I'm happy to introduce you to multi-published authors, Chris and Jenny Martucci!
Welcome to "Musings of an Independent Artist." I'm excited about being your first interviewer.
1.
What
are 3 things you’d like readers to know about you?
Three things we’d like our readers
to know about us are first and foremost, we are a team. We are team Martucci!
Everything we do, every decision we make is a team effort. Often, our daughters
are involved to some extent. Our youngest is four, so you can imagine some of
the suggestions and opinions we get! Second, we truly love what we do. The
thought of our book offering one person happiness or reprieve from the strains
of daily life means we are succeeding. We know what it’s like to be bogged down
by day-to-day stresses. We are no different than our readers, and we are
readers, as well. Reading offers a break from reality and places people in
fanciful settings. We love being able to be on both the giving end of that
dynamic as well as the receiving end of it. And last (but certainly not least)
we would like our readers to know that we appreciate every sale. If we have
sold a book, it means that someone who purchased our first book, which we offer
for free, enjoyed it enough to buy the next in the series. That sale signifies
we’ve reached one person; one person enjoyed reading our work enough to spend his
or her hard-earned money to buy another. We are grateful for our audience.
I’m a die-hard romantic, and it
really warms my heart to see a couple working together – especially in a
creative endeavor like writing!
2.
Tell
us about your books. What can we look forward to from you in the near future?
WIPs, upcoming releases
Dark Creations: Gabriel Rising,
Dark Creations: Resurrection and Dark Creations: The Hunted are all part of the
Dark Creations series. The series is a continuing storyline involving Gabriel
James, a teenage boy who was genetically engineered and altered to be perfect
in every way by a genius geneticist named Dr. Franklin Terzini. Terzini has a
vision of transforming humankind, of improving it by eradicating sentiment. He
believes emotion to be the root of every evil in society. Gabriel was created
devoid of emotions. He is the prototype of sorts for Terzini’s new, improved
version of human beings. As the archetype for the new race, Gabriel must
integrate into society. He must attend high school and interact with his peers
normally. It is in school where he meets Melissa Martin, a teenage girl who
evokes feelings in him; feelings he was created without. Once Gabriel meets
Melissa and realizes he has feelings for her, the story intensifies. There are
multiple antagonists, action scenes and romantic moments peppered throughout
each book. The series has been labeled as paranormal romance, but we’re not
certain that is an accurate categorization. It is more like a romantic-science
fiction hybrid. One of our readers quipped that the Dark Creations series is
like Twilight melding with a Dean Koontz novel minus the vampires and
werewolves. She meant it as a compliment, and we appreciated it!
As for works in progress, we
just released Dark Creations: The Hunted on July 28, 2012. We have another book
in the making that should be released by the end of this year.
3.
What
would you say your stories have in common? Principles, beliefs, situations,
etc. What do you want readers to take from your creations?
Our books are part of a
series, so there is a unifying element in each. The plot continues to develop,
as do the characters and relationships between the characters. We really hope
our readers walk away from our books with a sense of confidence in the ability
of relationships to transcend differences, to overcome seemingly insurmountable
obstacles.
4.
Writing
is a process, a journey. What other process(es) move(s) you?
The processes of how
bonds are formed are fascinating and moving. Whether it is the bond between
spouses, parents and children, friends, pets, all bonds involve multiple
processes. Relationships are complex in so many ways, yet simplistic at the
same time in that at the core of each intricate process, trust has to be
present. A crying baby learns to trust based upon the response his cries
receive from his caregiver. That response forms the foundation of future
attachments, whether they will be strong healthy bonds or ambivalent ones. A
process as complex as that is answered with a simple act: the caregiver responding
to the crying child. Trust is established (or not). All processes seem to share
that common element. Even as writers, we need to trust that our instincts are
correct, and that our story needs to be told, that we will be able to forge a
relationship through our characters and plots with our readers. The development
of relationships, the course of action it takes, is a remarkable phenomenon.
Very wise observation.
I agree wholeheartedly. As a student of psychology, I believe trust in
relationships is at the core of many things, too.
5.
What
time-management/organizational tips do you suggest?
We write whenever
opportunity presents itself! We are busy parents of three daughters. Time
management and organization are great in theory, but the reality is, we put our
children first. If one of them gets sick, or has a playdate or swim lessons, or
anything, that takes precedence over writing. The way we see it, we can stay up
late if need be. Sleep can be sacrificed. The writing will get done. But
spending time as a family, there are no do-overs for that.
Sounds like you have
your priorities in order J
6.
I
don’t watch much television, but I can definitely while away the hours online.
Marketing/publicity/social media are big parts of any author’s life. Any tips
or favorite tools?
Twitter, Facebook and
World Literary Café are all great networks for authors promoting their work.
Each offers a unique experience, but at the same time shares a sense of unity
and reciprocity. They all provide a team-like setting. On Facebook, friends are
already closely allied with their respective subscriber so there is a sense of
intimacy and connection. On Twitter, authors invariably link with one another
and form friendships. And the World Literary Café boasts Tweet Teams where
authors join actual teams and tweet about each other’s work. These systems let
authors–particularly Indie authors–know that they’re not alone, that no one is
competing against them, that we are all just trying to share what we love.
Apart from Twitter, Facebook, and World
Literary Cafe, Serenity Editing software is an amazing editing tool that we
highly recommend to writers, students, teachers, everyone.
Thanks for the
suggestion, Jenny and Chris! I looked Serenity Editing up, and it’s $55-$75 in
the U.S. for word documents. Here’s the link if anyone else is interested : http://www.serenity-software.com/
I’ve been extremely happy with www.worldliterarycafe.com. Grateful Melissa Foster found me on twitter.
7.
What
are some of your favorite resources for authors?
We always have a thesaurus and
dictionary on hand when we write (both the online kind and the good old-fashioned
paperback kind.) We also have The Smashwords Style Guide by Mark Coker sitting
on our desk. It is a vital resource for Indie authors who format their own e-books.
8.
What
do you look for in a good/great book?
A great book has to have a
compelling storyline, likeable characters, dialogue that is realistic and
relevant to the time period/setting of the piece and is a pleasure to read. If
we stop reading a book or are hesitant to resume reading it for any reason,
there’s a problem. We read most genres, but are partial to science fiction and
paranormal romances. Our favorites are always ones with relatable characters we
can support, authentic dialogue and a strong plot.
Thank you again for visiting with me today! I encourage
my readers to visit and say hello to you in your many homes around the world
wide web.
Where you can find Jenny & Chris Martucci:
On Twitter @JennyMartucci
@CDMartucci
Comments
And nice to learn more about Jenny and Chris:)