Madison Kent - Fascinated by Jack the Ripper

Growing up, Madison Kent has always been fascinated by the mere fact that Jack the Ripper, one of the most notorious murders ever known, escaped justice. She would dream of her own alternative version of the facts and decided to write her own story, in which the suspects are totally different people. As our author of the day, Kent chats about this book of hers, Stalking Jack, how much research she did on London and Whitechapel and how her characters were conceived.

What inspired you to write about Jack the Ripper?

Jack the Ripper, one of the most notorious murders ever known, but I think the fascination with him is the utter impossibility that he escaped justice. Even as a child, when I first read my first story and saw versions of the account in movies, I would dream of my own alternative version of the facts.

As Stalking Jack is a novel predicting the fictious answer to that question, I wanted a heroine to hunt him that was flawed and complicated. This would allow her to traverse into the dangerous and unpredictable Whitechapel because of her own personal demons and give her the cover needed for the unheard adventures of a woman do do such things at that time in history.

When I finally started to form the plot, I wanted to include interesting characters to accompany Madeline on her new journey as amateur sleuth.

How much research did this book require from you?

The book required quite a bit of research as I stayed totally true to the events of the murder and the climate of London and Whitechapel at the time. The only thing that I did not do is have any of my suspects reflect on any of the real suspects. I created my own characters and their unique possible reasons why they could be the murderer or murderess. Even though I knew I must include a Royal of some kind, he also is a completely made up man and does not reflect on the actual Royal who was implicated at the time.

What aspect of your research did you find to be the most interesting?

Even though I thought I knew a lot before the research of Jack, I dug into finding many articles and interviews of people at the time and how the city was reacting and also why there was such a place of lost souls as populated Whitechapel and how it created the perfect atmosphere for these heinous crimes to occur and gave him a place to hide in plain sight.

Your characters are quirky and relatable. Are any of them inspired by real life people?

As a native of Chicago, the city provided a fascintating backdrop for a poor kid with a vivid imagination. I could watch from my second story flat all the goings on the in the neighborhood late into the evening-and there were many-from the lovers trysts to turf wars etc.

The people there were multi-cultured, and I grew up playing in Polish, Italian, Puerto Rican, Jewish, Irish and Mexican households to name a few. Many of the characters in my books refelct those personalities and new ones along the way. But definitely, every character is drawn with someone in mind that I knew with adapations where I thought they were needed.

Tell us more about Madeline Donovan. Why did you pick her to be your main character?

As I planned on continuing the series of Madeline Donovan and her delving into mysterious crimes that she was hired to solve, I knew to make her into someone most people would relate to that she had to be flawed and attempting in the process to resolve her own shortcomings. This would allow her over several novels to change and attempt and even fall back into despair and try to recover. She has two male friends that she dearly cares for, but things never seem to get anywhere because of her devotion to her  late husband and the complicatons from her grief.

Madeline almost became a drug addict – why did you lead her on this path?

I felt that a woman in that historical time period would be more likely accepted that she did some of the things she did because her opium addiction gave her the extra courage and ambition to overcome her fears. It also seemed to be realistic, especially with a physcian father, that she would have access to the drugs and at that time, the horrible affects of the drug were not yet known. I also felt that someone who sustained such great loss that it was inevitable that she would do something to help her survive life and its pain.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I once owned a modeling agency where I choreographed dance numbers, did voice overs, commercials, etc., and have the time of my life doing it. I also enjoy portrait painting and painting murals on some of my walls. Dancing has always been a part of my life whether tap, modern, jazz or even line dancing and I love to do this.

Say Stalking Jack gets a movie adaptation – which actors would you like to see in the roles of Madeline and Jonathan?

If there were a Madeline Donovan movie series, I absolutely would love someone like Jenna Coleman for Madeline Donovan. If you're not familiar with her, she plays the exquisite part of the young Victoria on the PBS series. She's beautiful, strongwilled, unconventional but still, is always somewhat unsure of herself, and I like that.

As much as I don't wish to use an old standby, I just have to pick Brad Pitt for Jonathan. He has all the characteristics of the brash, bold American.

Your book contains quite a couple of shocking twists – readers never know what to expect. Did you plan them all out before you started writing?

As everything I write, I start out with a skeleton and then put on the flesh. It always seems the story starts writing itself without my permission. Characters appear because there becomes a need for them to fill the storyline, and then they become more important and sometimes change my direction. I always like to add more characters than I intended to because I feel the story has then taken on its own life.

Tell us more about Stalking Jack’s cover and how it was designed.

Actually, at first, I planned on a more gruesome or bloody cover but then decided that even though that's the case, there is much more to this story than just finding Jack and I wanted it to be a PG-13 cover that might attract a larger audience.

Do you have any interesting writing habits? Do you work from notes? What is your favorite time and place to write?

I make very little notes as I know most writers do. I do broad strokes and then just start writing. What I almost always do is lay in bed at night and see the characters moving around and doing things, and that gives me the following days start. Sometimes I can feel them looking at me, saying, "Well, come on, what's our next move?"

What are you working on right now?

I am currently working on the seventh in the Madeline Donovan mystery series which finds Madeline and Hugh returning to London.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

My website www.madisonkentbooks.com features all my books, excerpts and book trailers.