McGowan, Kathleen 1963(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1963; married Peter McGowan (a musician, song writer, and sound system installer); children: Patrick, Conor, Shane.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—LJK Literary Management, 708 3rd Ave., 16th Fl., New York, NY 10017. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Irish News, former editor-in-chief; has also worked as a staff writer and editor for other periodicals in Ireland, as a staff member for movie studios such as Walt Disney Co., and in marketing.

WRITINGS:

(With Terrance P. McGuire) Care for the Caregivers: A Guide for the Staff in the Helping Professions, Sheed & Ward (Kansas City, MO), 1991.

The Expected One (first novel in the "Magdalene Line" series), BookSurge (North Charleston, SC), 2005.

McGowan's works have been translated into more than twenty languages.

SIDELIGHTS:

USA Today contributor Carol Memmott described Kathleen McGowan as a "little league mom from Los Angeles." While her married life with three growing sons might seem ordinary, her family lineage is quite extraordinary: McGowan, raised in a thriving Irish-American family, claims she is a direct descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.

McGowan explains her claim in her first novel, The Expected One, a fictionalized but largely autobiographical account of her life. Denying any association with Dan Brown's best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code, which also concerns the descendants of Jesus, McGowan began working on The Expected One in 1989, fourteen years before publication of The Da Vinci Code. She self-published it and sold 2,500 copies in 2005 before obtaining a publisher. Both her literary agent, Larry Kirshbaum, and publisher, Simon & Schuster, have expressed their faith in the author's story. "I feel she's entirely credible," Kirshbaum stated to Memmott. "She spent twenty years of her life researching this subject. You have to give her any benefit of the doubt because she's totally rational. I believe her absolutely. She had total credibility with me from the very beginning." Memmott also quotes Trish Todd, editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster imprint Touchstone, as believing McGowan is a descendant of a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. "Yes, I believe her," Todd stated. "Her passion and her mission are so strong, how can she not be?"

McGowan became interested in Mary Magdalene while researching a nonfiction book on misunderstood and maligned women in history. Then, in 1997, during a visit to Jerusalem, she was overwhelmed by a vivid vision of Mary Magdalene surrounded by a mob of angry people near the site of Jesus' crucifixion. This vision convinced her of the truth of her story and her ancestry.

In McGowan's novel, protagonist Maureen Paschal discovers that she is a descendant of Jesus and Mary. The plot is replete with conspiracies, mysterious personages, physical danger, whispered secrets, and races-against-time as Maureen searches for a long-lost Gospel of Mary thought to be hidden somewhere in southwestern France. McGowan also interweaves the story of the marriage, lives, and children of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Mary's character has long been misrepresented by the Church and popular perception, McGowan maintains, especially in her portrayal as a prostitute. The author believes her book will help correct this long-standing error. In this way, both the fictional Maureen Paschal and real-life Kathleen McGowan play the part of the Expected One, an individual who, according to an ancient prophecy, will step forward to reveal the true story of Mary Magdalene's life.

Many critics expressed skepticism about McGowan's claim, however, even as others praised the book's structure and the author's writing skills. "McGowan's ability to create dimensional characters while sustaining multiple, fast-paced story lines is sure to win her many readers," commented Nanci Milone Hill in Library Journal. A reviewer for People called the novel "riveting."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2006, John Mort, "Top Ten Christian Fiction," review of The Expected One, p. 34.

Bookseller, February 24, 2006, "Magdalene Line to Simon & Schuster," p. 7; March 10, 2006, "Magdalene Line Makes $2.2M for S&S," p. 10.

Europe Intelligence Wire, July 29, 2006, "Descendants of Magdalene," review of The Expected One.

Guardian (London, England), August 19, 2006, Decca Aitkenhead, "Mary and Me," profile of Kathleen McGowan.

Independent (London, England), July 23, 2006, Andrew Buncombe, "Kathleen McGowan: The Da Vinci Descendant," profile of Kathleen McGowan.

Library Journal, July 1, 2006, Nanci Milone Hill, review of The Expected One, p. 68.

People, July 10, 2006, "Summer's Hottest Reads," review of The Expected One, p. 51.

Publishers Weekly, June 26, 2006, review of The Expected One, p. 29.

UPI NewsTrack, July 23, 2006, "Jesus' Descendant to Publish a Book."

USA Today, July 17, 2006, Carol Memmott, "Is This Woman the Living ‘Code?,’" profile of Kathleen McGowan.

ONLINE

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (March 4, 2007), "Author Talk," interview with Kathleen McGowan; Marcia Ford, review of The Expected One.

Daily Mail Online, July 31, 2006, Amanda Cable, "‘I'm a Descendant of Jesus Christ,’" profile of Kathleen McGowan.

Expected One Web site,http://www.theexpectedone.com (March 4, 2007), interview with Kathleen McGowan.

Kathleen McGowan Home Page,http://www.kathleenmcgowan.com (March 4, 2007).

Kathleen McGowan Web log,http://kmcgowan.bravediary.com (March 4, 2007).

LJK Literary Management Web site,http://www.ljkliterary.com/ (March 4, 2007), biography of Kathleen McGowan.

Magdalene Line Web site,http://www.themagdaleneline.com (March 4, 2007).