Topic: Author Interview
Gayle Martin the person
1. What three words do you think describe you as a human being?
Creative. Intelligent. Compassionate.
2. How do you think others would describe you?
Approachable, a good listener, a good friend.
3. Please tell us what you are most passionate about outside of writing.
Traveling and spending time with friends.
4. Do you have any pets? If so, introduce us to them.
I have two doxies, Sydney and Wyatt.
5. What is your most precious memory?
Spending time with my family at our summer home when I was a kid.
6. What is your most embarrassing memory?
I couldn't tell you.
7. If you weren't a writer, what would you be doing with your life?
I would be pursuing something artistic, like drawing or painting.
8. In two paragraphs or less write your obituary.
Gayle Martin's mission in life was to do everything she could to preserve history for future generations.
Gayle Martin the writer:
9. Can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a "real" writer?
The first time I had a manuscript professionally evaluated by a potential publisher. I figured I would get creamed. Instead they told me I was very good - much better in fact than the majority of the prospective writers that approached them.
10. What is going on with your writing these days?
I am currently working on the third installment in the Luke and Jenny series. This one will be about Frank and Jesse James.
11. What are your future goals for your writing?
To complete the Luke and Jenny series. I have at least one more book planned - after that I'm not sure.
12. Can you describe a typical writing day for you?
I have to work in my writing around other activities. I often find I'll get my best ideas either late at night or first thing in the morning.
13. Why do you write?
Why not.
14. What writer most inspires you? Why?
For the Luke and Jenny books the writer who most inspires me is Marguerite Henry. She wrote Brighty of the Grand Canyon, and the Misty series of books that I loved as a child and read over and over again. I hope that my readers will love my books as much as I loved hers.
15. How do you define your writing?
I'm a storyteller, first and foremost. Right now I write stories about two youngsters who are on vacation with their mother and they visit historic places where they run into ghosts who take them back in time. On their time-travel trip they meet real people and witness real events.
16. In one sentence-what do you want people to say about your writing in fifty years?
That Gayle Martin made history fun and entertaining.
Gayle Martin the details:
17. Can you tell us where to find more information on you? Website? Blog?
My website is gaylemartin.net, and I have a blog called ‘The Accidental Ghost Hunter.' It can be found at http:theaccidentalghosthunter.blogspot.com.
18. Is there a place where readers can reach you?
I can be contacted by e-mail from my website.
19. Can you list all your book titles so people can look for them?
My first book is actually a WWII era cookbook. It's called Anna's Kitchen. My other books are Gunfight at the O.K. Corral: Luke and Jenny Visit Tombstone, and Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War.
20. For new readers-what can they expect when they read your book(s)?
My cookbook is an interactive history book. Not only will they learn about the WWII home front, they can prepare the foods that people cooked back then. With the Luke and Jenny books they can travel back to the days of the Old West and experience the real adventures of the real people who lived in those days. They will find is it a lot different than Hollywood.
In conclusion:
21. Take as much space as necessary to speak to our readers-what would you like them to know about you and your writing?
I want to do what I can to get young people excited about reading. I come from a family of readers. I can still recall my parents talking about the books they read at the dinner table, so I grew up reading too. I loved books. I still do. Books could take me to other places and times, and I could experience all kinds of things through the eyes of the characters in the books I read
Books can ignite a child's imagination and inspire their creativity. I believe that children who read get higher grades in school than children who don't read. And I believe that children who read will achieve more as adults than children who don't read.
One of my sisters-in-law taught her children how to read at the age of two. Needless to say, she really encouraged them to read from a very young age. Both children were straight A students all through school, then one grew up to be an engineer, the other a medical doctor.
Another sister-in-law did not read, and she would not encourage her children to read either. One decided he liked reading anyway, much to her chagrin. He too got above average grades in school and even majored in journalism in college. The other, who never became much of a reader, was a C student and later became a college drop-out. I think the lesson here for parents is that if you want your children to do well in school, and to be successful in life, you should encourage them to read.
