Today we’d like to introduce you to Madeleine Holly-Rosing.
Madeleine, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I think I’ve always been a storyteller. It probably started when I was a child, and I used to tell myself stories before I went to sleep. They were always adventures where I’d accomplish great heroic feats.
However, as I grew older, I stopped. I decided that all my stories lacked depth and life experience, so I decided to go out and live before I started to write again. And I did.
I went to U.S. Santa Cruz, where I got my BA in Politics. Living there was very different from anything I had experienced before. It was hard but good. I then left for graduate school in New York, where I attended Columbia University. Going from California to NYC pretty much turned my brain inside out, but after a while, I embraced the urban life. I also started to train as an epee fencer. When I graduated from Columbia with an MA in Arabic and the Cultural History of the Arabs, I decided that I wanted to dedicate myself to the fencing for as long as I could. I trained and competed around the country and overseas. I think I was ranked 16th in the nation at one point. But as I suspected, injuries set in and I eventually retired from fencing.
In between all of this, I began extension classes at NYU in screenwriting and wrote during my lunch hours. (And yes, I was working full time.)
Tired of the cold of NYC, I came home to California. I kept writing screenplays and managed to get into the MFA Program in Screenwriting at UCLA. While there, I wrote a TV Pilot called the Boston Metaphysical Society. A friend encouraged me to adapt it into a graphic novel. I did and after a number of successful Kickstarters, tabling at Cons, finishing the series, plus writing two more short graphic novels, short stories, and a novel, we were picked up by Source Point Press. Whew!
And to give credit where it is due, Emily Hu is the artist for the original six issue series. Gwynn Tavares is the artist for the two sequels (The Scourge of the Mechanical Men and The Spirit of Rebellion).
We’d love to hear more about you. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I am a writer of TV, film, comics, and now a novelist!
I truly believe that through diversity comes strength.
All of my characters come from different backgrounds and life experiences, but when they work together, they are capable of incredible things.
That’s the message I want to send. We are stronger together.
Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
I don’t think the role of artists has changed. All art, whether painting, sculpture, music, or writing, has always reflected the times we live in. Art is inherently political.
All social, cultural, and political events will affect your art unless you live under a rock. For me, these events give me focus and help me write about issues in an entertaining way.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
To read the first six issues of the comic go to my website: http://www.bostonmetaphsyicalsociety.com.
You can support it by ordering the first Issue from your local comics book store. (MAY1919107)
And/or purchase the standalone sequels on Amazon or Storevny.
The novel, Boston Metaphysical Society: A Storm of Secrets, and the anthology, Boston Metaphysical Society: Prelude, is on Amazon as well as all ebooks retailers.
Or come visit my table at a convention. You can find me at:
San Diego Comic-Con – Small Press L-03
Phoenix Fan Fusion – Artist Alley
Denver Pop Culture – Artist Alley – Y3
Silicon Valley Comic Con
Rose City Comic Con in Portland Oregon
Gaslight Expo – Mission Valley San Diego
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.bostonmetaphysicalsociety.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mcholly1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BostonMetaphysicalSocietyComic/
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mhollyrosing

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Madeleine Holly-Rosing
May 22, 2019 at 15:50
Hi: This is the interviewee and in case you missed it in the interview, the artwork for the original six issue series was done by Emily Hu and “Scourge” and “Spirit” was done by Gwynn Tavares. The cover of the novel cover was done by Luisa Preissler with title graphics by Anke Koopman. — Madeleine