Tobias Madden on ‘Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell’

Tobias Madden’s Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell (Penguin, September) is a Ballarat-set coming-of-age rom-com that follows teens Eli and Noah as they bond online and navigate meeting in person. Featuring musicals, first love and a classic ‘risk-it-all’ romance, Madden’s second YA novel, according to reviewer Lisa Schuurman, is an ‘authentic story that is completely charming, wholesome and smile-inducing’. She spoke to the author.

Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell is your second book. What did you learn after writing and publishing your first, Anything But Fine? Did you change your process at all?

I learned so much from the Anything But Fine editing process, particularly the structural edits. After working through all those ‘big-picture’ changes—first for my agent and then for my Aussie and US editors—I had a much better understanding of pacing and character arcs and subplots, which made the Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell plotting process so much simpler. I started with a much stronger outline (complete with Excel spreadsheets, of course), which helped me immensely during the writing process. The plot of my second book is more complex, and there’s a much larger cast of characters, so I would’ve been lost without my outline! Aside from that, the actual writing of Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell felt pretty much the same, meaning I felt like a complete fraud the whole time. If anything, I think I experienced more self-doubt the second time around. I guess the ‘sophomore novel struggle’ is a real thing!

Noah’s mum is seriously devoted to Chicago and musical theatre, as are a lot of characters within the book. You also worked as a dancer in musicals for 10 years. What do you think draws people into the performing arts?

There are so many things that draw people into the performing arts—the adrenaline, the fun, the sheer wonder of it all—but I think what brings most people to the theatre is the sense of community. The bonds you develop on stage (or in the wings) are truly one of a kind. There’s a level of joy and support and acceptance in the theatre world that I don’t think you can find in many other vocations. I met all my closest friends—and my husband—through dance and theatre, and I know a lot of people have found their ‘family’ the same way. That beautiful sense of community is one of the things I wanted to showcase in Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell, so hopefully that comes across on the page.

LGBTQI+ young adult books are more popular than ever at the moment, with books like Heartstopper and Red, White and Royal Blue being some readers’ all-time favourites. Do you have a favourite LGBTQI+ author and/or book?

This is a tough one! There are so many LGBTQI+ authors and books that I adore for different reasons, but one of my faves would have to be Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, because it showed me that I could write the kinds of stories and characters I so desperately wanted to write. In terms of LGBTQI+ Aussie authors, I adore Holden Sheppard, Erin Gough, Rhiannon Wilde, Gary Lonesborough, and so many more!

As a passionate member of the #LoveOzYA community, why do you think it’s important to promote Australian YA books and authors?

We have some truly incredible YA writers in Australia, and they deserve to be celebrated and lauded just as much as the big international authors. For me, I think the main reason #LoveOzYA is so important is that Aussie books help Australian teens truly see themselves on the page. The teen readers I’ve spoken to since publishing Anything But Fine have been very open about the fact that the book’s country Australian setting made it infinitely more relatable, and as a result, infinitely more powerful. Representation is everything.

If you were going to plan a date for Noah and Eli in Ballarat, where would you have them go?

I have a bit soft spot for a place called Sovereign Hill, which is a replica 1850s gold rush town. I worked there as a teenager and have very fond memories of my countless school visits over the years. It has the best old-school boiled lollies on the planet, and I think Eli would have a lot of fun forcing Noah to do all the ‘ye olde’ activities on offer. I also think a stroll around Lake Wendouree with takeaway coffees would be a great date. It’s a six-kilometre walk, so it’d give the boys ample time to chat (read: flirt).

Read Lisa Schuurman’s review of Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell here.

Category: Features