Michael McMenamin is the co-author with his son
Patrick of the first five of the six award winning 1930s era historical
novels featuring Winston Churchill and his fictional Scottish
goddaughter, the adventure-seeking Hearst photojournalist Mattie McGary.
He is the co-author with his daughter Kathleen McMenamin of the sixth Mattie + Winston novel The Liebold Protocol and the novella Appointment in Prague. The first six novels in the series—The DeValera Deception, The Parsifal Pursuit, The Gemini Agenda, The Berghof Betrayal, The Silver Mosaic and The Liebold Protocol—received
a total of 15 literary awards. He is currently at work with his
daughter on the ninth Mattie + Winston historical adventure, The Phoenix Progression.
Michael is also the author of the critically acclaimed Becoming Winston Churchill, The Untold Story of Young Winston and His American Mentor [Hardcover, Greenwood 2007; Paperback, Enigma 2009] and the co-author of Milking the Public, Political Scandals of the Dairy Lobby from LBJ to Jimmy Carter [Nelson Hall, 1980]. He is a contributing editor for Finest Hour, the quarterly journal of the International Churchill Society and for the libertarian magazine Reason. His work also has appeared in The Churchills in Ireland, 1660-1965, [Irish Academic Press, 2012] as well as two Reason anthologies, Free Minds & Free Markets, Twenty Five Years of Reason [Pacific Research Institute, 1993] and Choice, the Best of Reason [BenBella Books, 2004]. A full-time writer, he was formerly a First Amendment and Media Defense lawyer and a U.S. Army Counterintelligence Agent.
Kathleen McMenamin, the other half of the father-daughter writing team, has been editing her father’s writing for longer than she cares to remember. She is the co-author with her father of the 2018 Mattie + Winston novella, Appointment in Prague, A Mattie McGary + Winston Churchill World War II Adventure and the sixth Mattie + Winston novel, The Liebold Protocol. She also is the co-author with her sister Kelly of the critically acclaimed Organize Your Way: Simple Strategies for Every Personality [Sterling, 2017]. The two sisters are professional organizers, personality-type experts and the founders of PixiesDidIt! a home and life organization business, www.pixiesdidit.com.
Kathleen is an honors graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and received an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University while she was with The Wendy Weill Agency. Prior to starting her own business, she was Senior Advertising and Promotion Coordinator for Bedford/St. Martin’s. The novella Appointment in Prague was her second joint writing project with her father; The Liebold Protocol was her third; and The Prussian Memoradum is her fourth. Their first father-daughter writing project was “Bringing Home the First Amendment”, a review of Nat Hentoff’s The Day They Came to Arrest the Book in the August 1984 Reason magazine. While a teen-ager, she and her father would often take runs together, creating plots for adventure stories as they ran.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WinstonChurchillThrillers
Michael is also the author of the critically acclaimed Becoming Winston Churchill, The Untold Story of Young Winston and His American Mentor [Hardcover, Greenwood 2007; Paperback, Enigma 2009] and the co-author of Milking the Public, Political Scandals of the Dairy Lobby from LBJ to Jimmy Carter [Nelson Hall, 1980]. He is a contributing editor for Finest Hour, the quarterly journal of the International Churchill Society and for the libertarian magazine Reason. His work also has appeared in The Churchills in Ireland, 1660-1965, [Irish Academic Press, 2012] as well as two Reason anthologies, Free Minds & Free Markets, Twenty Five Years of Reason [Pacific Research Institute, 1993] and Choice, the Best of Reason [BenBella Books, 2004]. A full-time writer, he was formerly a First Amendment and Media Defense lawyer and a U.S. Army Counterintelligence Agent.
Kathleen McMenamin, the other half of the father-daughter writing team, has been editing her father’s writing for longer than she cares to remember. She is the co-author with her father of the 2018 Mattie + Winston novella, Appointment in Prague, A Mattie McGary + Winston Churchill World War II Adventure and the sixth Mattie + Winston novel, The Liebold Protocol. She also is the co-author with her sister Kelly of the critically acclaimed Organize Your Way: Simple Strategies for Every Personality [Sterling, 2017]. The two sisters are professional organizers, personality-type experts and the founders of PixiesDidIt! a home and life organization business, www.pixiesdidit.com.
Kathleen is an honors graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and received an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University while she was with The Wendy Weill Agency. Prior to starting her own business, she was Senior Advertising and Promotion Coordinator for Bedford/St. Martin’s. The novella Appointment in Prague was her second joint writing project with her father; The Liebold Protocol was her third; and The Prussian Memoradum is her fourth. Their first father-daughter writing project was “Bringing Home the First Amendment”, a review of Nat Hentoff’s The Day They Came to Arrest the Book in the August 1984 Reason magazine. While a teen-ager, she and her father would often take runs together, creating plots for adventure stories as they ran.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: www.winstonchurchillthrillers.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WinstonChurchillThrillers
As a book bloggin’ and
book luvin’ Princess, I’m always curious to find out how authors got the ideas
for their books. Can you tell us what
your book is about?
Short answer: The Prussian Memorandum is an adventure
novel set in 1934 about exposing the
shameful US Government involvement in creating the “Prussian Memorandum”.
Longer answer: Our
idea came from the 2017 book Hitler’s
American Model: The United States and the Making of Nazi Race Law by James
Whitman. In 1934, 30 of the 48 American states had laws prohibiting marriage
and sexual relations between whites and a variety of other races like
African-Americans, Japanese, Chinese and other Asians.
That hit us close to home as Michael has three
Chinese-American grandsons and two Jewish grandsons, meaning Aunt Katie has
five nephews like that.
As Whitman wrote:
In
the early 1930s, Nazi lawyers were engaged in creating a race law [primarily
against Jews] founded on anti-miscegenation law and race-based immigration,
naturalization and second-class citizenship law. They went looking for foreign
models and found them—in the United States of
America.
The
Prussian Memorandum was a real document on American state laws that the Nazis
used to create their infamous 1935 Nuremberg
laws rendering German Jews 2nd class citizens forbidden to marry or
have sexual relations with “Aryans”. The Nazis actually used one of their own,
an American trained German lawyer, to do the legal research in America
that became the “Prussian Memoradnum”.
But
what if the Nazis had engaged a notoriously anti-Semitic branch of the US
government, the US Army’s Military Intelligence Division (MID), to do the
research. And what if two determined women—an intrepid Pulitzer-Prize winning
journalist and a courageous German lawyer—set out to expose this shameful
secret? And, finally, what if agents of both the Nazis and US Government were
out to stop them at all costs?
That is what the book is about.
Can you tell us a
little about the main characters of your book?
Mattie McGary is the
fictional Scottish goddaughter of Winston Churchill and a photojournalist and
foreign correspondent for William Randolph Hearst. She hates the Nazis, but she
has been Hitler’s favorite foreign journalist ever since she first interviewed
him on the eve of his ill-fated “Beer Hall putsch
in 1923. She can’t shake that no matter how many negative, but factually
accurate, stories she writes about the Nazis, two of which have won Pulitzer
Prizes. So her godfather Churchill keeps feeding her leads on potential stories
about Nazi wrongdoing and Hearst keeps sending her back to Germany
to follow up. She regrets being fluent in German and keeps hoping her next
story will take her off Hitler’s Christmas card list.
Hanna Raeder is a
German criminal defense lawyer and the younger fictional second wife of Erich
Raeder, the Grand Admiral of the German Navy. Raeder was not a Nazi and his
real second wife, Erica, was not either. Raeder resisted Nazi demands that he
dismiss Jewish naval officers and he and Erica even took their son out of the
Hitler Youth. We thought he would be a good husband for our fictional Hanna who
hates the Nazis every bit as much as Mattie. As Hanna is serving as a member of
the German Commission ON Criminal Law Reform, she is Mattie’s primary source in
her investigation.
Both women end up in a concentration camp where
waterboarding precedes their beheading.
If you could tell your
younger writing self anything, what would that be?
Write every day.
What would you say is
one of your interesting writing quirks?
We wouldn’t. We prefer not to bore people. By definition,
the actual act of writing is not especially interesting to anyone but the
writer. It’s boring to anyone else.
Do you hear from your
readers? What do they say?
We read all of our unsolicited reader reviews and then put
the better ones, i.e., the ones we like, at the beginning of all our books.
Here are a few:
“Mattie McGary was easily my favorite character and I
loved how the authors made her into a strong female character with a very real
personality. So many times strong female characters end up feeling almost
unrealistic and that was not the case with Mattie.” [Books for Books review]
“Mattie McGary is what
every woman wants to be: strong-willed, the ability to take care of herself,
and who doesn’t take crap from anyone.” [Goodreads review]
“I’ve read and enjoyed all of the books in this series and
I vote this one as the most exciting yet, full of twists and turns and I really
cared about what happened to the characters. It was a most believable
page-turner right to the very end. I can’t wait for their next book. “[Amazon review]
“This series of books is fantastic—as good as any New York
Times Best Seller. Anyone who likes a thriller but appreciates an accurate
historical background would like this book. I look forward to the next in the
series.” [Amazon review]
“One of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time. It’s
detailed, nuanced and beautifully written. Historical fact and fiction were so
seamlessly woven together that I wasn’t sure which was which!” [Amazon review].
“This is a well-written historical novel that stays true
to the time period and keeps its historic facts accurate. I really liked how
the authors immersed me in the time period right from the first page.” [Amazon review].
“Historical fiction which excels. I immediately became
involved with both the characters and plot which took on a life of their own. I
have read much shorter books that have seemed far longer than The Silver Mosaic.” [Goodreads review].
“An action-packed and intriguing look at the world leading
to WWII that will be enjoyed by all those who like suspenseful political
stories. The authors bring to life multiple historical figures and create a
narrative filled with interesting anecdotes and asides even as the race to stay
alive is vividly depicted.” [Amazon review]
What is the toughest
criticism given to you as an author?
Well, this occurred when my co-author on the first five
Mattie + Winston adventures was my son Patrick. His older sister and my current
co-author Kathleen points out that nothing similar has happened in the next three
books we wrote on her watch.
Apart from things that make a good novel like character
development and plot, historical novelists have to pay attention more than most
to verisimilitude. If you get a fact
or two wrong that your readers know to be wrong, you destroy their willing
suspension of disbelief. We did that in a novel set in 1933 when we referred to
something as being in the Guinness Book of World Records. A helpful reader
pointed out in a less than friendly way that the Guinness Book of World Record
did not appear until the early 1950s. Sigh. We were lazy. A quick Google search
would have shown that, but we assumed since Guinness was around long before
1933, its world record book was as well.
We appreciated the criticism because we had made the same
mistake in the next book in the series that we were able to promptly correct
before publication. It really is important to get those historical details
right. I read a lot of historical fiction set in the 20th century,
especially ones set in Germany.
If ever I come across Hitler’s first name spelled “Adolph” rather than the
correct “Adolf”, I throw the book away. If you don’t even know how to spell his
name correctly, how many other things about the period don’t you know?
What has been your
best accomplishment?
We both believe in what the famous film maker Billy Wilder
once said: “You’re as good as the best thing you’ve ever done.” Aside from
marrying our spouses and having our children, here’s the best thing we’ve each
ever done:
Michael: Becoming Winston Churchill, the Untold
Story of Young Winston and His American Mentor [Greenwood
Publishing, Oxford 2007, Enigma Books, New York 2009) with Curt Zoller.
Kathleen: Organize
Your Way: Simple Strategies for Every Personality (Sterling, New York 2017) with Kelly McMenamin.
Do you Google yourself?
Sometimes, but neither of us can recall the last time we
did.
How many unpublished
and half-finished books do you have?
Michael: None,
except the first three chapters of our next book that my co-author hasn’t seen
yet.
Kathleen: One, my
first novel, but I’m going to change that next year.
Optional: Fun question
– if you were princess or prince, what’s one thing you would do to make your
kingdom a better place?
Michael: Where to
start? We’re both libertarians who have written for Reason [Free Minds & Free Markets] so go to www.reason.com and take your pick.
Kathleen: Repeal
all the damn drug laws! They’re funding foreign terrorists and imprisoning a
disproportionate number of American poor people!
Michael: OK, I
could have guessed that would be her answer and it would be a good place to
start because you wouldn’t need to be a libertarian to think that was a good
idea.
Why would anyone want to keep a law on the books that
finances terrorists who oppose everything we stand for and want to kill us?
Do you have anything
specific that you would like to say to your readers?
We appreciate all your kind words. Stay tuned. We’ve already started on the next
Mattie+Winston adventure.
Winston Churchill’s adventure-seeking goddaughter, the intrepid
Hearst journalist Mattie McGary, sets out in 1934 to expose a major
political scandal—a conspiracy between the US Army’s Military
Intelligence Division (MID) and Hitler’s Praetorian, the SS, to help the
Nazis persecute German Jews.
Churchill alerts Mattie to what he learns from a confidential German source: that the Nazis are working on a new law to strip Jews of their citizenship and forbid them to marry or have sex with Aryans. The year before, Heinrich Himmler’s SS secretly engaged the MID to research racist laws in thirty American states that prohibit sex and marriage between whites and other races. Known as “The Prussian Memorandum”—an actual historic document—radical SS anti-Semites plan to use these racist American laws as a model for their treatment of the Jews
Aided by a courageous German lawyer, Hanna Raeder, Mattie’s efforts to document the conspiracy take her from Churchill’s country home in England to the corridors of power in Berlin and, along with Churchill, to the canals of Amsterdam where his German source is to provide them with conclusive proof of the conspiracy. Pursued by both agents of Himmler’s Gestapo and American MID agents determined to stop them at all costs, Mattie and Hanna race to expose the shameful secret of The Prussian Memorandum.
In a chilling climax, Mattie and Hanna are arrested and taken to a Gestapo-run concentration camp where they are charged with crimes against the state—Hanna for treason, Mattie for espionage— and scheduled for show trials the next day before The People’s Court. If convicted, the penalty is death by beheading.
Literary Awards and Praise for Mattie McGary’s Adventures with Winston Churchill
Three-Time Grand Prize Winner Fiction, Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Three-Time Thriller/Suspense Book of the Year, ForeWord Reviews
Two-Time Historical Fiction Book of the Year, ForeWord Reviews
Appointment in Prague
“A thrilling historical novel with a no-nonsense heroine is what you’ll find… Wow! This is an action-packed, intense story that brings the reader right into the world of WW II espionage. Well-developed characters, a tough heroine, and great attention to detail.” [The Book Connection review]
“Mattie McGary was easily my favorite character and I loved how the authors made her into a strong female character with a very real personality. So many times strong female characters end up feeling almost unrealistic and that was not the case with Mattie.” [Books for Books review]
The Berghof Betrayal
“Mattie McGary is what every woman wants to be: strong-willed, the ability to take care of herself, and who doesn’t take crap from anyone.” [Goodreads review]
“I’ve read and enjoyed all of the books in this series and I vote this one as the most exciting yet, full of twists and turns and I really cared about what happened to the characters. It was a most believable page-turner right to the very end. I can’t wait for their next book. “[Amazon review]
The Silver Mosaic
“This is a well-written historical novel that stays true to the time period and keeps its historic facts accurate. I really liked how the authors immersed me in the time period right from the first page.” [Amazon review].
“Historical fiction that excels. I immediately became involved with both the characters and plot, which took on a life of their own. I have read much shorter books that seemed far longer than The Silver Mosaic.” [Goodreads review].
The Gemini Agenda
“A thick and rich tale that is impossible to put down, So many twists and turns and the ending is gripping…This book holds its own with the best historical fiction.” [Goodreads review]
Churchill alerts Mattie to what he learns from a confidential German source: that the Nazis are working on a new law to strip Jews of their citizenship and forbid them to marry or have sex with Aryans. The year before, Heinrich Himmler’s SS secretly engaged the MID to research racist laws in thirty American states that prohibit sex and marriage between whites and other races. Known as “The Prussian Memorandum”—an actual historic document—radical SS anti-Semites plan to use these racist American laws as a model for their treatment of the Jews
Aided by a courageous German lawyer, Hanna Raeder, Mattie’s efforts to document the conspiracy take her from Churchill’s country home in England to the corridors of power in Berlin and, along with Churchill, to the canals of Amsterdam where his German source is to provide them with conclusive proof of the conspiracy. Pursued by both agents of Himmler’s Gestapo and American MID agents determined to stop them at all costs, Mattie and Hanna race to expose the shameful secret of The Prussian Memorandum.
In a chilling climax, Mattie and Hanna are arrested and taken to a Gestapo-run concentration camp where they are charged with crimes against the state—Hanna for treason, Mattie for espionage— and scheduled for show trials the next day before The People’s Court. If convicted, the penalty is death by beheading.
Literary Awards and Praise for Mattie McGary’s Adventures with Winston Churchill
Three-Time Grand Prize Winner Fiction, Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Three-Time Thriller/Suspense Book of the Year, ForeWord Reviews
Two-Time Historical Fiction Book of the Year, ForeWord Reviews
Appointment in Prague
“A thrilling historical novel with a no-nonsense heroine is what you’ll find… Wow! This is an action-packed, intense story that brings the reader right into the world of WW II espionage. Well-developed characters, a tough heroine, and great attention to detail.” [The Book Connection review]
“Mattie McGary was easily my favorite character and I loved how the authors made her into a strong female character with a very real personality. So many times strong female characters end up feeling almost unrealistic and that was not the case with Mattie.” [Books for Books review]
The Berghof Betrayal
“Mattie McGary is what every woman wants to be: strong-willed, the ability to take care of herself, and who doesn’t take crap from anyone.” [Goodreads review]
“I’ve read and enjoyed all of the books in this series and I vote this one as the most exciting yet, full of twists and turns and I really cared about what happened to the characters. It was a most believable page-turner right to the very end. I can’t wait for their next book. “[Amazon review]
The Silver Mosaic
“This is a well-written historical novel that stays true to the time period and keeps its historic facts accurate. I really liked how the authors immersed me in the time period right from the first page.” [Amazon review].
“Historical fiction that excels. I immediately became involved with both the characters and plot, which took on a life of their own. I have read much shorter books that seemed far longer than The Silver Mosaic.” [Goodreads review].
The Gemini Agenda
“A thick and rich tale that is impossible to put down, So many twists and turns and the ending is gripping…This book holds its own with the best historical fiction.” [Goodreads review]
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