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A Sentient House
A Madness Unmade follows the last guardian of a crumbling sanctuary for restless spirits, who must navigate a world of necromantic power and unravel the haunting mysteries of her father’s death. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
A whole slew of inspiration hit me at once: within a matter of days, I consumed S.L. Prater’s Street Witch trilogy, followed by Charlie N. Holmberg’s Spellbreaker duology, both of which made me want to write Victorian-inspired fantasy and then, while watching an old episode of Survivor, I got hung up on the word “soliloquy” and began dreaming up a character who talked to herself all the time — no, wait, she wasn’t talking to herself, but to ghosts! Then I decided we needed more friendly ghosts in literature, saw an opportunity to incorporate a sentient house (something I’ve always wanted to do), and it snowballed wonderfully from there.
Laurel Rumbroom is a complex character shaped by grief and burdened with responsibility. How did you approach developing her character arc, and what were the biggest challenges in writing her journey?
There is a lot of myself in Laurel; though I didn’t realize it, in writing her character I was exploring the way my own mind worked, both in the sort of shunting-aside of grief, the almost aggressive forgetting of it, as well as in the struggling to make sense of how the world works and the difficulties faced in learning when you have any sort of attention or information-processing disorder. Sometimes the simplest tasks are the hardest, and I wanted to see that reflected in a character, but without slipping into the clichés or misconceptions about attention disorders — that was the most challenging part, especially since I’m still learning about neurodivergence and all its nuanced forms.
The Underhallow is a beautifully haunting setting with rich gothic elements. Can you share your creative process behind building this unique sanctuary for spirits?
Really, the setting came to life on its own! When starting the story, I was reading a lot of Victorian/gaslamp fantasy, and knew I needed a sprawling old manor. I also knew my main character, Laurel, was mildly agoraphobic and would not be leaving the manor — thus, the idea of a “sanctum” was twofold, as it’s not just a sanctuary for ghosts, but for her as well! It needed to be as cozy as it was gothic, which was a fun dichotomy to experiment with.
In the Victorian era, a large manor such as the Underhallow would typically require a dedicated team of people to maintain its upkeep, but in this case, we have a lone young woman who has no idea how to run a household (nor does she have the desire to), and that was another fun element to incorporate. I did a lot of research on how they did these mundane but necessary things in the eighteenth century. Super intense stuff.
When and where will your book be available?
A Madness Unmade will be released on March 3, 2025, in both print and digital formats, and will be available from most online book retailers!
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Instagram | Amazon
Since the institution of the Revenant Accords, which prohibits ghosts from freely haunting the country, the Rumbrooms have acted as Guardians to the ghosts seeking refuge at their sanctuary. But when Laurel’s father suddenly passes, leaving her orphaned, the Underhallow falls in danger of losing its sanctions.
Bewildered by the mysterious deliveries of dead moths, starting to question her grip on reality, and gradually realizing the precarious position of her home and the questionable circumstances surrounding her father’s death, Laurel begs the help of the Underhallow ghosts animated by her powers, struggling to come into her own and unmake her madness.
With humor, whimsy, and elements of gothic mystery, A Madness Unmade is the first book in the Victorian-inspired Deathly Inheritance Duology, perfect for fans of Charlie N. Holmberg and S.L. Prater.
A Madness Unmade
In A Madness Unmade, Erin K. Larson-Burnett weaves a captivating tale of gothic mystery and necromantic power, drawing readers into the haunting world of Laurel Rumbroom, the last guardian of the Underhallow. This sanctuary for restless spirits, established under the Revenant Accords, has long offered protection to the dead—until Laurel’s world is turned upside down. With her father’s sudden death, the burden of maintaining the sanctuary falls entirely on her shoulders, and as the Underhallow’s security unravels, so, too, does Laurel’s sense of reality. Desperate for answers, she seeks help from the very spirits she protects but soon discovers that the line between friend and foe may be more tenuous than she ever imagined.
From the opening pages, Larson-Burnett introduces a world where death is not a finality but a complex, ongoing journey. Laurel’s life is anything but ordinary. Between managing spectral beings and grappling with French lessons, she walks a delicate line between the ghostly and the mundane, a balance that gives the novel its unique charm. It’s in this interplay between the supernatural and the everyday that A Madness Unmade finds its rhythm, combining dark fantasy with moments of levity in unexpected ways.
The heart of the story, however, lies in Laurel’s personal evolution. She is a character shaped by grief—haunted not only by spirits but by memories of her father, whose death is shrouded in mystery. As her necromantic abilities awaken, Laurel’s journey becomes one of self-discovery, fraught with the tension of whether she can resurrect her father or if she is chasing an impossible dream. This internal conflict adds emotional weight to her character arc, elevating the stakes beyond the supernatural. The deeper Laurel dives into her own power, the more the novel explores profound themes of loss, obsession, and the cost of meddling with forces beyond life itself. The novel’s darker tones rise as Laurel faces the harrowing truths about her father’s spirit. His betrayal, the ghostly taunts, and the omnipresent moths—symbols of death reanimated by Laurel’s magic—add layers of eerie symbolism. Larson-Burnett’s writing intensifies toward the climax, creating an atmosphere thick with urgency and difficult choices. The final scenes leave a lasting impact, a bittersweet meditation on the cost of necromancy and the fragile, painful hope that drives Laurel forward.
Yet despite its grim undertones, A Madness Unmade is not without warmth. Laurel’s quirky sense of humor, even in the face of death, and her banter with Master Godwin inject lightness into the story. These moments of humor, paired with philosophical musings on life, death, and the afterlife, create a well-rounded narrative that feels both profound and entertaining. The novel’s ability to balance the macabre with personal growth and self-acceptance makes it stand out in the gothic fantasy genre.
Larson-Burnett delivers a rich, character-driven narrative that blends dark fantasy with emotional depth. A Madness Unmade is not just a story of necromancy and haunted spirits; it’s an exploration of grief, belonging, and the complexities of power. Laurel Rumbroom, with her blend of vulnerability and determination, is a protagonist readers will root for, navigating the perilous boundaries between life and death while holding on to hope. Fans of gothic fantasy will be enthralled by this haunting, magical journey, and eager for whatever comes next in Laurel’s story.
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