Alison L. McLennan is the author of the critically acclaimed Rubies of Ruin novels, Ophelia’s War and Ophelia’s War: Dangerous Mercy, both released by Encircle Publications in paperback and ebook in 2020. Her debut novel, Falling for Johnny, won an honorable mention in the 2012 Utah Original Writing Contest and the 2013 Inkubate Literary Blockbuster Challenge, and was published in paperback and ebook by Encircle in 2021. The character Johnny was inspired by the infamous James “Whitey” Bulger. After receiving prison correspondence from Bulger, McLennan provided commentary on radio, TV, and print during his trial.
Born and raised in Quincy, Massachusetts, she moved to Utah when she was eighteen in search of outdoor adventure and to attend the University of Utah, where she earned a Bachelor of University Studies Degree in Expressive Therapy with a minor in creative writing. She also received an MFA from the Solstice program where she was awarded the Dennis Lehane Fellowship for Fiction. In 2019, McLennan made a solo expedition to the Himalayas and back-packed unsupported, and her journey is the inspiration of her current work-in-progress. Learn more and get in touch at her website: www. alisonstories.com.