Authors Roundtable

Sunday, July 25, 2010

DAVID WISEHART: You also write novellas in the Dark Future series. What can you say about those?

DEBRA L. MARTIN: The Dark Future novellas take place in a time when the world has suffered its worst global war and every major city on the planet has been devastated. The Path to War is the story of one general’s decision and the consequences that it brings. General Matthew Smith asks Samurai Master Kenzu to make a batch of the famed memory weapons, the weapons that infuse its user with the skills and memories of a samurai warrior. But, in the wrong hands, the users can become uncontrollable killing machines who don't care whom they kill—friend or foe.

The Right Path happens decades later and involves two teenagers trying to survive in this harsh world. Abraham "Ham" Jones, a cripple, and Zia Slate, a tomboy with an attitude, find themselves unlikely partners in this post-apocalyptic tale of survival. Their lives are turned upside down when they come into possession of two of the legendary memory weapons, the very weapons that ultimately destroyed the world.

You can read the full interview here.

Where the Independent Author Shines

July 18, 2010

Interview with Debra L Martin

Tell us about your book:
THE QUEST FOR NOBILITY takes place on the far distant planet of Otharia. Royal twins, Dyla and Darius Telkur, have everything they could ever want. Dyla is a empathic beauty and Darius, is telepathic and heir to the Telkur throne. When the unthinkable happens and their parents are murdered, they find themselves at the mercy of an evil mastermind bent on their destruction. Framed for murder, they must run for their lives, but can they outrun a telekinetic assassin?

You can read the full interview here.

July 12, 2010

Interview tieh Debra L Martin by Scott Nicolson

Like most authors, Debra L. Martin has a day job, but her first love is writing. Her passion for writing started when she was in high school. Her English teacher had a knack for inspiring his students to think outside the box to create stories that would draw the reader into your world. She has been writing stories for enjoyment for years and completed her first novel in 1990.

It wasn’t until 2006 that she began writing science fiction/fantasy with her co-author, David W Small. Together they have completed two novels in the “Rule of Otharia” series and numerous novellas. Writing with a co-author is challenging especially when they live on opposite coasts. Coordinating time and work efforts is difficult, but with email, Instant Messenger and Skype, they are able to enjoy a successful partnership.

You can read the full interview here.

Drive-thru Interview, July 7, 2010

Interview with Author Debra L Martin by J.E. Johnson

Quickly, give us the title and genre of your book and a 30-word or less tagline:
“Quest for Nobility” is a science fiction action adventure story. When their parents are murdered, royal Otharian twins, Darius and Dyla Telkur, find themselves at the mercy of an evil mastermind bent on their destruction. Framed for murder, they must run for their lives and flee to the strange planet Earth, but will that be far enough to outrun a telekinetic assassin?

Read the complete interview here.

July 5, 2010 by Karen Cantwell

Excerpt from "Quest for Nobility" by Debra L Martin and David W Small.

Meet the Telkur twins, Darius and Dyla for the first time.

Read the complete interview here.

Interview With Author – Debra L Martin
June 30th, 2010 | Author: davidhburton
I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome author, Debra L Martin.

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To start, can you tell me a little about yourself.

Currently I have a day job at a major research university as a Program’s Manager. While the work is rewarding, my first love is writing. I get so wrapped up in it sometimes that I lose all track of time. Creating characters and a storyline out of your imagination is food for my soul. The characters take on a life of their own and all you can do is hang on for the ride. It’s especially thrilling when a minor character demands to be heard. You know that niggling little voice in your head that keeps repeating “What would so-and-so say or do?” In Quest for Nobility Eclair Jortac was one of those characters and as the storyline developed, he ended up being an integral part of it.

How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career?

My love of writing started back when I was in high school [quite a few years ago now]. I had an English teacher who had a knack for teaching that inspired you to write better and better stories. Years later, I tackled my first novel when I was going through a difficult period in my life. It was my way of dealing with everything happening at the time. That manuscript still sits in a dusty drawer somewhere, but at least I can say I wrote a complete novel.

About four years ago, my co-author, David W Small, and I were looking for new books to read. We like the same kinds of books and often swap books back and forth. That day every book either one of us suggested, we had already read, or was too familiar to what we had read recently. We left the bookstore without any purchases which was very unusual for us.

Both Dave and I were frustrated at the lack of anything in the SF/fantasy section that wasn’t the usual dragons, elves or magicians. We thought, what the heck, we can write something we want to read and so the partnership was born. It took us two years of writing, editing, more writing and more editing to finally declare Quest for Nobility fit to be read by others. We live on opposite coasts so writing together was a bit challenging. With email, Instant Messenger and Skype, we were able to keep on track with the book.

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?

I don’t think Quest could be classified as dark fiction, but we have a deliciously evil assassin, Nils that is definitely dark. Nils is a step above your usual assassin because he’s also a powerful telekinetic which makes it virtually impossible for any target to escape him. He will find you. Nils doesn’t kill swiftly. He relishes the kill, gets a high off the victim’s struggles and final death throes. And let’s not forget that we have a master manipulator pulling the strings throughout the novel to attain his own selfish goals. Both of these characters would definitely qualify as dark fiction.

Sometimes we have to be ruthless in writing/editing. We cut scenes, eliminate characters or even kill them off. Tell me what was the hardest of these in this book.

At the beginning of Quest we kill off two major characters. These murders drive the story forward and sets the stage for what happens to royal twins, Darius and Dyla Telkur. It’s definitely not a happy beginning to the book, but it was absolutely necessary to the storyline.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

I think I’d have to pick something from Nils, a man of few words.

“I have a suspicion all of you will still be a problem, dead or not.”

What can we expect from you next?

The second book in the same series, The Crystal Façade is now available for sale. This book continues the story of Darius and Dyla Telkur and Eclair Jortac.

We are now concentrating on a new fantasy novel. This one involves an assassin [we do we love these characters], a witch, a noble house and of course, a long lost prophesy. We hope to have this book finished by 2011.

Where can we find you on the internet?

We have our author site which includes all of our writing plus some free samples at:

http://martinandsmall.com

I blog at http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com

Twitter at http://twitter.com/dlmartin6

Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/debra.l.martin

And of course, you can always find me commenting on the Kindleboards and Goodreads.

Any final comments or thoughts?

I want to thank you David for giving me the opportunity to showcase some of our work. Writing a book is definitely hard, but getting the word out to readers is crucial. I appreciate you helping out a fellow author.

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Wow, Debra, working with a co-author so far away must be such an interesting challenge! Glad to see that you’ve worked so well together that you’ve put out multiple books!

Thanks for dropping in for the interview and best of luck with the series!!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Ten Random Facts about Debra L Martin

Debra L. Martin is co-author with David W Small of Quest for Nobility, Book 1 in the RULE OF OTHARIA trilogy:

Royal twins, Dyla and Darius Telkur, blessed with stunning good looks and incredible PSI power, have everything they could ever want. When the unthinkable happens and their parents are murdered, they find themselves at the mercy of an evil mastermind bent on their destruction and the annilation of the noble House of Telkur. Framed for murder, and no allies in site, they must run for their lives, but can they outrun a telekinetic assassin?
Learn more about her books at http://martinandsmall.com/

And now, on to the randomness! Debra offered the follow random facts for our collective amusement.

1. I have green eyes.

2. I love the TV shows, BONES, JUSTIFIED and BURN NOTIÇE

3. I read all genres of books except Romance

4. I work at a major research university

5. My co-author lives on the West Coast, I live on the East Coast

6. I have 4 cats

7. My husband and I took a motorcycle tour through the ALPS for 16 days

8. I want to retire to some place warm - NE is too cold

9. I have a side business selling light boxes

10. One of my favorite authors is Joe Abercrombie

Closing My Eyes Helps Me to See Clearly

MONDAY, MAY 24, 2010
Debra L Martin Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

I am a morning person. I like to write first thing before my work day begins and things get too crazy. Weekends are my most productive time to write because that’s when my co-author, David W Small, usually sends me his files. Having a co-author in CA is a bit challenging at times, but we manage to make it work most of the time.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

Most of our projects are on the computer because Dave is in CA and it’s much easier to share files that way. When we visit each other though, we like to plot out our current WIP on a white board before writing it all down.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

Anything and everything, but especially when I bounce ideas off Dave. He is a retired Marine and has travelled the world and that gives him a much different perspective on things than my viewpoints. We also share many of the same reading interests, swapping books back and forth, and many times are inspired by an author’s writing style or a particular storyline.

4: Do you set yourself goals when you sit down to write such as word count?

No, I just write as much or as little as the scene or chapter in my head. I don’t get to write every day so some days are very productive and others are not.

5: Being a self-published author how do you come up with your cover art?

Dave and I both decide on our cover art. I’ve found some excellent sites for free use photos. I send samples to Dave and when we make our final choice, Dave designs the covers.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

I love to tell stories and finding a co-author who feels the same way is awesome. Dave and I are very similar in formulating our ideas for our stories. We both write everything we want in our initial drafts, then edit, edit, edit.

7: Do you own an ebook reading devise?

Not yet, but I would love to own an iPad.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?

I love Jim Butcher, Joe Abercrombie, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, and George RR Martin. I’m currently reading a trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. Fantasy is my favorite genre, but I vary my reading greatly from the local best seller to English history. I usually find myself reading 2-3 books at the same time.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

I think book trailers can be effective if they are done well, but we don’t have any plans to incorporate those right now into our marketing strategy.

10: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

Currently, Dave and I are working on a fantasy story involving an assassin, a witch and her twin daughters. Our assassin, Jeda, has been sent to kill a powerful witch and her daughters. When Jeda accepts the assignment, he has no idea that his life as a rising star in the assassin’s guild will be forever changed.

We are plotting out all the twists and turns of the story so I can’t elaborate too much more on it. We hope to have the story finished by the end of the year.