Interview With Author Guillaume McMartin
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
5 years ago, I almost killed myself because I thought I was a failure after letting people bully me all my life. It's at that moment that a voice in my heart told me I had a purpose and I was meant to find it!
I went on a journey from being a firefighter to law school, investing, social entrepreneurship, philanthropy, public speaking, writing and content creating to inspire people to take care of Mother Nature and the people around them!
I have been on a journey across Canada for Love, Harmony and Peace for the past year that has given me the inspiration to write my very first novel! Total nomadic living 🙂
I have written 3 books so far, the last one being my novel. There will be many more to come in this novel series and I am excited to write them! (and maybe turn it into a TV series!!?)
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called The Messenger – The Untold Journey.
Last year, with less than $18 left in my bank account, I went on a journey across Canada on my mountain bike with an 80-lbs trailer for Love, Harmony and Peace between all nations and found my heart had a great connection with the Native peoples.
This journey has brought me even closer to Mother Earth than the previous 2 summers where I was cleaning trash and litter from creeks and forests to give gratitude from saving me when I wanted to kill myself.
This journey I took led me to ceremonies, prayers, teachings, visions and dreams that inspired this novel that tells the journey of Jesus in his 20's that led him to his 3-year journey we know about from the Bible.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Of course haha!
I write outside in the forest for as long as my laptop batteries can last! I write at the farm, at the small town cafe. I write and the words flow through my fingers on the keyboard without thinking of what I am writing.
I've started writing in the winter while I was keeping a fire in Sault-Ste-Marie and after a few days the app I was using to write my book erased all my manuscript and I could not retrieve it. Fortunately, I had just written a couple chapters, and had the first one saved because I had started to write it on Word. I did lose my inspiration then, until I accepted a couple months later that I was not bringing the story where it needed to go.
The words started flowing again in the Spring and within about a month or two, I had written the last words.
By the way, when I write I am totally ADHD and look around and play games on the computer or my phone or think about a project, luckily the visions I have eventually come back and I get hyperfocused and the words start flowing!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite author is Paulo Coelho, especially The Alchemist. A girl I had a crush on when I was 18 told me to read it and I did and fell in love with the book. By the way, that girl totally friend zoned me haha!
This book ended up on my night table about 2 years ago with a message my deceased grandparents had left to my mom on Christmas after she had divorced their son, my dad. I read it in one afternoon sitting on a rock in the creek at one of the forests I had cleaned many times near where I lived. The book made me laugh, cry, love… I realized when I had read it about 16 years earlier, I had understood about 3% of the book, now that my spiritual connection was stronger, I could grasp so much more.
The next summer, while spending time at my dad's cottage, I borrowed many more Paulo Coelho's books from the library and devoured them. I also read my late grandparent's travel journal from 1986-87 to Mexico in their Westfalia to spend 4 months with their friend Pierre, a priest working with the native communities in a small village there.
They lived an adventure and the van life way before it was popular on social media!
A couple days later, I was on my mountain bike starting a long journey across Canada!
What are you working on now?
I'm working on multiple projects, that's the gift of having ADHD and brain damage through a severe ski accident that almost killed me back in 2016 haha! Forgive the laugh, I'm a really happy and positive person and I think it's a gift 🙂
Working on a project with the Native communities to create a wildlife sanctuary to protect all of Creation, the animals and the land from deforestation and the mining that is hurting the land in Northern Ontario, Canada.
Also working on a project to bring children in wheelchairs and with special needs to a pond to fish in an animal refuge with horses, a donkey and rescue dogs!
Naturally working on promoting my just published first novel and will be starting writing the next one in the series very soon!
Appart from that, I'll continue living my nomadic life, going to ceremonies and connecting with the people and the animals from the land.
Ohhh and one last thing, I need to finish my journey across Canada on my bike as I only made it from Quebec to half of Ontario in 3 months last year when I thought I'd be in Vancouver within 2 months haha! So finish that, and then I met a friend at a pow wow this summer who dreams of biking from Vancouver to the southernest point in Argentina all the way down Turtle Island so I'm totally in for that too! I'll essentially be on the road biking and meeting the people for the next couple years.
After that, no idea, yet I kinda want to travel across Africa, Tibet, the Middle East… The journey is only starting!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have no idea haha! First book I published a couple years ago I started writing a blog post one morning and after 3 days writing non-stop it became a book! I did not promote that one, just published it on Amazon and didn't talk about it much. Essentially made no sales except maybe my Mom haha! Not even sure she got it.
I ended up giving it for free for people who signed up for my newsletter back then. Was trying a bunch of different businesses, loved creating them, but then when it was time to operate them I was bored so I shelfed them and created a new one. Let's say I spent a lot of money, and didn't make much haha!
Now that I just published my first novel, I will promote it, so far 1 social media post got my book #54 in the category where my favorite book The Alchemist is ranked #1, this is so awesome!!
I'm thinking of doing a press release, social media ads, videos, posts, book launch, signing, travels and the like to promote the book. The only thing is I live with almost no money so I've got to sell a few to do that!
I have faith 🙂
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Like Richard Branson says, who was a bit too much my entrepreneur idol haha, "Screw It, Let's Do It!"
Just stop thinking about it and write!
If nothing comes, just pray for purpose, to serve humanity. God/Creator/Allah/Whatever you believe in will put you on a journey you wouldn't even imagine and that's got to give you the inspiration for your biography, at minimum haha!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Humm this will sound strange to some, yet while I was fasting at Thunder Mountain last month, I traveled very far to the Universe and God, Creator showed me what we needed to do to bring peace between all nations and bring people to live in harmony with all of creation. I can't really explain it, God doesn't speak that way. It felt quite overwhelming, yet I was shown that the Divine plan is already in place and we're all a piece of the puzzle so no pressure haha!
Of and second bit of advice I got on the second day of my journey from a very wise man from India who became my guru for 2 days, "If you want to travel far, travel light." My bike's trailer was too full and heavy, I eventually dropped some stuff haha!
What are you reading now?
Right now there's a book that jumped at me while I was talking to the librarian that was in the new books section. It's called Life In The City Of Dirty Water by Clayton Thomas-Müller. It's amazing because when I picked it up I read his biography and he's Cree from Pukatagawan in Northern Manitoba and I traveled with the Chief from there in 2017 when I was still looking for my purpose and was a bit of a hot-headed investor. I had good intentions, yet my ego was strong, "look at me" as I was finally successful or so I thought after having felt like a failure all my life. Well needless to say those projects didn't work out haha! The Chief became the Grand Chief so really cool for him!
Anyways, Thomas who wrote this book relates a very rough childhood that led him to drugs, crime, jail and gangs. He turned his life around when he was 19 to activism, protecting the native communities and the environment. I am halfway through and this is a really inspiring read!
Thomas reminds me of my friend Wayne Mouland who passed away last year shortly after we cleaned the Hamilton Beach together before Winter. He had also been a violent criminal and drug dealer and in jail he discovered meditation and turned his life around. He then created the Echo Movement and inspired people to come together and clean parks and beaches around Toronto every week for 4 years. Bless your spirit Wayne, I know you are with us. I never got to read your book as I lost all my possessions, yet I know it will come to me one day 🙂
What’s next for you as a writer?
To write the other 5 or 6 books in The Messenger series I will travel and live with the different Native peoples around the world, I am so excited about it! A seer/friend suggested I get a horse because traveling on my bike in the Winter is hard and horses don't require gazoline!
So when Creator brings me a horse, I'll start traveling 🙂
Oh and I know The Messenger series of books will become a TV series so will be working on that when the time comes!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would bring The Alchemist as I've already read it 3 times. The 3rd time was 2 months ago, all the library had from Paulo Coelho was a graphic novel of The Alchemist and it was an awesome read! I told them to get a bunch of his books, yet I'm not sure they're on it, I will ask again 🙂
Second book would be my friend Wayne Mouland's book about his journey form violent criminal to environmental activism as I've never got to read it and lost it when all my things disappeared as I had said that after being bankrupt, I had learned that if I would lose everything I had left, which was very minimal, I'd still be okay. Well God made it happen within 48 hours haha!
The 3rd book I guess would be the Bible as I have never read it, yet I suppose one day I'll finally do it. I'd like if I could find a version of the Bible, the Coran, essentialy all religious/spiritual texts from all nations in 1 book. That would be a cool read to see all the connections between all beliefs! And for all my Native friends, I know all your teachings, beliefs and prophecies are not written as you are of oral tradition so I could not find them in such a book, yet they would travel with me in my heart to this desert island!
With Love,
Guillaume McMartin,
One Who Walks With A Strong Heart
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That was such a fun interview! Thank you so much for reading it my friends, bless you all! ✌😊💖