THE LAST CELEBRITY, Gwen Gordon, a famous shoe designer (a la Christian Louboutin or Gianvito Rossi). The job is such an interesting blend of personal expression and precision engineering (in some ways, like writing a novel).
2021: Now, which I say only because I don't know the other decades by style.
Place I’d most like to travel:
2026: Japan is one of those dream destinations that delivers on every level (beauty! culture! food!). My husband lived in Japan for a while growing up, but I've never been. I've wanted to see Kyoto and Tokyo in particular for the Zen gardens, shrines, and cultural traditions. I'm a big foodie, so I know that I would research and plan every meal in advance to make sure that we were hitting all the best spots. (I can be adventurous with food, and have enlisted my husband to join me in trying crocodile dumplings, ostrich, and other memorable dishes.)
Destination runners up: Utah/Zion National Park for the hiking. Iceland for the epic natural views and hiking. Rwanda for the gorillas. Dubrovnik, Croatia for the whole experience. There are so many places I need to see!
2021: Nepal! I'd love to hike the Annapurna Circuit, for the natural beauty in one of the spiritual centers of the world. My fiancé and I do plan to do this one day, maybe in 2022. It's supposed to be challenging because of the altitude, but we can train for it in advance and acclimate once we're there.
My signature drink:
2026: Sparkling water.
I've had fewer than ~10 alcoholic drinks my whole life. Not my thing!
2021: Sparkling water and a lime!
Favorite artist:
2026: Hans Zimmer & Monet
A couple of years ago, I was so intrigued by Zimmer's process that I started writing a novel about a composer (which remains unfinished, but may emerge in subtle ways in future books). For example, when Hans was putting together the soundtrack for "Dune," he apparently spent time in the desert recording ambient sounds and built custom instruments to evoke never-before-heard tones. It was such a brilliant move for him to create NEW sounds, in order to evoke a truly otherworldly feel in Dune (unlike, for example, the Star Wars movies, which draw from a full traditional symphony orchestra to set the mood).
I love the beauty of Monet's work. My last novel, NAME NOT TAKEN, was written from the perspective of an obsessive painter, and I loved seeing the world through her eyes: the way she noticed light and shadow, color relationships, shapes, and negative space--the way she stripped the world of its labels and reduced everything to its core visual elements.
2021: Christian Bale. It makes me happy to see people devoted to their craft, and he is the most committed method actor I know.
Number one on my bucket list:
2026: Another book tour!
For my.first two novels, my tours were more extensive. For example, when THE LOVE PROOF came out in 2021, I did around 70 events (!), many with book clubs across the United States. Granted, most of these were on Zoom in a post-COVID world. My tours since then have been more local, but for my next.book, I'll be ready to get on the road again.
2021: Live without fear!
Find more from the author:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MadeleineHenryYoga/
Twitter: https://x.com/MadeleineSHenry
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsMadeleineHenry
www.itsMadeleineHenry.com
About Madeleine Henry:
Madeleine Henry is the author of five novels. Her work has featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Post, and Entertainment Weekly. She has appeared on NBC, CW, WABC, and WCBS. Previously, she worked at Goldman Sachs after graduating from Yale. She lives with her family in New York, where she is at work on her next book. You can find her on Instagram @MadeleineHenryYoga.
