AHS Guidance Counselor Publishes First Novel

In April, Ms. Jennifer McMahon, a guidance counselor at Ashland High School (AHS), published her first novel Bohermore, the first in a series. The story follows a young college student, Maeve O’Malley, on her journey to break an ancient family curse, taking her deep through Ireland.
Maeve’s journey begins with her “awake dreams,” or haunting visions. To end them, she travels to Ireland, drawn by Irish lore related to her dreams. As she investigates the stories, she wonders if they could be connected to her mother’s death. She discovers an ancient family curse, as well as a strange Irish pirate queen, Grace O’Malley. Soon, her mission is beyond her own original goal: she must now break the family curse, and in doing so save all her clan’s future generations.
Although Bohermore is teeming with suspense, mystery, romance and adventure, McMahon said it is also a story of self-discovery.
She found inspiration for the novel over a period of time. In college, she studied abroad in Ireland, which influenced her very much. Her own roots in the O’Malley clan also had a major impact. In addition, she credits her daughter with the inspiration for the “awake dreams.” Her daughter also motivated her to continue on the path to publication.
McMahon researched the novel for almost 20 years. She spent time reading and scouring the Internet, until she had enough accurate knowledge of Irish history, especially on the pirate queen Grace O’Malley, who was an historical figure. The actual writing process took two more years. The publishing process took another two years.
McMahon submitted the novel to various publishers and wrote 200-word summary applications on Twitter. Her story attracted considerable attention, as several publishers requested the full manuscript. Ultimately, she signed with City Owl Press in New York. She said she has been pleased with them throughout the publication process and feels as though she had a strong voice in the process.
McMahon said much of the time she spent developing the novel was ‘stolen time’ between her full-time job at AHS and her job as a soccer mom. As a mother of four, she often set a goal to write 1,000 words a day to finish the novel.
Though she published her first novel just a few months ago, she already has a strong fan base. Her Twitter account has over 1,000 followers and her weekly newsletter has over 7,000 subscribers. Many reader reviews online declare Bohermore “an excellent read.” While teen readers are the intended audience, older readers enjoy the story, too.
Book two of the series, Irish Clare, is already with City Owl Press. It is scheduled for release in November. McMahon is currently working on her third book. She said she will continue writing more books in the series if the book three well-received.
Bohermore can be found wherever books are sold. For McMahon’s weekly newsletter and other links, visit her website, www.jenniferrosemcmahon.com.