Justin and Jennifer talk with author Craig Martelle, who Justin met through the 20Booksto50k Facebook group – one any author who wants to be part of the community and make money as an author should be part of. He shares how he made his Free Trader series (and their awesome covers), and how online writing communities can help us succeed.
NOTE: Justin’s audio sounds horrible – sorry! But the guest sounds awesome 
Visit Craig’s web page, craigmartelle.com for the latest posts and updates or find him on Facebook, Author Craig Martelle. Send an email to [email protected] to join his mailing list for the latest on new releases, information on old releases, and anything related to his books.
Craig is a successful author, who has been compared to Andre Norton, David Gemmell, and Larry Niven. He’s taken his more than twenty years of experience in the Marine Corps, his legal education, and his business consulting career to write believable characters living in realistic worlds.
Although Craig has written in multiple genres, what he believes most compelling are in-depth characters dealing with real-world issues. Life lessons of a great story can be applied now or fifty years in the future. Some things are universal.
Craig believes that evil exists. Some people are driven differently and cannot be allowed access to our world. Good people will rise to the occasion. Good will always challenge evil, sometimes before a crisis, many times after, but will good triumph?
Some writers who’ve influenced Craig? Robert E. Howard (the original Conan), JRR Tolkien, Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein, Lin Carter, Brian Aldiss, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Anne McCaffrey, and of late, James Axler, Raymond Weil, Jonathan Brazee, Mark E. Cooper, and David Weber. Craig learned something from each of these authors, story line, compelling issue, characters that you can relate to, beauty of prose, unique tendrils weaving through the book’s theme. Craig’s writing has been compared to that of Andre Norton and Craig’s Free Trader characters to those of McCaffrey’s Dragonriders, the Rick Banik Thrillers to the works of Robert Ludlum.
It is humbling, but never the intent. Craig only wants to tell a good story about real people, keep readers engaged, leave them with something to think about.
Through a bizarre series of events, Craig ended up in Fairbanks, Alaska. He never expected to retire to a place where golf courses are only open for four months out of the year. But he love it there. It is off the beaten path. He and his wife watch the northern lights from their driveway. Their dog has lots of room to run. And temperatures reach forty below zero. They have from three and a half hours of daylight in the winter to twenty four hours in the summer.
It’s all part of the give and take of life. If they didn’t have those extremes, then everyone would live there.
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And here’s a link to the ebook also, Military Veterans in Creative Careers! 100% of the proceeds are used to support this podcast