Madison Johns, Author of Armed and Outrageous, Talks Writing

My guest today is Madison Johns. Madison resides in Saginaw, Michigan, with her husband and two children, and delightful cat Misty. She has written everything from dark fiction to cozy mysteries.

Anne – Welcome, Madison. Let’s get down to business and talk writing! Tell us a something about yourself you’d normally only share with close friends.

Madison - I'm horribly insecure when it comes to people that I work with. I don't think anybody really gets who I really am.

Anne – Few people understand writers. Just ask my husband. He starts to sweat whenever I talk about where I should hide the body!  When did you first realize you were destined to be an author?

Madison - Deep down I always knew I was destined to be an author. I mean, I've had stories inside my head for my whole life. Four years ago, I starting writing them down. I had no idea how much I'd love writing. It's the most fun you can do by yourself, well almost.

Anne – LOL. I won’t even ask about what that 'almost' might be. What one or two lines best sums you up as an author?

Madison - Madison Johns writes humor the way most of us live it. Being versatile must be Madison Johns' middle name.

Anne - Tell us about your debut release, Armed and Outrageous.

Madison - Agnes Barton is not your typical senior citizen living in Tadium, Michigan on the shores of Lake Huron. She drives a red hot Mustang, shops at Victoria's Secret, rankles local police officials, and has a knack for sticking her nose where it doesn't belong.

What does a murder that happened forty-three years ago have to do with missing tourist Jennifer Martin? Agnes makes it her personal mission to find out, and she's not letting the fact she's seventy-two get in the way. Butting heads with Sheriff Clem Peterson is something she's accustomed to, but lately Clem seems to be acting even more strange, making Agnes wonder what he may be hiding ala the Martin disappearance.

Agnes’ partner in crime, Eleanor Mason tags along, Watson to her Holmes. Together, they unearth clues. If only Eleanor would behave, as although lovable, she has a knack for getting into trouble by tangling with her rival, Dorothy Alton, or flirting with anyone—male or female—and gossiping! She's incorrigible, but she does carry a Pink Lady revolver in her purse, one that has proved useful at times.

Life for Agnes and Eleanor are shaken up when Agnes' former boss and secret crush comes to Tadium. Before long, the lady sleuths have more on their hands to content with as goons roll into town and bullets begin to fly.

Anne – It sounds like a great read. Would you share an excerpt of Armed and Outrageous with us?

Madison – Here you go!

We both laughed for a minute while Eleanor retrieved her keys. "I’m driving."

"I don’t think, th-that’s a good idea."

"Don’t be silly, Agnes. You might want to move out of my way. I would hate to lose a good friend at my age."

Eleanor went into her garage and backed out her gray 1980 Cadillac Seville. It only had 50,000 miles, but that was hard to believe with the damage on the body—part of the reason I wanted to drive. They say a Cadillac is built like a tank, one of the main reasons I raised money and bought her the car. 

Eleanor didn’t have much luck in her life except inheriting a house from a nephew who’d died unexpectedly a few years back. Her only son, Edward, had nothing to do with her. I met her at the Mikado bingo, quite a distance from where we lived. We were surprised to learn we lived only a mile apart from one another. I was immediately taken in by her quick wit, and I thought of her as a sister I never had—the perfect partner in crime.

Eleanor opened the car door for me. "Don’t be afraid, I promise I can see much better with these new glasses."

I had my doubts about her driving skills, but I climbed in nonetheless. Right on cue, Eleanor hopped in, cranked the engine, and slammed her foot on the pedal. Rocks flew up and tinged the roof; hot tin roof came to mind. She tore off down the road toward Quick Stop. She swerved and didn’t stay in her lane, but we made it there without incident, thanks to the grace of God.

Anne – Sounds like a fun ride! Do you have a fear, phobia, or habit you’d rather no one knew about?

Madison - I have a severe fear of heights. It's so bad that even an elevator ride is a nerve wracking experience. Don't you dare try to get me into an elevator with glass doors.

Anne – I suppose that rules out going to the top of Toronto’s CN Tower or Seattle’s Space Needle, huh?! How long does it take you to write a book?

Madison - It depends on the book. I wrote Armed and Outrageous in two months, but I was crazy obsessed about finishing it. Of course, the rewriting and editing took much longer. I have a thriller that took me a year to write and it's still in need of revising.

Anne - How many rejections did you acquire along the way? What kept you going?

Madison - I received over ten rejections both from agents and publishers. Of course, then ebooks started to take over the market, and I decided to publish my book myself. I hired editors, a proofreader, and a great cover artist. I guess nobody thought senior sleuth mysteries were a good sell. All the writers and other friends on Facebook were so helpful and supportive.

Anne - If you could snap your fingers where would you visit, return, or move to? Why?

Madison - I'd love to visit London. I have read so many historical romances, and I'd love to visit some of the places I have read about. It would be great research! I wonder if they have a Jack the Ripper tour?

Anne – They certainly do! London is one of my favorite cities. Where can readers find you online?

Madison – At my website, and blogs:

http://madisonjohns11.wordpress.com/ and 

http://mysterywritermadisonjohns.blogspot.com/.

Anne – It's been great chatting with you, Madison. I wish you every success with Armed and Outrageous.

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