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Spotlighting author: Marti Healy
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Marti Healy is more than a gifted writer. She is also a stout fan of the written word and books, calling them “the theatre of the mind.” Other literature fanatics can acknowledge the truth in her words. Books are what readers go to when they need an escape, and if you read one of Marti’s books, that is what you’re in for: a thoroughly enjoyable retreat at the helm of your imagination.
I sat down with Marti during Franklin’s Main Street Festival. She was signing her books, The God-Dog Connection and The Rhythm of Selby in front of Landmark Books. The sun was out, people were out in droves and Marti was full of laughter and grace.
The hour and a half we spent becoming friends, for after you meet Marti it’s hard to consider her anything less, I observed her offer water to every hot and overheated dog coming our way and speak with anyone who stopped to take a peak at her wonderful stories. Marti has all the time in the world for a stranger, or a pet.
This explains a lot of why she was drawn, or called as she sees it, into writing The God-Dog Connection. A lover of all God’s creatures, Marti had an ‘A ha” moment one day with her animals. She thought of how all that she requires of her littlest family members is for them to “obey me and get along with one another.” She realized that these are the same qualities God asks of her.
The book shows that “Through basic observation of the animals around us, we can learn great lessons of faith, love, hope and more from everyday situations.”
The book is great for you or me, and it’s also wonderful for parents. The stories offer great bedtime reading and are wonderful tools to open up lines of communication. Marti will tell you that this book is, “faith based” and she happily published though an independent publisher, The Design Group Press and printed at Abbey Press.
Marti’s novel, The Rhythm of Selby, is about just that: falling into the place you’re meant to be. The novel has parallels to John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and is just as easy to slide into. Based on Marti’s own experiences in her home town of Aiken, South Carolina, the novel combines mystery, intrigue and quirky characters.
In fact, The Lady Chablis makes an appearance in Marti’s novel. As Marti, who is a doppelganger for her main character, had the pleasure of seeing The Lady when she came through Aiken, the town that is the mirror image of Selby.
For Marti, there is a rhythm to the South and in small towns. She writes in her own rhythm and as she says, “a place has a rhythm and you are either in or out of sync with it.” You know you have found where you belong, “when you go away from a place, and it’s not quite right – you’re not quite right.” After reading about the town and people of Selby, it’s easy to feel the meaning behind the sentiment.
For her novel, Marti “connected things in history that weren’t necessarily connected in reality.” And “things that I learned, that intrigued me, are woven into the plot.” Being a storyteller, she wove fact through fiction and sewed it together with days gone by. She doesn’t use violence, foul language or sex, but keeps the heart of the story and the soul of Selby.
Advice:
Marti is a believer that if you want to be a writer: “Just do it. If that’s what you want to do, do it. If you can do something else and feel satisfied by it, then you probably don’t have that writer’s gene.” For Marti, there is nothing else. She has no choice. If she starves then she is still writing – just hungrily.
She also advises writers to “be authentic, don’t try to write like someone else. You must be authentic.” When you feel rejected, “don’t get discouraged” if you need to, find a mentor. While Marti is not personally drawn to conferences or workshops, she sees where they can be valuable. Do what you need to, to hone your craft and find your groove.
For Marti the economy doesn’t matter. It is what it is and she is what she is, a writer. So, she’s going to keep writing her novels and books. As readers, we will keep reading them and enjoy the rhythm of the ride.
To learn more about Marti Healy, visit her website at: http://www.thegoddogconnection.com/Author.htm and stay tuned for my upcoming book review of The Rhythm of Selby.
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