Trial Of The Century Begins In June

April 30, 2013 - PRLog -- The trial of the infamous Boston Irish mob boss, James “Whitey” Bulger, begins in June. Bulger is charged with nineteen murders in connection with federal racketeering. But the FBI is also on trial. Bulger claims former U.S. Attorney Jeremiah O’Sullivan granted him immunity from prosecution so long as Bulger fed them dirt on La Cosa Nostra.

The character Johnny, in Falling for Johnny, is a fictionalized version of James “Whitey” Bulger. Alison McLennan’s debut novel tells the story of Johnny McPherson, an organized crime boss in Boston, and Riley Donavan, a young woman who’s drawn into Johnny’s world by chance and circumstance.

McLennan grew up near Boston in the 1970’s and 80’s. “My Dad investigated arson and was an attorney at the D.A.’s office. He was also a big story-teller.” McLennan remembers as a child she was terrified by stories about the Italian mafia. “They were worse than the Boogey man because you knew they were real.”

By the late 1980’s, the power of the Italian Mob diminished. McLennan never thought much about Whitey Bulger until thirty years later when she was writing her first novel set in Boston.  “I found out Bulger had lived across the street from my mom’s apartment. I read everything about him. The force of his character threatened to over-power the novel. He’d been missing for sixteen years, so I figured he’d never resurface. On my fortieth birthday, I awoke to the shocking news that he’d been apprehended,” McLennan said.

The book’s first section was inspired by Bulger’s early days. It describes Johnny’s upbringing and his young adult life, including a stint as a circus worker, and time in prison where he was given LSD.  McLennan says she’s more interested in the criminal mind than the nuts and bolts of criminal investigations, so she spent a lot of time trying to get into Bulger’s head.

After he was arrested, she wrote to him in prison and told him about the novel. “The letter he wrote back fascinated me because it felt like I was reading a letter written by Johnny,” she said.  McLennan recently released a second edition of Falling for Johnny, which includes an afterward that compares and contrasts the real man and the fictional character.

Falling for Johnny has received positive reviews from readers and critics:  “McLennan ably handles her characters and their crises, though her skill as a writer is most evident in the novel’s third part, when the plot keenly unfurls. With moral ambiguity and questionable intentions, the cast lends a disconcerting air to McLennan’s solid debut. A dark, violent story with a heart.” — Kirkus Reviews
www.fallingforjohnny.com

Falling for Johnny is available through most major book stores and online sellers.
Author Bio: Alison (Johnson) McLennan is a native of Quincy, Massachusetts. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Utah and a Master’s from the Solstice MFA program of Pine Manor College where she was awarded the first Dennis Lehane fellowship for fiction. She currently resides in Utah where she is working on another novel. Falling for Johnny won an honorable mention in the 2012 Utah Original Writing Competition.

She is an entertaining speaker with a unique angle on Bulger and the upcoming trial. For complimentary review copies, to schedule an interview, or get more information, please call 801-317-6937.

Falling for Johnny

Publisher: Twisted Roots

ISBN: 9780985394707

Price: .99 -12.99