Maureen Kilmer Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Maureen Kilmer is a bestselling horror fiction author from Chicago that is best known for her debut novel “Suburban Hell.” Earlier on, the author went to Oxford Ohio-based Miami University, where she got her bachelor’s degree.

She published “Suburban Hell,” her debut novel in 2022, and her work would go on to become a blockbuster. It would become a bestseller on several different platforms including Amazon.

What people do not know is that this is not her first rodeo. Writing under the pseudonym Maureen Leurck, she is also the author of two bestselling titles in “Monarch Manor,” and “Cicada Summer,” which were set in Wisconsin’s Lake Geneva area.

Maureen Kilmer currently makes her home in Chicago, where she pens her bestselling horror fiction. She has said that she is fortunate enough to have a “She Shed,” which means she has been spared from having to battle dark forces.

She currently works with Holly Root and Root Literary as her agents, and publishes most of her work with Putnam, a subsidiary of Penguin Books.

As for her inspiration, Maureen Kilmer has said that horror fiction has always been among her favorite genres. As such, she was prompted to write “Suburban Hell,” from her love of horror combined with comedy.

Since she is an author that makes her home in suburban Chicago, she was lucky enough to have access to all manner of material that she uses to mine scares.

There is so much that she does not have to resort to supernatural forces which hardly lurk around the city. All she had to do was look around her neighborhood to find the inspiration she needed.

Like many authors, she did not have a straightforward time getting her blockbuster published. She got started writing while she had one work in submission that failed to sell, leaving her frustrated.

In writing “Suburban Hell” she intended to pen something that she would find fun even if others did not. It took her about four months to finish her proposal before she started going through the revisions and edits with her agent.

Within a month, the work had sold and hence it took about eighteen months from conception to publication. Nonetheless, not much of her story changed and many of the elements she had during her brainstorming remain in the final work.

While it was not the first time she was publishing, there were several learning moments and surprises in the publishing of her debut.

The most surprising thing was how quickly things started moving once the book sold. Maureen Kilmer came to learn that traditional publishing is all about things moving fast then very slow then fast again in a never-ending loop.
Still, she was happy that she finally got to publish her novel and hopes that through it readers can get a better understanding of the suburbs as opposed to the common stereotypes.

While there are some truths to stereotypes, she wanted to showcase the positive aspects of living in the suburbs. She wanted to tell of mothers that lean on each other and offer support to each other when times get tough.
Kilmer also needed to write about friends that genuinely cared for each other through the very tough times.

Now that she is a very successful published author, she inspires other authors to never give up. According to Maureen, a writer’s career will always have ups and down and the only way to succeed is to never quit.

Maureen Kilmer’s novel “Suburban Hell” showcases the toughness of being a mother in the suburbs of Chicago. According to the author, this is made even worse with the PTA, minivans, temperamental children, and then a demon on the loose.

The work introduces Melissa, Jess, and Liz who are best friends living in a suburb of Chicago. Their homes are in a neighborly and mostly quiet subdivision, where all the kids usually play together and everyone knows everyone.

The three friends usually get together every month for some wine and a movie which is the escape they sorely need from their wifely and motherly duties.

Nonetheless, they still need a place where they can go and not be interrupted by complaining husbands or children. As such, they decide to construct a shed they call a “She Shed” in the largest of their backyards that just happens to belong to Liz.

On the eve of the construction of the She Shed, the four friends visited the site to christen it with drinks. But there is a bizarre feeling in the air even though they brush it off.

Soon enough, it becomes clear that they had inadvertently set loose a demon that starts wreaking havoc on the once idyllic community.