Author Spotlight - Maureen Johnson

Hi, all! I had the chance to go out and interview Maureen Johnson at her recent tour stop in Colorado at the Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch. You can read the full written interview over at the Bookbitch blog.

Hubs was kind enough to film the interview and the event and put together this sweet video for me! Check it out!



I had a lot of fun and Maureen was great! She was energetic and funny - this was the final stop in The Madness Underneath tour and I definitely recommend attending if she's ever in your area for an event.

Huge, huge thanks to Maureen, her agent, and her publicist as well as the folks over at the Tattered Cover for setting this up and allowing us to go out and film the interview. Hopefully I'll get to do more of these in the future.

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

Happy book birthday, Maureen Johnson! Today marks the release of The Madness Underneath, the second in Johnson's Shades of London series.

Rory Deveaux is recovering in Bristol after barely surviving an attack by the Ripper. She's ready to return to her school and her friends in London, but it takes some prompting to convince her family. It does help that her therapist has announced it the best road to recovery for Rory - returning to the scene of the incident, that is. Turns out this return has been manipulated by the Shades. See, the Ripper destroyed their last terminus and the division is in danger of being shut down unless they can come up with something quick. After all, what good is a ghost busting cop if he can't bust ghosts? Fortunately for them, Rory has somehow managed to become a terminus herself. With just a touch, she can banish a ghost to wherever it is they go. And her return couldn't have come soon enough. Something weird is happening in London once again and Rory might be the only one who can stop it. 

I think it's safe to say that The Madness Underneath has been at the top of a lot of Must Have lists for 2013, mine included! I adored The Name of the Star. Rory is smart and sarcastic and the combination of mystery/thriller elements and paranormal is one that I always love - when done well. And Johnson definitely does it well. Plus, Johnson's writing style is light without becoming overly frothy. Snarktastically snarky, to be honest: just the right blend of smart ass humor and social observation (extra wonderful in a boarding school setting and via a Louisiana girl, too!).

Strangely, while The Madness Underneath delivered on all counts, the end felt a little flat. It's clear there's more to the story but this felt very much more To Be Continued... than the end of The Name of the Star. Ah, well. I guess it'll be another year before we find out what happens to ... and with the whole ... and if Rory will be able to ... I don't want to ruin it for you!

Where's My Bookmark: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

OMG, y'all! I started a new teen binge this weekend and made it past the halfway mark on Maureen Johnson's modern-day Jack the Ripper mystery, The Name of the Star. Honestly, I wanted to stay up until I finished last night, but I woke up at 2am with my lamp on and the book sharing my pillow :)

The Name of the Star is actually book three in the binge. I did finish two others this weekend, so it was a pretty awesome reading weekend. And I got to see Hunger Games -- so fantastic!

I love Jack the Ripper. It's one of those mysteries, which (as one of the characters in the book points out) has never been solved. And at this point, that's the big part of the appeal with Jack. I don't think anyone will ever "solve" it, though many have their own theories. I've read some really interesting ones and Jack's provided all kinds of fodder for books and movies for ages now. Which is pretty awesome, 'cause I'm really loving Johnson's twist on it!

Rory Deveaux is a Louisiana girl recently arrived in London; she'll be spending her last year of high school at Wexford. On the day of her arrival, everyone is talking about the new Ripper murder. A body has been found on the anniversary of the death of Mary Ann Nichols, bearing the same wounds and in the same location. Word is out that Jack is back! As each new anniversary approaches, London becomes more tense. Soon, the students at Wexford find themselves under lock and key in an attempt to protect them from the dangers surrounding the school grounds. And when Rory sees someone near the site where yet another body is found, she becomes the one and only witness. But why was Rory the only person to see him?

Maureen Johnson is one cool lady! Rory is a solid character who shines through Johnson's prose. And being a Louisiana girl myself, I love her all that much more! Yeah, I'm a little biased. Basically, anyone who can put together believable Louisiana settings and characters is a winner in my book.

I've got about 100 pages left to go at this point and really can't wait to finish. Thus far, the plot is fantastic. I'm afraid to give away spoilers, but the mystery is put together very well. And of course it's Jack!

I'd heard quite a bit about this one before I bought it for myself. This is my first Maureen Johnson book, and it was really Lori over at Pure Imagination who convinced me that I NEEDED this book :) Here's the link to her post on the book so you can see why.

I hope you guys had a fabulous reading weekend as well! I'll be finishing up The Name of the Star today!