Author Candlelight

Madeline Kay Sneed is a talented literary author who has captivated readers with her evocative and inspirational storytelling. Her two novels, The Golden Season and Today Tonight Forever, have garnered a dedicated following around the world and especially to the people of Houston where she's born and raised.

Sneed's dream of becoming a writer took root early, initially as a backup plan to her childhood aspirations of soccer stardom and music fame. But it was the written word that truly captured her soul, nurturing a dream that would blossom into a literary career. Books inspired her, and the vivid worlds they opened up sparked her storytelling ability. As Sneed puts it, “I always made-up stories and found great delight in doing so. Writing and creating were such a natural part of me, and so was the dream of writing a book…It’s a dream come true."

 

“There was the world before I read Sula, East of Eden, In the Dream House, Homegoing, The Great Believers, Fates and Furies, and so many more, and then there was the world after. That’s the magic of reading. One day you’re picking up a paperback, and the next day, you are forever changed.”

 

Madeline Kay Sneed

 

In her own words, Sneed describes her first book, The Golden Season, as “the book I had been writing in my head for over a decade before I ever put a pen to paper. A story caught in my throat that I couldn’t clear until I wrote it all down.” The Golden Season is a literary novel set in Texas that explores the themes of faith, queerness, and the complexities of love and social circles heavily influenced by the ideology of the Southern Baptist Church. The story dares to discover the answer to a personally pivotal question: how can you love a place that doesn’t love you back? Sneed defined this work as her “meditation on both the joy and pain of love, and the beauty and contradictions of Texas.” Further explaining that “if I only got to write one story, I wanted it to be this one.”

Today Tonight Forever is her second literary masterpiece, an ensemble novel that delves into the complexities of friendship and the impact of the past on the present. The story unfolds at a beach wedding, where a group of friends reunite, lean into their connections, and grapple with their own truths.

Sneed shares her thoughts on the novel: “We get to see the story through six different perspectives, and I really wanted to explore the ways in which one event can look dramatically different, depending on what lens you view it through.”

I haven’t yet read The Golden Season but I, personally, enjoyed reading Today Tonight Forever, and even found myself enlightened by a few of the Emily Dickens quotes frequently referenced by one of the main characters throughout the book. I resonate with the themes of multiple characters’ experiences through the story – church trauma, acceptance and forgiveness, finding peace within, choosing myself. When the story ended, I felt inspired and satisfied with the conclusion. Sneed mentioned that she hopes her readers “experience a vivid sense of the settings in which these stories take place and a clear idea of the internal lives of these characters… the characters' hopes, fears, dreams, and desires.” And as a reader, I can absolutely say that I experienced each character’s feels and the scenery of the environments they felt them in.

I’m a huge advocate of embracing the positive transformation fiction books can ignite within readers -inciting introspection, introducing culture, sparking imagination, providing restful escape, and so much more.

So, I’ll close with Madeline Sneed’s hope for readers to feel upon finishing her books:

“I want them to feel hopeful when they finish the books, the tangible kind of hope that feels true, not overly saccharine or unrealistic. Just a quiet sense that all will be well, that the darkness does pass, that the light is waiting for your open palm to grasp it. I also hope there’s some reflection, thinking about the world in a different way than they did before."

 

CONNECT WITH MADELINE KAY SNEED:

  • Favorite genre: literary fiction (duh!)
  • Favorite books: The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, Something Kindred by Ciera Burch, Agatha Christie, Walter Mosley, and the Thursday Murder Club books
  • Visit Madeline’s website: http://www.madelinekaysneed.com/
  • Follow her on social media: IG - @madzsneed, TikTok - @madelineksneedwrites

What’s next for Madeline, you ask? A genre pivot from literary to detective. Set in Houston, Texas. There’s a private school murder… in RIVER OAKS…

“… Detective, Nic, and her assistant, Beks, investigate a private school murder that shakes up the wealthy neighborhood of River Oaks, unearthing the dark underbelly of Houston’s high society.”

 

*The Golden Season and Today Tonight Forever are both sold in the Candescent Books store*