Martyn Chapman
Author
Who am I? I
Writing is a lonely and frustrating business. It is often similar to a bumbling deaf sheepdog. You find yourself thrashing about in a murky puddle of temperamental characters and confusing plot lines, and you can’t quite reach the safety of the pavement.
I’m not entirely sure if you are born a writer, although from a very early age I felt that my life was being played out in a movie. I wasn’t just an actor though, but the director as well; the one who was steering the story. In hindsight, the script was a little dull and I recall that it involved a lot of trees and catnip.
The actual writing process began when I was about fourteen. For many years, I treated it like a covert operation, genuinely ashamed about these strange, immoral, and clandestine thoughts. No one writes about catnip.
Success in a writing competition gave me a wonderful opportunity to work with professional editors and advisors. Yet the category, genre, and shocking climax of the darkly intriguing Hormones and Crumble left us all a little stumped.
Where do I belong in this structured and risk averse publishing environment?
I decided to embrace the innovative and exciting path offered by Amazon and I ‘came out’ in 2014. At first, no one particularly noticed.
Self-published writers are like fallen leaves on a park bench. We’re not a threat to anyone and easily brushed aside. Yet, importantly for me, I did have total control of my time and the projects I wished to pursue. So, Hassle Castle (a psychological thriller/comedy), and then Saving Worms (a romantic comedy) covered different genres.
A bit like speed dating, I like to follow the path of an original story and not have to stick to the same mundane formula. And, after trips to the charming North Berwick in Scotland and the historical city of Nuremberg, two bewitching and enchanting Christmas stories, Christmas on The Law and One Christmas in Nuremberg, were created.
Recently, I’ve had the good fortune to stumble across new challenges. I’m currently working on a children’s story set in the Black Forest and a ghost story for adults.
But I’m not lost or trying to find my way. I feel more like a painter, inspired by different mediums and canvasses. So I will be continuing this theme, hugely inspired by my talented cover designers, Sarah Hardy-Box and Tom Box. Thank you for visiting my website and browsing my book gallery.
Martyn Chapman