Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am the author of four books — two novels, a sci-fi novella, and a collection of short stories — and I have fifth book coming out in March 2016. With the exception of the science fiction novella, my books are all in the mystery thriller and suspense genre. My first book, Duty, was a collection of new and previously published mystery and suspense short stories centered around the theme of military service.
My first novel, The Killing Depths, is a military mystery thriller involving a serial killer aboard an American attack submarine. That was followed by Empty Places, a noirish mystery thriller set in the rich desert playground of Palm Springs, California. After that, I took a respite from mystery thrillers and wrote Eden: A Sci-fi Novella, about a group of American GIs in Iraq who stumble onto an ancient secret about the beginnings of mankind.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is called The Last Refuge, and it’s a sequel to Empty Places. It takes place not long after the first Iraq war — Operation Desert Storm. Peter Brandt, the battle-scarred journalist protagonist of Empty Places is hired by a magazine to look into supposed lawsuit filed against the government and a defense contractor over a friendly fire incident during Desert Storm. Peter discovers the government denies the lawsuit exists, and that someone is willing to kill to keep the truth about the fratricide incident from coming out.
Like most of my work, The Last Refuge was inspired by real events. In this case, it was the voluminous number of scandals concerning corruption in the defense industry during the 1980s and early 1990s. The title comes from Samuel Johnson’s rebuke to his fellow politicians who tried to hide their corrupt activities under a veil of patriotic fervor. “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Unfortunately, I am not a full-time author. I work for the U.S. Navy as an analyst in combat casualty care. Between that job, family commitments, and military reserve commitments, I don’t get a lot of free time. So I have to be ready to write whenever I get a chance. Therefore, I carry a Kindle Fire tablet and Bluetooth keyboard with me everywhere. Whenever I get some free time, I pull them out of my ruck and start writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a young man, I consumed books by the Lost Generation authors — Hemingway, Remarque, Dos Passos, etc. Being of the Vietnam generation myself, I guess I felt a certain sympatico with them. I also enjoyed science fiction greats like H.G Wells, and still frequently read his work. Contemporary writers I enjoy reading include David Morrell, James Rollins, Bob Mayer, and Jack Higgins.
What are you working on now?
As we do this interview, The Last Refuge is in the final proofing stages. It launches in March, though it is already available for pre-ordering from Amazon. So I’ve mostly been concentrating on pre-launch promotional activities.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t believe there is any one solution to promoting your books. It’s a mixture of everything — social media like Twitter, Facebook, Google+; web sites like Awesome Gang, Goodreads, and so on; and advertising campaigns. I run a couple of modest pay-per-click advertising campaigns on Goodreads and Google.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Take time to do proper rewriting. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. The art is not in the writing, but the rewriting.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Someone once said, “Allow yourself to write a bad first draft.” I live by that.
What are you reading now?
I just finished Jack Higgins’ Touch the Devil, the fourth and last of his Liam Devlin series that started with his classic The Eagle Has Landed. And I just start Bob Mayer’s Atlantis Gate.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m working on two more books. I’m on the first rewrite of a sequel to The Killing Depths, which again features Special Agent Linus Schag. I’m also in the plotting stages of a book that will be a sort of quasi-sci-fi military thriller featuring an elite unit of the U.S. Coast Guard. I’m a Coast Guard veteran myself, and of the three branches I’ve served in, the Coast Guard remains my favorite.
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?
Well, besides doing search and rescue in the Coast Guard, I was also on a wilderness SAR team for six years. So I’m pretty pragmatic about this answer. The first book I would choose would be a good survival handbook. Then I would choose Anton Myrer’s Once an Eagle. It’s a wonderful read and incredibly long. Not only would take a long time to read, its so big I could use it as a pillow. Then I might take G.K. Chesterton’s What’s Wrong With the World, because reading it might help me see the silver lining to not being rescued. And then I’d take the Bible, because it’s always good to have God on your side.
Author Websites and Profiles
Martin Roy Hill Website
Martin Roy Hill Amazon Profile
Martin Roy Hill’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account