INTERVIEW: Austenesque Author Paige Badgett Started Writing During the Pandemic

Welcome to the Tuesday Author Interview with Christina Boyd for the Who, What, When, Where, and Why.

CHRISTINA: I love engaging with a new-to-me author on social media. It's one of my favorite things about being online. And Austenesque books are my comfort food. This spring, I started seeing the striking cover of The Making of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. And you know how I love a good backstory. I was thrilled when author Paige Badgett agreed to this Q&A.

When did you first think you had a book to write, and how did you start? 

PAIGE: I began writing my first book during the early months of COVID. Like so many, my life went from “overwhelmed and full speed” to “underwhelmed and stagnant” in a matter of days. Instead of cleaning closets in my house and baking sourdough, I decided to start writing the story that kept bouncing around in my head.

Before I began writing, I would never have imagined myself writing a book. And even after I began, I kept it to myself, telling very few people in my life that I was writing a book, because I did not then believe it would ever amount to anything other than a cool COVID project that I enjoyed for creativity’s sake. It was the story—the events I kept daydreaming about in my mind—that finally allowed me to put pen to paper.

Paige Badgett, author, with THE MAKING OF LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH. Courtesy of the author.

CHRISTINA: Oh, I love knowing that!

What comes first: plot or characters?

PAIGE: For me, plot. It has always been what kick starts my stories. But I can’t begin actually writing those stories until I see the characters clearly in my mind. My plot idea for my second novel, The Making of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, came two years before I began finally writing—and it was because I could not “see” my main female and male characters well enough. I knew what the beginning, middle, and ending of the story was, but I didn’t know why. I didn’t know their motivations. And for me, that’s key. Without that being very evident, I was unable to write the story.

Last summer, I was watching a totally unrelated television series, and suddenly, I knew who Lady Catherine and Sir Lewis were. And once I could see them in my mind—who they were, what motivated them, how they moved and talked and interacted with one another—I began writing and finished the book in thirty days.

CHRISTINA: What is your current project or latest release?

PAIGE: My latest release is The Making of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, which was published on May 13, 2025. I affectionately call this story a swoon-worthy villain-origin story. This novel takes place 30 years before Pride and Prejudice, following a young Lady Catherine on a transformative journey through heartbreak, romance, and challenges that ultimately transform her into the antagonist readers know and loathe.

I have two additional projects I am currently working on—a Pride and Prejudice adjacent short story and the beginnings of a romantic Regency-era series about four sisters.

CHRISTINA: Sounds delish! Just my kind of reads.

Do you put people you know, or their characteristics, in your book?

PAIGE: Nearly every single minor character in my books are named for someone in my life. Rather than personifying the person, they only carry their names. Both books have a “Raleigh,” named for a beloved dog who died last year; both of my books include my husband and son’s first names; and nearly all of my friends can claim a character in one or both that carries their first or last name.

CHRISTINA: I confess to doing the very thing. So fun. I can't wait for them to read and discover.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

PAIGE: Am I a writer? Some days, I have a huge case of impostor syndrome. At two different times in my life, I was told that I could, in fact, not write well. And sadly, I did not have the conviction or the perseverance at the time to push back or stubbornly continue to imagine myself as a future writer. I accepted that feedback and moved on to other interests.

But, as fate would have it, my interest in writing popped back up in my late twenties, after spending nearly a decade not reading for pleasure and still being certain I was never going to be a writer. But I was an adult then, and I pushed and prodded myself into a marketing and communications career that began to bring me great joy. And later, in my early thirties, I began to read for pleasure again. And that was the spark. When, eventually, the idea of writing a book popped into my mind, it was a surprise to me as well.

If I could be something other than a writer, perhaps I would have chosen to be a meteorologist—I love weather. When the tornado sirens go off, I am glued to the TV or my phone, captivated by the forecasters.

THE MAKING OF LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH by Paige Badgett. Courtesy of the author.

CHRISTINA: Ha! In college, I thought I would be the next Connie Chung. And took meteorology for my science prerequisite. Ugh. I was terrible. Science is definitely not my thing.

Do you listen to music while writing? Do you make up Playlists for your books?

PAIGE: Yes, music has played a large role in the writing of each of my books. Each novel has an associated playlist that was the soundtrack to my writing sprints. My first book had three. Since that book was written from the POVs of Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, and Charlotte Collins, I had a playlist for each perspective. I believe it helped me shift tone and voice more easily. I'm already compiling a list for my next project.

CHRISTINA: What are you reading now?

PAIGE: I’m forever reading romance—it’s always the common denominator. But, I also read widely across the genre, loving historical romance, romcoms, modern romance, dark romance, fantasy romance—you name it, I’ve tried it. And I find different inspiration in the variety. My favorites are historical and fantasy because I feel like the stakes are higher. In historical romances, there are so many natural social and physical barriers to women finding love that make for great storytelling. In fantasy romances, the conflict often comes in the form of high adventure, adding to the pressure and raising the stakes. In the last week, I read Rules for Ruin by Mimi Matthews and Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry. These two books are worlds apart, but I loved them both! They both had scrappy female leads who didn’t know if they could trust the main male character. Both had adventure, high stakes, and all the yearning your little heart could desire.

CHRISTINA: Oh yes. I have to have some romance in my reads. And writing. I agree; the common denominator in life is love.

Thanks so much for taking the time for this interview. I hope the words are flowing for your next project.

Paige Badgett, author. (Courtesy of the author)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Paige Badgett is a historical romance author of Austen-inspired fiction. Paige is a lifelong storyteller who credits her love of reading to her mother and her book club that has been reading together for seventeen years. ​Her debut novel, Against Every Expectation, published in 2022. Her short story, The Heart’s Consent, was published in the 2022 anthology, An Inducement into Matrimony, which includes nine short stories inspired by Pride and Prejudice. The Making of Lady Catherine de Bourgh is her second novel.

Paige lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and son. By day, she is a communications professional for a technology corporation. In her free time, she can often be found reading, drinking coffee from her favorite mug, gardening, or cheering from the sidelines of her son's soccer games.

For more information, visit www.paigebadgettwrites.com.