Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve always been writing. As a teenager, I wrote bad poetry and short stories. Thankfully, things have improved since those days. I’m Aussie and live in the Far North of New Zealand (Kiwi parents!). I live on a large property with horses and my three zany dogs.
I’ve written three books: a full-length gothic fiction novel; a historical novella; and a poetry collection.
By day, I write for the World History Encyclopedia (great resource for teachers and students). In between writing historical articles, I write my novels and poems.
My three dogs are – one grand old diva English Pointer named Zsa Zsa, and two young crazy smooth fox terriers, Ziggy and Zoe. You can see I have a thing for names starting with Z.
I’m currently learning Scottish Gaelic – fell in love with the language when I heard it spoken in a film starring Channing Tatum.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Ashgrove Park is my latest book and is book #1 in a series called “A Jack & Bea Mystery”. It was inspired by a few things – my love for gothic fiction, my fascination with spirit photography, and my historical curiosity about WWI and shell shock.
Spirit photography was immensely popular after WWI – due to the millions of deaths from war and the Spanish flu immediately afterward. We look on those photos now with disembodied faces floating behind the person posing, and we laugh, but back then, it was a way of coping with grief. Unfortunately, there were a lot of fraudulent photographers.
My main character, Lieutenant Jack Collingwood, returns from WWI with shell shock. He recuperates at Ashgrove Park – a stately home in East Sussex – only to find a dark presence stalks the halls. Or does it? Is it all a figment of Jack’s shell-shocked mind.
Jack meets Madame de Clermont, an American spiritualist who is on tour in England, and she asks him to be her spirit photographer during a séance. Who or what can be seen in those spirit photos?
Meanwhile, a series of unexplained deaths happen at Ashgrove Park and Jack realizes that he must solve them before the love of his life, Lady Beatrice Ashgrove, is threatened.
Ziggy (my smooth fox terrier) is a character in Ashgrove Park.
I would describe Ashgrove Park as part paranormal romance, part historical fiction, part gothic fiction, and part ghost fiction. A mash-up!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not sure it’s unusual but I plan out a book using colored Post-it notes. I stick them on a large sheet of paper and move them around until I understand the plot points, character arc and so on. There might only be a few words on a Post-it or a question, but it helps me to ‘visualize’ the book’s structure and the connections between the characters.
I could do this on software like Scrivener but prefer the old-fashioned way because it really makes me think as I move around the notes.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Growing up, it was all Wilbur Smith. I’m still a great fan. I love sweeping generational sagas. James A. Michener was also a favorite author. I tend to read authors from the 1920s to the 1950s – Daphne du Maurier and Lawrence Durrell for example.
What are you working on now?
I am working on novel #2 in the ‘Jack & Bea Mystery Series’. It is called ‘On Jacaranda Street’, and is set in my hometown of Sydney, Australia in the early 1920s. It will involve the main characters from Ashgrove Park, a sensational homicide in Hyde Park, a creepy mansion, and a shady art dealer. All set against the beauty of Sydney Harbor.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like Twitter and Instagram but try not to tire people with endless promo posts. I do maybe two or three a week. I have a website with a blog, which has proven to be popular.
I’m not keen on throwing money down the toilet when it comes to ads, and I don’t give away freebies (because I work hard on my books and am not going to give my work away). So I concentrate more on writing an entertaining tale, and do the odd promotion. Goodreads is also a good website.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Learn the craft. There are things to know about writing, so learn them. Hire an editor – they are worth their weight in gold. Write because you have a story to tell and don’t worry about becoming the next bestseller. Read as much as you can – in the genre you like but other genres too. Look at how the authors handle dialogue, backstory, character arc and so on.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t get caught up in your ego. You may be a good writer, but be humble about it.
What are you reading now?
White Fox by Sara Faring. As Macmillan describe it:
A remote family estate. A missing movie star mother. A lost film script that is part fairytale, Part clue to everything. “A ghost story that will spook even the most hardened grown-ups.”
What’s next for you as a writer?
Try to write a little faster! I have at least six novels in the head, and a couple of poetry collections. After “On Jacaranda Street’, it’s onto book #3 in the “A Jack & Bea Mystery” series. That novel is called Moon Silver Hill and is set is Salem, Massachusetts. Plenty of witchy, ghostly things will happen!
What is your favorite book of all time?
So hard….but – My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier. I’ve read it countless times because du Maurier was a superb writer. I’ve read all her books. I love the how she uses an unreliable narrator in My Cousin Rachel to explore issues of jealousy and love. And no one does characterization better than du Maurier in my view.
Can I have an equal favorite book? If so, it’s The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell.
Author Websites and Profiles
K.V. Martins Website
K.V. Martins Amazon Profile
K.V. Martins’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account