Janet Martinez

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a retired teacher. I taught AP English, world history, US government & politics and AP US government & politics in a Memphis high school. I was born in Indiana and raised in Illinois. I now live in Tennessee. I’ve written two books and am working on two more.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Drop Dead Killers: A David Graham Thriller.” Before becoming a teacher, I worked for lawyers for over twenty years. Some are seriously obnoxious with limited people skills. When they made me really angry, I’d go home after work and write scenes killing them off. Eventually some of these scenes turned into the most recent book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure what you consider unusual. I sometimes write and outline at the same time. That helps if I get stuck on something and don’t know what comes next. I also let ideas float around in my head until I can start to see them like movies. Sometimes that causes a problem because when I start writing I forget the reader can’t see the movie in my head and I forget to add some of the details.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like authors like Lee Child, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, John Grisham and Michael Connelly. I started writing short stories in grade school, so I’m not sure exactly what influenced me. I think I get a little influence and inspiration from every book I read.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on a sequel to Drop Dead Killers. I’m also working on a fantasy in which a teacher acquired the ability to make the students in her class behave themselves by using just a word or a light touch on the shoulder. I think a lot of teachers would like to have that ability. And it’s a fantasy because it’s never going to happen.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not sure. I’m still trying out different things.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Two things: First, read everything you can get your hands on and pay attention to how the other guy does it. Second, own it. Don’t be afraid to let people know you have a book. You spend a lot of time and effort writing the book. Be proud of it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write, write and write some more. The more you write, the better you get at it. Write everyday.

What are you reading now?
I just finished “Never Go Back” by Lee Child. I love Jack Reacher. I’m reading “Mr. Mercedes” by Stephen King and “Among Friends” by Jim Sichko. I rarely read only one book at a time. I’m always reading two and sometimes three books at a time. Depends on what I’m in the mood for.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I hope to generate enough sales for “Drop Dead Killers” to get some sort of following so the promotion won’t be so time consuming when the next David Graham is ready to be published. I want to finish the two books I’m working on and then maybe write a non-fiction book about education in this country. Our educational system is totally screwed up and the politicians are only making it worse.

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?
That’s a hard one. I’d like to take them all. That’s the really great thing about Kindle — you can take them all. I think it would have to be “The Stand” by Stephen King and “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell. Then maybe Tolstoy or Mark Twain. Or maybe a biography of one of the kings and Queens of England — probably Henry VIII.