UAH alumna Tasha Madison finds inspiration in writing popular fantasy novel

Tasha Madison

Tasha Madison (’16, MBA, COB) recently published the young adult historical novel, "Fabric of a Generation". The story is about a teenage girl, who must learn to balance duty, love, faith, and discipline.

Photo Courtesy: Tasha Madison

The entrepreneurship bug bit Tasha Madison (’16, MBA, COB) early.

"As a little girl, I would gather together items in my bedroom and place stickers on the ‘products’ and scribble a price. I would then carry everything downstairs to my parents and convince them to buy," said Madison. "My parents were my first customers. From there, it blossomed into a true interest in business management and administration."

Madison earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Business Management from The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in 2016. She received a graduate assistantship and served as a student ambassador for the College of Business.

Originally accepted into the London School of Business and Finance (London, UK), Madison was making preparations to obtain a student visa, when one of her dad’s co-workers mentioned UAH’s acquisition management program. "No other program I researched or was accepted into had a focus area specifically in acquisition management. As a result, I chose to attend UAH."

She has many fond UAH memories, but her favorite was a class, Introduction to Technology Development taught by Dr. Richard "Dick" Rhoades.

"Dr. Rhoades was brilliant," said Madison. "He willingly shared his knowledge with the class without having to diminish the brightness of others around him," she added. "I learned so much as a student in his class…macro environmental trends, business research methods, and the organizational issues facing firms affected by emerging technologies.

"The class challenged me to think more critically of how technology impacts the products, processes, and organizations within my community and immediate sphere of influence. In fact, his class inspired me so much that the following summer, I obtained an internship with the Office of Technology Commercialization at UAH," said Madison. "Dr. Rhoades was the gold standard to which all professors should hope to achieve. I still remember him passing around his original patents in class for us to touch and inspect. It was an experience I will never forget."

UAH, Madison said, changed her outlook in other ways, too. A huge bibliophile, rather than singularly look at books as a way to explore new worlds or escape to unexpected adventures she realized the value of also viewing books as products. Recognizing the significance, and power of marketing, she said, is the first step toward success as an author.

"I use my UAH MBA in almost every facet of my life," Madison said. "Writing isn’t just a creative endeavor; it is a business. It requires organization, obsessive research, intense marketing, and a complex understanding of various business strategies."

Last August, Madison published the young adult historical fantasy novel, Fabric of a Generation. The story centers on a teenage girl Miranda, who must learn to balance duty, love, faith, and discipline.

"I use various life circumstances in different historical time periods to force Miranda to confront her doubts, fears, and insecurities," said Madison. "In doing so, I hope that it will help other young adults do the same," she added.

Madison considers the inner workings of historical fiction beautiful and inspiring.

"Historical fiction inspires me as a writer because it allows me to explore the lore of our ancestors, family traditions, and social experiences. Exploring the blurred lines between fact and fiction and then using them to discover what motivated those who have gone before us is part of the enchantment of being a writer," said Madison. "Being a historical fiction author is like being a literary archaeologist, and there is nothing more magical to me than that," she added.

Madison holds a J.D. in Business Law from Seattle University. She graduated magna cum laude from Washington State University (WSU) in three years with a bachelor’s degree in Communications. At WSU, she was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar and a recipient of the Ronald E. McNair Scholar Research Fellowship. In addition, she earned a Certificate in International Commercial Arbitration from Johannes Kepler Universität (Linz, Austria).

Madison’s advice to young people considering a career in business is research, plan, seek internships, and ask questions until you understand every possible aspect of the career you hope to pursue. "Then, take the leap! It’s important to do your due diligence, but nothing in life is without risk. So, don’t allow the fear of failure or the unknown to paralyze you. In order to move forward, you have to actually take one step."

***EDITOR’S NOTES:

  1. Dr. Richard "Dick" Rhoades Principal Research Engineer and former Director of the UAH Research Institute, died on September 1, 2016.
  2. Ronald E. McNair, was a NASA astronaut and physicist. He died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.
 

Contact

Karen Brennan
Alumni Relations
256.824.2586
Karen.Brennan@uah.edu