Your Halloween reading list wouldn’t be complete without A Madness So Discreet making it on the list. Today on the blog, Author Mindy McGinnis talks about her new spine-chilling book and shares some of her Halloween favorites. Stick around for a giveaway, too!
I’m really amazed with the different characters from your book, especially those who were in the asylum. How did you come up with their personalities and “madness”?
My two main “mad” characters represent two types of people that ended up in institutions – people who truly had some sort of dementia, like Lizzie, and Nell, who only has a physical ailment. It was common practice to put syphilitics in asylums and jails to stop the spread of the STD to the general public. As for Lizzie’s mental issue, String is actually an old story from my family.
Is there a particular character from A Madness So Discreet that you see yourself in? If yes, who and why?
There’s a little bit of me in every single character, even the despicable ones.
What’s your favorite part in writing this novel?
The research. I know so much about lobotomies. I could probably perform one.
What struggles did you experience in writing this book?
Mostly grappling with the bleakness of it. Returning to something this dark day after day was emotionally draining.
Aside from the cover, another thing that sold me was the book’s title. What’s the story behind it?
The titles of my earlier novels – Not A Drop to Drink and In A Handful of Dust – are from classic poetry, Coleridge and Eliot, respectively. When it was time for a title for MADNESS I looked to classic literature again. “A Madness So Discreet” is actually a line from Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet.
Describe each of the characters (Grace, Thornhollow, Elizabeth, Nell) in 1 word.
Grace: Survivor
Thornhollow: Principled
Elizabeth: Loyal
Nell: Tenacious
Any recent projects?
Yes! The Female Of The Species is a rape-revenge vigilante justice story coming in the Fall of 2016, and I also have a fantasy series titled Given To The Sea coming in the Spring of 2017.
Trick or Treat time with Ms. Mindy!
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind at the mention of the word “Halloween”?
Fire.
Favorite horror movie?
Original Night of the Walking Dead.
Favorite horror/thriller book?
The Stand.
Favorite halloween treat?
Pumpkin Pie.
Who are you gonna be on Halloween? (If costumes are your thing)
I actually don’t know, and it makes me sad.
Any ghost stories to tell?
Yep. But I hoard them.
Mindy McGinnis is a YA author who has worked in a high school library for thirteen years. Her debut, NOT A DROP TO DRINK, a post-apocalyptic survival story set in a world with very little freshwater, has been optioned for film by Stephenie Meyer’s Fickle Fish Films. The companion novel, IN A HANDFUL OF DUST was released in 2014. Look for her Gothic historical thriller, A MADNESS SO DISCREET in October of 2015 from Katherine Tegen Books.
www.mindymcginnis.com
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook |Goodreads
Grace Mae knows madness.
She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.
When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.
Purchase links for A Madness So Discreet:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Giveaway!
win 2 spooky reads + swag!
Open to US residents only.
This blog post is part of the Book Blogger Creativity Project
created by Nori @ ReadWriteLove28.
Check out the rest of Teal Team’s Halloween posts!
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October 22nd: Elizabeth @ So long and Thanks for all the fish shares the books that gave her nightmares
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October 23rd: Lucy @ The Reading Emporium shares her Halloween 2015 bucket list
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October 24th: Maryam @ Once Upon a Story has some Halloween horoscope readings
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October 25th: Melissa @ Live, Love, Read imagines YA characters at a masquerade
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October 26th: Bea @ Beatrice Learns to Read interviews author Mindy McGinnis
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October 27th: Nicole @ Nicole has read… tells us who is on her supernatural guest list
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October 28th: Stephanie @ Steph in Wonderland has delicious Halloween treats and drinks
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October 29th: Nori @ ReadWriteLove28 shows us the creepiest YA covers
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October 30th: Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books talks about horror movie tropes and cliches
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October 31st: – Stop by all our blogs to see our bookish Halloween costumes!
Beatrice Learns To Read 
Great interview! I love how much real life aspects influenced the book it makes for an interesting read.Also loving the trick or treat fun Q&A part of the interview and her answer is spot on for fav horror movie!
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True! ANd that’s why I love asking that question, it makes it more interesting to know what influenced such a stoy. 😉
Thank for stopping by!
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I haven’t read a book by Mindy, but this book certainly looks intriguing. It’s interesting that there’s a bit of her in every single one of her characters. I’m sure that only makes them fleshed out and real for the readers. Fun interview!
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The characters in this book are really “colorful”like I said on my review and that’s why I was interested to know the inspiration behind them. 🙂
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Such a fun interview and this book sound sliek it will be a great read! The cover is gorgeous btw!
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So true. The cover is what really got me into reading this book.
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