Skin Deep

After the new girl at school goes missing, and more begin to vanish, one student takes it upon herself to defy the police and figure out who’s behind the disappearances, before all of her friends are gone.

Engel Academy, an elite Cape Cod high school, unravels when the new girl in town goes missing. Kaylee Jones, a self-conscious and shy junior, worries that the disappearance of Emily Mason may only be the beginning. It turns out she was right.

As more people vanish, Kaylee searches for a pattern. Who’s next? What’s the connection? When will it end? Are those being abducted still alive? Little does Kaylee realize the stalker is online, preying on their insecurities.

Join Kaylee and her friends as they race to save one another and figure out how to end the nightmare engulfing their town before it’s too late.

Skin Deep is a young-adult thriller that tackles subjects including body dysmorphia, bullying, and the lengths teenagers will go to be accepted and popular.

READERS SAY:

Thrilling read. I love how MJ explores social issues from different perspectives and builds multidimensional characters and stories. - T M

Skin Deep is an entertaining page turner with well developed characters, intriguing plot twists, and fun tropes from teen horror stories. It is also an exploration of the harmful impact of social media, particularly the impact it has on self-image and self-esteem in teenage girls. - F W

MJ grew up in New England. He spent many of those summers reading horror classics from Stephen King and thrillers by the likes of Michael Crichton and James Patterson, and dreamed of one day becoming an author. 
The Tallow Series - his first trilogy - was based on a nightmare. The books follow a set of friends as they head to Cape Cod and find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.
While working on the trilogy, MJ attended the intensive three-day "Story" seminar by Robert McKee. Robert is a legend in Hollywood. His seminar breaks down all of the major components of the story: character, scene, setting, etc. Cramming a semester's worth of information into 30 hours is overwhelming and invigorating. 
MJ's first novel, Tallow - An Urban Legend, earned Readers' Favorite highest 5-star rating. The reviewer compared MJ's writing style to that of the great Roald Dahl. Humbling, to say the least. MJ finds inspiration in the most unlikely places. His passion for quality storytelling includes a huge interest in movies. MJ's dream is to have his books made into films - perhaps with him writing the screenplay.
You can follow MJ on multiple social media platforms. He also has a shop on Redbubble, where he converts his favorite pictures, including book cover designs, into merchandise.