Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Retired California State University professor, former Family Nurse Practitioner, currently author and Maya researcher. I live in a small town called Silverton, OR with my charming husband and two gorgeous white cats. Some of my other interests, aside from reading and writing, are gardening, preserving food, walks in nature, fine wines, gourmet cooking, and delving into the mysteries of existence. During my 30+ years as a professor, I published a number of textbooks in nursing and public health, plus a couple of popular books on menopause and the health effects of meditation and yoga.
After retirement, I began pursuit of my passion for the ancient Mayas. Through writing historical fiction about their advanced culture, I hope to reach more readers beyond those willing plow through technical and complex nonfiction just our of fascination for the Mayas. My HF books bring ancient Maya culture and civilization to life in stories about both real historical Mayans and fictional characters. I’ve studied Maya archeology, anthropology, epigraphy and history from the scientific perspective, but also wanted to learn indigenous viewpoints. To do this, I lived for five years in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. There I apprenticed with Maya Elder and Shaman Hunbatz Men, becoming a Solar Initiate and Maya Fire Woman in the Itza Maya tradition. I also studied with indigenous teachers in the U.S. and Guatemala, including Maya Priestess and Daykeeper Aum Rak Sapper.
Because my research about the Mayas crosses over between scientific and indigenous worlds, I believe that my books bring depth and complexity that weaves both realms of knowledge together. Story lines keep true to known archeological and historical facts, while bringing the mystical and shamanic native traditions into the action. Actual historic persons, generally rulers and elite nobles of Mayan society, are portrayed accurately according to what can be learned from ancient Mayan records. Their personalities, aspirations, fears and goals must be inferred from known events. Using artistic license, I expand upon historic facts to make them living characters in the story. Fictional characters and events are added to enrich the story and add drama, suspense or action.
The ancient Mayas created the most highly advanced civilization in the Western hemisphere, and my work is dedicated to their wisdom, spirituality, scientific and cultural accomplishments through compelling historical novels. As of August 2014, I’ve written three historical fiction novels about ancient Mayas:
“Dreaming the Maya Fifth Sun A Novel of Maya Wisdom and the 2012 Shift in Consciousness” (2006 paperback, 2011 Kindle ebook)
“The Visionary Mayan Queen: Yohl Ik’nal of Palenque” (Mists of Palenque Series, Book 1) (February 2014 Kindle ebook)
“The Controversial Mayan Queen: Sak K’uk of Palenque” (Mists of Palenque Series, Book 2) (June 2014 Kindle ebook)
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Currently I’m writing a series about Mayan queens of Palenque and have completed Books 1 & 2. The latest book is:
“The Controversial Mayan Queen: Sak K’uk of Palenque” (Mists of Palenque Series, Book 2) (June 2014 Kindle ebook)
When living in Merida, Mexico I found a book in Spanish called “La Reina Roja” (“The Red Queen”) at a local bookstore called Dante. Spanish dictionary by my side, I read the book rather quickly because it was intriguing. A Mexican reporter, Adriana Malvido, was adept enough to get permission from authorities to write stories about the discovery in 1994 of an unknown chamber inside Temple XIII at Palenque. When archeologists excavated the chamber, they found a burial vault containing a stone sarcophagus with a skeleton whose bones were colored bright red. They identified the skeleton as that of a woman who must have had highest status, because she was given royal burial with many jewels and artifacts and her body interred using cinnabar (mercuric oxide) as was done for rulers. Her tomb was adjoining the Temple of the Inscriptions, burial pyramid of Janaab Pakal, most famous Maya ruler. Finally her identity was deduced as his wife, Tz’aakb’u Ahau.
This story, told in Malvido’s book “La Reina Roja” spurred me to investigate women rulers, the Mayan “queens” although Mayans did not use that word. Their title was K’uhul Ahau, or Holy Lord/Lady. As I learned about the women in Pakal’s dynasty, I became convinced that their story should be told. They were among the most powerful women in the Americas, but hardly anyone has heard about them. So, I conceptualized the 4-book Mayan queen series that covers the lives of Pakal’s grandmother, mother, wife and daughter-in-law. Book 1 is about Yohl Ik’nal, his grandmother, and Book 2 is about Sak K’uk, his mother.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
While I outline each book and keep a detailed, accurate timeline of recorded events at Palenque, once I start writing the story often takes turns I didn’t anticipate. Characters may spring up or develop qualities I had not planned. Some scenes come to me in dreams or during meditations, and these I write down for future use even when it requires getting out of bed at 3:00 am. I’ve learned that details quickly slip away if not immediately written down. I have a story arc in mind but this may change as the characters and their actions unfold. For major characters, I plan their character development arcs but am sometimes surprised by what comes up as I’m writing.
It goes against conventional writing wisdom, but I edit as I go along. I keep a thesaurus handy and will stop writing to find the exactly right word. This process keeps refining my writing, but I do go back and re-read previous sections and edit again. I have to check and re-check my facts while writing, as well as spellings of the unusual Mayan words, to keep my story accurate and authentic.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Marion Zimmer Bradley is my all-time heroine author. I love “Mists of Avalon” and have read the entire Avalon series. As homage to her, I call my Mayan queens series the “Mists of Palenque.”
Mary Renault is another historical fiction author whom I greatly admire. Her stories about ancient Greece, Crete and Persia are spellbinding. These books, such as “The King Must Die,” “The Bull From the Sea,” “The Last of the Wine” and “The Persian Boy” serve as models of compelling stories based on facts and strongly developed characters who were actual historic persons.
Margaret Mitchell’s great saga “Gone With The Wind” is another classic HF book that I greatly admire.
Thomas Costain is another influential author for me, especially “The Chalice” and “The Black Rose.”
Samuel Shellbarger wrote excellent HF in fine style, my favorites are “Prince of Foxes” and “Captain From Castile.”
What are you working on now?
My current writing project is Book 3 of the “Mists of Palaenque” series about ancient Mayan queens.
“The Mayan Red Queen: Tz’aakb’u Ahau of Palenque” (Mists of Palenque Book 3)
This continues with Sak K’uk and her son Pakal, now a young man who recently ascended to the throne of Palenque (called Lakam Ha by ancient Mayas). It is time to find a suitable wife, and a shy young woman (Lalak) from a neighboring city is selected because of her pure bloodlines back to founders of the regional royal families. Pakal, however, is already enamored with a lovely young noblewoman in Palenque. He is conflicted but must follow his parents’ choice for royal wife. Lalak is overwhelmed by the complexity of society and court life at Palenque, and her mother-in-law Sak K’uk impedes her relationship with Pakal, viewing her as a breeder of future rulers and determined not to be displaced in her son’s affections. As Lalak struggles to prove her worth and find her place, Pakal contends with political and military challenges. Their relationship is strained, but Lalak is fated to play a pivotal role in Pakal’s mission to restore the portal to the Gods that had been destroyed by an earlier attack. He must come to see his wife in a new light before they can embody the immense creative forces necessary to rebuild the portal through sacred sexual union.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
There are several that can be helpful, depending on where you are in promotions. Some only promote free or bargain offers, others are ongoing processes. Here are a few I’ve used:
My own sites:
Website: www.mistsofpalenque.com
Blog: http://leonidemartinblog.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leonide.martin
Awesomegang.com
digitalbooktoday.com
BookBub.com
ebookdaily.com
addictedtobooks.com
BestIndieBooks.com
eBookshabit.com
IndieTribe.com
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Have passion for what you write and be persistent. Without a deep connection, nearly a compulsion to write about your topic, it will be hard to sustain the focus and effort required.
Have your work professionally edited. If you feel need for critique and editorial revisions, get a content editor. If you want checks for spelling, grammar and syntax, get a copy editor.
If you don’t have an editor pick things up, your readers will pick your mistakes apart!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Believe in yourself.
What are you reading now?
Dolly Wiseman. “Maya Memory: The Glory That Was Palenque”
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish the Mayan queens series! I hope to complete Book 3 by the end of November. Then comes Book 4 in the spring of 2015, hopefully finished by May. All of this series will first be published as eBooks, then I plan to pursue paperback publishing.
After that, quien sabe? There’s a story about a native American girl of the Calapooya tribe, our once abundant local Indians in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, that rattles around in my head now and then. We’ll see.
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’d take a couple of Greek classics, maybe the Odyssey and the Iliad, full of adventure and challenge and conflict for entertainment.
I’d take “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda for inspiration and spiritual comfort.
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