Madeline Martin
Author Interview - Madeline Martin
Author of The Keeper of Hidden Books
A story set in Poland during WWII, inspired by the real events and brave actions of Warsaw's public librarians.
All her life, Zofia has found comfort in two things during times of hardship: books and her best friend, Janina. But no one could have imagined the horrors of the Nazi occupation in Warsaw. As the bombs rain down and Hitler’s forces loot and destroy the city, Zofia finds that now books are also in need of saving.
With the death count rising and persecution intensifying, Zofia jumps to action to save her friend and salvage whatever books she can from the wreckage, hiding them away, and even starting a clandestine book club. She and her dearest friend never surrender their love of reading, even when Janina is forced into the newly formed ghetto.
But the closer Warsaw creeps toward liberation, the more dangerous life becomes for the women and their families – and escape may not be possible for everyone. As the destruction rages around them, Zofia must fight to save her friend and preserve her culture and community using the only weapon they have left - literature.
Author Interview - Madeline Martin
Author I draw inspiration from:
I loved Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - I wouldn't say I'm inspired by her in my writing, but I definitely appreciate her incredible talent.
(Click here for my list of Best Kristin Hannah Books)
Author Interview - Madeline Martin | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
On vacation - I think it's one of the few times where I'm not constantly interrupted LOL
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Laura Ingalls Wilder from Little House in the Big Woods (and all the subsequent books). They were my favorite as a little girl. I must have read the entire series at least two dozen times. Also, this is kind of cheating, because I know she was a real person. How I see it playing out is me asking about a million and one questions and hopefully her being patient enough to answer them all.
Author Interview - Madeline Martin | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I've always wanted to be an author, but it felt too 'pie in the sky' high to even accept as being realistic to me. In college I majored in Business Administration with minors in Economics, Political Science and Accounting. My day job before I started writing full time was a Business Analyst dealing with SQL. The fact that I'm writing full time as author now is a total dream come true.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Paperback and audiobook. When I have the chance to sit down and read (which isn't often #MomLife), I'm a paperback girl allll the way! But because I am always in the car or doing a million household this-and-thats, I have an audiobook going pretty much all the time. So I'm cheating and saying both of those! :)
The last book I read:
I just finished listening to The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel and it was so good! It's a beautiful story of heartbreak and love during WWII and explores some really lovely, tender notes of motherhood. I definitely recommend it!
Author Interview - Madeline Martin | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Depends on if I'm writing or researching. When I write, I generally stick with the computer because I can write so much faster that way. Otherwise my brain jumps in front of my hand, which sadly can't keep up, and my writing becomes an illegible string of gibberish. Plus I love my copy & paste features for ease of moving things around.
For research, I prefer to hand write all my notes as I feel like it sticks in my thoughts better that way. This can be an arduous task since I do about ten months worth of research for each book. For The Keeper of Hidden Books, I used over 100 nonfiction books and went to Warsaw for two weeks. This generated over fifteen spiral bound notebooks totally filled with handwritten notes!
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Some people might roll their eyes at this one, but Bella Swan from Twilight. And, yes, I absolutely loved all those books! We'd be good friends because in high school, I was basically her (less the vampire friends and vampire boyfriend/werewolf love triangle things). But I figure we could have a good laugh for hours about all the awkward, clumsy things we'd done in our lives.
Author Interview - Madeline Martin | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I know it probably sounds cheesy, but I honestly always wanted to be a mother. And I very much view motherhood as a career. It's a full time job with no paid leave and the best one I've ever had. I'm incredibly lucky to get to live both my dream jobs - being a writer and being a mother. Although I confess, my running joke is that I'm a full time mom with this little writing gig on the side as my girls can sometimes be a little time consuming ;) But though I kid about it, my minions who are now 17 and 14 always come first.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I honestly really do love the 40s - I think the women dressed do elegantly and the styles were so flattering. And because I research so much about that time period in history, I think it's so creative and fascinating the work arounds the women found to navigate through the rationing while still looking chic.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I've been very fortunate to have done a lot of traveling in my life. Being an Army brat gave me the opportunity to travel around most of Europe and my brother's job with the government has allowed me to travel to Africa and Asia to visit him and his family. I haven't had the opportunity yet to go to Australia and have always wanted to go, so that's number one on my 'Places I'd most like to travel' list. Now just to endure that flight... LOL
My signature drink:
Coffee with no cream or sugar by morning and mid-afternoon, water by day...and occasionally wine by night :)
Favorite artist:
Caravaggio - his artwork has always appealed to me with the lush, vibrant colors and the beautiful realism he painted with. He truly is exquisite.
Though I will say that I was recently in Italy and went to the museum on Leonardo da Vinci in Florence and was truly blown away at what an amazing life that man led. He was an inventor, artist, and architect whose illustrations led to groundbreaking realizations in the medical world. He was truly incredible.
Number one on my bucket list:
I want to visit all seven continents. Though I admit that being someone who is always cold, my idea of going to Antarctica will be doing it via a cruise LOL But it still counts!
Anything else you'd like to add:
Thank you so much for having me!
Find more from the author:
My website: www.MadelineMartin.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MadelineMartinAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MadelineMMartin
Follow me on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Madeline-Martin/e/B00R8OGFN2
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/madeline-martin
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madelinemmartin/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12062937.Madeline_Martin
Author Bio:
Madeline Martin is a New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of historical fiction and historical romance with books translated into over twenty languages.
She lives in sunny Florida with her two daughters (known collectively as the minions), two incredibly spoiled cats and a man so wonderful he's been dubbed Mr. Awesome. She is a die-hard history lover who will happily lose herself in research any day. When she's not writing, researching or 'moming', you can find her spending time with her family at Disney or sneaking a couple spoonfuls of Nutella while laughing over cat videos. She also loves research and travel, attributing her fascination with history to having spent most of her childhood as an Army brat in Germany.
