On September 23, 2024, Omaha North High School hosted award-winning author Mindy McGinnis for a meet and greet. North Librarian Gretchen Baijnauth, has been looking for different authors to visit the school.
“We are really trying to promote literacy this year and having authors come in is a great way to do that,” said Baijnauth.
The author visit is a continuation of the “Library Talks” series that began last year, where Omaha North brought in speakers including people like Dr. Cornell West, and several historians and authors. When Baijnauth discovered that McGinnis was going to be visiting several OPS schools she jumped at the opportunity to have her speak at North.
McGinnis writes Young Adult books in a variety of genres, including fantasy, thriller and historical fiction. She has authored more than 20 books, including a James Patterson collaboration, City of the Dead, and Edgar Award winner, A Madness So Discreet.
The Edgar Award was created in honor of the famous writer Edgar Allen Poe. It is a prestigious award that celebrates the best novels and televisions shows across many different categories like Best Novel, Best Episode, Best Short Story, and more. McGinnis won Best Young Adult Book in 2016.
McGinnis grew up in an incredibly small town in Ohio. When she was younger, everyone she knew was a farmer.
“There were no examples in my community of creative people making a living. I had to figure out everything on my own,” said McGinnis. Through this, she has become her own hero, accomplishing her life-long dream of becoming an author.
McGinnis has been writing with the intention of getting published since she was 17 years old.
“When I was in college, I wrote an early version of The Female of the Species, which got published when I was 32,” said McGinnis. This experience taught her the valuable lesson of never giving up. “There was a lot of revising and editing and starting from scratch, so never throw anything away.”
While McGinnis is now an acclaimed author, it was not always that way.
“I was a librarian for fourteen years, and I loved it,” said McGinnis.
While pursuing her librarian career and raising her two daughters, she wrote during “stolen moments” of free time. Ten years later, she published her first book.
McGinnis often draws inspiration from her own life when writing her books. “Basically, all of my books come from something that happens in real life to me.” She then asks the question, “What if?”, And a story is born.
Mindy’s newest novel, Under This Red Rock, was inspired by a trip she took to the Ohio Caverns. On a tour of one of the caves the tour guide turned off all of the lights and the group was launched into pure and total darkness. When the lights came back on, the wheels in McGinnis’ head started turning. She asked the question “What would we do if the lights came back on, and someone was murdered?” The idea of a cave murder was born.
But one idea was not enough for McGinnis to write an entire book on. It was not until several years later, when she went on a new medication and started having auditory hallucinations that the rest of the story started to form. 
“The little piece of lint – or the idea – that was auditory hallucinations met up with the other little piece of lint that was cave murder.” And a spark was created.
Under This Red Rock was published on March 19, 2024. The book tells the story of a tour guide named Neely who works in the Ohio caverns. She meets a coworker named Mila and begins to develop a crush on her. One night at a staff party, Neely and Mila are exposed to drugs and Neely beginsto have serious hallucinations. The next morning, Mila is found dead in the caverns, and Neely only has a few intoxicated memories of what happened that night. She begins to try to find her murderer, even though she has to face the possibility it was her.
Under This Red Rock is ranked #56773 on the bestsellers list. The story has many positive reviews and readers seem to be impressed with McGinnis’ latest work. Publishers Weekly said, “Striking a careful balance of dry humor and occasionally harrowing depictions of Neely’s mental health challenges, McGinnis delivers a compassionate and gripping read.”
Even with all of her publicity and fame, McGinnis has stayed true to her roots. She still lives on an acreage in Ohio with her daughters, her dog Gus and her cat Minnow. She continues to write thrilling stories for thousands of readers.
