Jenni L. Walsh

Jenni L. Walsh spent her early years chasing around cats, dogs, and chickens in Philadelphia's countryside, before dividing time between a soccer field and a classroom at Villanova University. She put her marketing degree to good use as an advertising copywriter, zip-code hopping with her husband to DC, NYC, NJ, and not surprisingly, back to Philly. There, Walsh's passion for words continued, adding author to her resume.

Becoming Bonnie, her debut novel, tells the untold story of how church-going Bonnelyn Parker becomes half of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde duo during the 1920s. The sequel Being Bonnie will be released in the summer of 2018.

Recently I asked Walsh about what she was reading. Her reply:

A recently published book that I devoured was Girl In Disguise by Greer Macallister. I often enjoy “inspired by” or “based on” stories and this one checked that box. Girl In Disguise, set during the Civil War, features the first female Pinkerton detective, Kate Warne – and it was a ton of fun to read. Though, I’ll be honest that before I even knew the premise, I wanted to read this book because of its stunning cover. It stopped me in my tracks. The font, the coloring, the imagery is captivating. Fortunately, the book was equally captivating and I flew through the pages. Kate Warne was a remarkable woman: strong-willed, independent, clever (in both mind and tongue), and a trailblazer. I enjoyed the role other women played in the book as well, seeing a few names pop up from Karen Abbott's Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy, a nonfiction book set during the Civil War that I also really enjoyed.

You could say Greer Macallister hooked me as a reader because after finishing Girl In Disguise, I picked up Macallister’s debut, The Magician’s Lie. This is another book I’d highly recommend, with an interesting, page-turning format of a story-within-a-story. Now I’m left waiting for Macallister to publish more books.

Visit Jenni L. Walsh's website.

--Marshal Zeringue