I’ve been asked a lot of questions in the year since Gathering String was published. I was prepared for some of them:

• Is your husband Jack or Sam? (Neither and both.)
• How long did it take to write? (Too long.)
• Do reporters really use such foul language? (F**k yes.)

Some caught me off guard:

• How do you keep from going too far when writing a sex scene? (By going too far and then deleting most of it.)
• What would your mother say about this? (You finally finished something.)
• We hated all your characters. Why didn’t you make them more likeable? (Ouch!)

But there was only one question I had a hard time answering:

• Why did you end it the way you did? (It’s complicated.) Continue reading →

The following April, two related items ran on the same day on Politifix’s “Informed Sources” gossip blog. The first came under the subhead “Wow, did you see …”:

Jack Westphal, running through D.C.’s Reagan National Thursday afternoon? Yes, it was the hunky Iowan, and just about every head turned to watch his mad dash to the gate.

It’s been a rough seven months for the legendary “Waterphal” writing team. By all accounts Westphal, who continues to publish his small newspaper and website, has struggled to weather a fair amount of outraged public opinion over his outing the dirty secrets of his former-brother-figure (and recently indicted former Republican nominee) Swan August Erickson. Opinion on Westphal’s whistle-blowing is mixed, especially in his own hometown where feelings run high, particularly since the Governor’s brother Peter committed suicide last September. Continue reading →

Gathering String is a “political intrigue” with “believable characters and … authentic voices,” says one of two recent reviews on Amazon.

“I highly recommend this first novel and look forward to more pleasing diversions from Mimi Johnson,” wrote “Angela_says” in a 5-star review.

Chris Hubbs mentions Gathering String as one of his five favorite books of 2012 (out of 59 he read this year):

A top-notch suspense/mystery novel whose author is a lovely lady I met once at a tweetup in Cedar Rapids.

Hubbs gave Gathering String 5 stars in a Good Reads review last spring.

Another 5-star review by “Mrs. Cooper” continues the praise:

I enjoyed this story from beginning to end, even during an election year!

Finally getting into @mimijohnson‘s Gathering String. Only 30 pages in. Already hooked!

— Stacey Viera (@staceyviera) December 24, 2012

At the point in @mimijohnson‘s Gathering String that I’m OK w/my kid destroying my house so long as I can get through just one more chapter.

— Stacey Viera (@staceyviera) December 29, 2012

@mimijohnson Got your book for Xmas!Hooray!!

— Emily Johnson (@johnsonemilyp) December 27, 2012

Finished “Gathering String” by @mimijohnson last night. Wow. Every journalist should read it

— Viktoria Sundqvist (@vsundqvist) December 22, 2012

The novel was published as an ebook on March 18 and had more than 10,000 downloads in 2012. The electronic version is sold through the Kindle Store, but you don’t need a Kindle to read it. You can read it on the Kindle app for tablets, smartphones and computers. The paperback edition came out Aug. 8.

Mimi Johnson promoted the book in bookstore, library and book club appearances in Iowa and Ohio in October.

The book has been rated more than 50 times on Amazon and Good Reads. Both places, the most frequent rating is 5 stars (on a 5-star scale). The overall rating is 4.7 on Amazon and 4.15 on Good Reads.

Gathering String continues to generate strong reviews on Amazon.

“Peanut” gave a 5-star review:

The banter between the characters was believable and entertaining. And their flaws were human and endearing. The story had enough twists and turns to keep me turning the pages to find out what would happen next.

“Gulllake” provided another 5-star review:

Right from the start you are caught up in the characters!

That’s 24 total Amazon reviews of Gathering String (two reviews are repeated on the print and Kindle listings), with 17 giving the novel 5 stars and six awarding 4 stars. You can read the Kindle edition on an iPad, phone, computer or other device using the Kindle app.

If you’d like to schedule a visit to a bookstore, library or book club in the Washington area, you may contact the author at mimi (dot) johnson (at) me (dot) com.

Mimi Johnson leaves for Iowa today for a book tour promoting Gathering String. In advance of the tour, she was a guest on KMA radio in Shenandoah, Iowa, Friday. You can listen to the full segment.

One correction: In the lead-in, the hosts refer to Mimi having “worked at” the Washington Post and Omaha World-Herald. She contributed to both publications as a freelance writer, but has not worked as a staff member for either newspaper.