Madilyn DeRose

Hey there, dark romance lovers! I'm Madilyn DeRose, and I write the kind of stories that make people raise their eyebrows and maybe judge me a little at family gatherings. (Sorry not sorry, Aunt Karen.)

Let me tell you something – I never expected to be here, writing romance novels that explore the shadowy corners of obsession and desire. I was that quiet kid in the back of English class, scribbling stories in notebooks while pretending to take notes. My teachers probably thought I was being studious, but really, I was crafting elaborate tales of forbidden love and dangerous attractions. Those notebooks would've gotten me sent straight to the school counselor if anyone had read them!

Growing up in a small Midwest town (where everyone knew everyone's business), I learned early on that the most interesting stories were the ones people didn't talk about in polite company. You know the ones – the whispered scandals, the hidden relationships, the desires that proper society says we shouldn't have. That's where I live as a writer, in that deliciously dark space between what's acceptable and what's taboo.

My debut novel "My Turn" came from a place of pure creative rebellion. I wanted to write about obsession in its rawest form – not the sanitized version we usually get, but the kind that consumes you from the inside out. The story of a fourteen-year-old boy whose brother brings home the wrong (or maybe right?) girl hit me like a freight train, and I couldn't NOT write it. Alana Monroe wasn't supposed to be his, but try telling that to a heart that doesn't know how to let go.

Here's what you should know about my books: they're not for everyone, and I'm totally okay with that. I write about the kind of love that makes you uncomfortable, the kind that society says isn't "right" but feels inevitable anyway. My characters aren't always nice people. Sometimes they're downright terrible. But they love with an intensity that burns everything in its path, and isn't that what we're all secretly drawn to?

When I'm not writing scenes that would make my grandmother faint (love you, Gram!), I'm probably binge-watching true crime documentaries, hunting for the perfect cup of coffee (still searching), or hanging out with my rescue dog, Villain. Yes, that's really his name, and yes, he lives up to it by stealing every unattended sandwich in sight.

To my readers – you beautiful, twisted souls – thank you for diving into these dark waters with me. Your messages about staying up until 3 AM to finish "My Turn" make my day, even when you're cursing me for the emotional trauma. (I take those curse words as compliments, by the way.)

What can you expect from my books? Raw emotion. Uncomfortable truths. Characters who want things they shouldn't. Stories that don't fit neatly into society's boxes. And yes, probably some content warnings – because I believe in letting readers make informed choices about what they're getting into.

I'm just getting started on this journey, and I've got so many more twisted tales waiting to be told. If you like your romance with a heavy dose of psychological intensity, morally grey characters, and the kind of love that walks the line between devotion and destruction, you're in the right place.

Fair warning: my books might keep you up at night, make you question your own moral compass, or have you rooting for people you probably shouldn't. But isn't that the fun part?

You can find me on Instagram posting way too many book teasers and pictures of Villain's latest sandwich heists, or in my Facebook reader group, "DeRose's Dark Garden," where we discuss all things forbidden romance (and share inappropriate memes).

Welcome to the dark side. We have cookies... and complicated love stories.