Welcome to our Writers Wednesday Spotlight! Each week we will be highlighting a different geeky writer we think you might like to check out. For this week’s spotlight, we are excited to introduce you to Gail Z. Martin!
Her most recent release was “Open Season: Spells, Salt, and Steel Series Book 2”, and she has an upcoming release of “Deep Trouble” this month!
You can purchase the “Spells, Salt, and Steel” series here: “Spells, Salt, and Steel”
About Gail Z. Martin
(in her own words)
Gail Z. Martin is the author of “Scourge: A Darkhurst Novel”, from Solaris Books. Gail is also the author of “Vendetta: A Deadly Curiosities Novel” and “Trifles and Folly 1: A Deadly Curiosities Collection”, the latest in her urban fantasy series set in Charleston, SC; “Shadow and Flame” the fourth book in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga; “The Shadowed Path” (The first Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures collection), as well as “Iron and Blood”, a Steampunk series, and “Spells, Salt, & Steel”, both co-authored with Larry N. Martin.
She is also author of “Ice Forged”, “Reign of Ash”, and “War of Shadows” in The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, The Chronicles of The Necromancer series, The Fallen Kings Cycle, and the urban fantasy novel “Deadly Curiosities and Tangled Web”. Gail writes three ebook series: The Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures, The Deadly Curiosities Adventures and The Blaine McFadden Adventures. “The Storm and Fury Adventures”, steampunk stories set in the Iron & Blood world, are co-authored with Larry N. Martin.
Gail’s work has appeared in over 35 US/UK anthologies. Newest anthologies include: “The Big Bad 2”, “Athena’s Daughters”, “Heroes”, “Space”, “Contact Light”, “With Great Power”, “The Weird Wild West”, “The Side of Good/The Side of Evil”, “Alien Artifacts”, “Cinched: Imagination Unbound”, “Realms of Imagination”, “Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs. Aliens”, “Gaslight and Grimm”, “Baker Street Irregulars”, “Journeys”, “Hath no Fury” and “A Haven Harbor Halloween”.
The Martins have three children, a Maltese dog, and a golden retriever.
About the “Spells, Salt, and Steel” Series:
The carp-slapping, grenade-launching son of a gun Mark Wojcik is back, and this time he’s going hunting!
When there’s trouble in the Pennsylvania wilds, there’s only one person to call. It’s out of Bubba’s jurisdiction, so the monster mashing falls on part-time mechanic, part-time cryptic killer Mark Wojcik. He’s got a gun, a cast of supporting characters you won’t believe, and more ammunition than you can shake a stick at. This time, there’s something funky happening in the woods, and Mark is about to learn more about hunting, and The Hunt, than he ever wanted to!
Set in the popular Bubba the Monster Hunter universe, the New Templar Knights novellas are comedic horror/urban fantasy tales of ordinary men and women battling to keep the world safe against the things that go bump in the night, often trying to balance normal lives with extraordinary side gigs. Fans of Bubba, Mason Dixon Monster Hunter, and the Monster Hunter Mom Jess Friedman will enjoy Mark Wojcik’s hilarious adventures.
5 Questions with . . . Gail
- When did you first realize you were interested in becoming an author? What drives you to write?
My first story, about a vampire, was at age 5, and I had to dictate it to my grandmother because I couldn’t spell yet. So, I was almost born wanting to be a writer.Writing keeps me semi-sane. It is something I enjoy doing, as well as something that soothes my soul. I get crabby if I go too long without writing.
- How would you describe your style or genre of writing to a potential fan?
It depends on the series. I write epic fantasy, urban fantasy, steampunk and comedic horror as Gail Z. Martin, and as Morgan Brice, I write urban fantasy MM paranormal romance.So my style varies tremendously by book series. The Spells Salt and Steel (Mark Wojcik, monster hunter) series that I co-write with Larry N. Martin is funny. So is my upcoming buddy flick epic fantasy series Assassins of Landria (think Butch and Sundance as medieval assassins).
On the other hand, the Chronicles of the Necromancer is classic epic quest fantasy, the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga is post-apocalyptic epic fantasy, and the new Darkhurst series (second book Vengeance coming out in June) is pretty dark. Deadly Curiosities, my urban fantasy series set in Charleston, SC, I’d say is mysterious and pretty scary in places, while the upcoming Sons of Darkness new urban fantasy series set in Pittsburgh is a little darker. We have enough of a range of books/series that I hope just about everyone can find something to like!
- What are you currently working on? What are you working on next?
A lot! We’re finishing up Close Encounters, the fourth Spells Salt and Steel novella, and putting the finishing touches on Vengeance, the second Darkhurst novella as well as Assassin’s Honor, the first Landria novel. I’m also just about to turn over Badlands, the first book in a new Morgan Brice series, to the editor and beta readers. I also owe a Deadly Curiosities short story to Prospective Press for an upcoming Kickstarter anthology, Concrete Dreams. And with the Release the Virgins Kickstarter anthology nearly funded, I owe a story to them, too!In June, I’ll be writing Sons of Darkness, then in July I’ll be writing a new Morgan Brice novella and novel in the Witchbane series. Over the summer, I plan to finish the three novellas remaining in the Blaine McFadden series, release The Dark Road (the second Jonmarc Vahanian collection), and we’ll write the first novella for the Joe Mack (Cauldron) Secret Council series and the Wasteland Marshals post-apocalyptic urban fantasy series for Falstaff. Somewhere in there, Deep Trouble and Close Encounters (the third and fourth Mark Wojcik novellas) will also come out.
Plenty of stuff in the pipeline!
- What existing book do you wish you had written and why?
I can think of a lot of books I love and that have meant a lot to me, but none I wish I had written, because then they’d be different and not the book I love! - What is one piece of advice you would give to a budding writer?
Read to a dangerous excess when you’re young and spongy, so that you may find out who you want to be. Don’t give up. Stick with it, even when it’s tough and you think it will never work. This is a game that requires persistence and an almost obsessive intentionality.