Author Marina Martindale Shares Their Story
Just like Gillian Matthews, the heroine in her debut romance novel, The Reunion, Marina Martindale began her career as a graphic designer and artist, and several of her paintings have been featured in juried art shows. Over time, however, she discovered that writing was her true life’s passion.
“I love creating conflicted characters,” says Martindale. “I think they’re more like the people we meet in real life. I also like the complexity of romance. It’s an opportunity to delve deep into the human condition and try to understand what it is that motivates us to make the choices in life that we make.”
Martindale draws her inspiration from her own real life experiences, as well as those of the people around her. The stories, however, are fiction.
“The path to true love is never an easy one,” adds Martindale. “Some are haunted by people from their past. Others have been deceived or betrayed by the people they trusted the most. We all make bad choices, even though we usually don’t realize it at the time. My stories are about the unintended consequences of those bad choices, how the characters resolve them, and how they grow and become better people as a result.”
Marina Martindale resides in Tucson, Arizona. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, photography, quilt making, and cooking.
About the Author
Just like Gillian Matthews, the heroine in her debut romance novel, The Reunion, Marina Martindale began her career as a graphic designer and artist, and several of her paintings have been featured in juried art shows. Over time, however, she discovered that writing was her true life’s passion.
“I love creating conflicted characters,” says Martindale. “I think they’re more like the people we meet in real life. I also like the complexity of romance. It’s an opportunity to delve deep into the human condition and try to understand what it is that motivates us to make the choices in life that we make.”
Martindale draws her inspiration from her own real life experiences, as well as those of the people around her. The stories, however, are fiction.
“The path to true love is never an easy one,” adds Martindale. “Some are haunted by people from their past. Others have been deceived or betrayed by the people they trusted the most. We all make bad choices, even though we usually don’t realize it at the time. My stories are about the unintended consequences of those bad choices, how the characters resolve them, and how they grow and become better people as a result.”
Marina Martindale resides in Tucson, Arizona. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, photography, quilt making, and cooking.
What inspires you to write romance books?
Romantic fiction is a wonderful opportunity to create believable, three-dimensional characters and to delve into the human condition. What is the that causes us to make the choices we make? And why do we oftentimes make bad choices, especially when it comes to finding our life partners? I make no attempt to answer these questions in my books. They are, instead, an opportunity to look at the possibilities.
Tell us about how you write:
I’ll begin by writing a brief treatment, or summary, of my book. It’s a good tool to help me get begin my story and to develop my characters. It is, however, meant to be a rough guide only. Once I’m into the story it will take on a life of its own, as the characters will start to tell me who they are. At that point I’m writing more by the seat of my pants. By the time I’m finished the summary will be very different than the final manuscript.
Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Yes. As they story evolves the characters start to mature, and they will tell me who they are. Sometimes they will turn out very different that originally intended. A good example is Jeremy Palmer, a supporting character in THE REUNION. Jeremy is the twenty-one year old son of Ian, the leading man. Jeremy was originally intended to be a villain. He would appear briefly, do his dirty work, and then quickly exit. However, Jeremy had other ideas. Once he was introduced I realized he had too much to offer to be written off so quickly. He would, instead, become a rival, competing with his father for Gillian, the leading lady. This created a wonderful subplot about their father/son relationship.
What advice would you give other writers?
Find a good editor. I cannot emphasize that enough. You may have a good story, filled with interesting characters, but if it is poorly written you will be plagued by bad reviews.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I chose self-publishing for many reasons. Having been a free-lance graphic designer for a number of years I all ready knew how to design a book. I also wanted to retain my rights creative control. I’ve heard too many horror stories from other authors who’ve been traditionally published, and it’s not what it appears. They sign away their rights, and the publishers will then “revise” their work–sometimes to the point that the author does not even recognize the final product.
I write my books for a reason. I set my stories in a particular location for a reason. I develop my characters a certain way for a reason. I simply will not allow a third party to change my story in such a way that it is no longer mine.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Self-publishing is here to stay. However, because there are so many poorly-written books out there, I think that eventually online booksellers, like Amazon, will have to come up with a way of vetting self-published works in order to weed out the badly written ones.
What genres do you write?
Contemporary, sensual romance
What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link To Author Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5753246.Marina_Martindale
https://www.facebook.com/authormarinamartindale
https://twitter.com/MarinaMartindal
