Best of Family & Relationships
Best of Family & Relationships
"So Many Books, So Little Time!"
Exclusive Interview with
Marty Essen
When did you start writing?
I began writing in the 1990s as a features writer for GiG Magazine. Back then I was a talent agent/manager in the music business, and Gig Magazine was a favorite of musicians and bands.
What makes writing your passion?
All eight of my books stand for more than just entertaining stories. Writing is my way of, hopefully, making a small corner of the world a better place.
For instance, my latest, "The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles," is a comedic novel that celebrates living life to the fullest while tackling the serious issues of spousal abuse, animal cruelty, mass shootings, and homelessness.
How long have you been writing?
Since the 1990s.
What was the feeling when you published your first book?
My first book, "Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents," took me roughly 13,000 hours to write, so I was exhausted when I finished. That book won six national awards, and I turned it into a college show, "Around The World in 90 Minutes," which I have performed on hundreds of campuses in 45 states. Needless to say, all that exhaustion was worth it!
What’s the story behind your choice of characters?
What annoys you the most in pursuing a writing career?
The lack of respect major review publications give to indie authors. Just like indie films and indie bands, many indie authors put out product that is equal to or better than what large corporations put out. Why should any author have to get "corporate approval" to be respected? It's time for those review publications to move past their old-fashioned bigotry!
How do you get over the “writer’s block”?
My general rule with overcoming writer's block is to make my characters have a conversation.
We all know the writer’s path is never easy, what makes you keep going? What advice would you give to new authors?
Never put out anything that isn't major publisher quality. Edit, edit, edit, and then edit some more. Also, work with professional editors and book designers.
If you could go back in time and talk to your younger self, what would you say?
My wife is three-and-a-half years older than me. That's not a big deal now, but I was just telling her the other day how great it would have been if I knew her when I was 15 and had been able to convince her to accompany me to a school dance.
Imagine an somewhat immature 15-year-old boy bringing a beautiful, sophisticated college student to the dance. I'd be the talk of the school!
So if I could go back in time, I'd tell my 15-year-old-self to find my future wife and try to pull it off.
Who knows? Maybe I'll turn that concept into a novel.
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with the bad ones?
I read every review of my books. Because most of my books have a liberal political viewpoint, I get quite a bit of "review bombing," which is when a bunch of people, who haven't even read the book, get together and trash a book in an effort to tank its rankings.
So for bad reviews, I first try to determine if they've actually read the book, and if they have, I try to figure out why they have that viewpoint.
What is the feeling when you get a good review?
Now there's a person with taste and intelligence!
Have you ever incorporated something that happened to you in real life into your novels?
All the time! One of the subplots in my latest, "The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles," is a woman on the run from her abusive husband. My wife had an abusive husband before she met and married me, and stories she told me about that relationship certainly influenced the plot.
Also, in the same book, my three protagonists go on an epic road trip across America. I've visited most of the places in the story—many while traveling the United States as a college speaker.
Which of your characters you can compare yourself with? Did you base that character on you?
Whether intended or not, the main "good guy" protagonist in all of my novels has some part of me in him.
What do you think, the book cover is as important as the story?
It certainly is for marketing. That's why for the cover of "The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles" I went all out and hired Laura Duffy, who for 16 years was the senior art director at Penguin Random House.
Do you connect with your readers? Do you mind having a chat with them or you prefer to express yourself through your writing?
I'm happy to connect with my readers. Because of my unique name, I am easy to find on both Facebook and Bluesky.
How do you feel when people appreciate your work or recognize you in public?
How can anyone not like that? In fact, that's how my first book, "Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents," came about. Initially, I wrote front-page newspaper articles about my wife's and my adventures in the Amazon Rainforest and Australia. When so many people recognized me from the author photos in those stories and asked for more, I decided to give them what they wanted. In a three-and-a-half year period, my wife and I had adventures on all seven continents and Central America, and I wrote about them in that first book.
Who is your favorite author? Why?
I have many favorite authors. A partial list includes Fredrik Backman, Gail Honeyman, Audrey Niffenegger, A.M. Homes, Bonnie Garmus, Thomas Harris, Jeff Strand, Kurt Vonnegut, and Jenny Lawson.
What’s the dream? Whom would you like to be as big as?
My dream is for "The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles" to be made into a movie. It's really perfect for the big screen, as it's a dollop of Harold and Maude, a pinch of Dexter, a sprinkle of Thelma & Louise, a dash of Bonnie and Clyde, a quiver of Robin Hood, and a curmudgeon of A Man Called Ove.
Would you rewrite any of your books? Why?
Each book makes me a better writer. My first book, "Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents," won six national awards, and my second book, "Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico" won four national awards. Nevertheless, there are many sentences in those two books that I could write better now.
That said, going back and rewriting any book is impractical.
If you could switch places with any author – who would that be?
No one. I have to be me.
What would you say to the “trolls” on the internet? We all know them – people who like to write awful reviews to books they’ve never read or didn’t like that much, just to annoy the author.
As mentioned earlier, because of the liberal political content in my books, I have had trouble with "review bombing." I'm okay with reviewers who legitimately didn't like the book, as long as they actually read it and clearly state the reason for their dislike.
And I must say that the review bombs have had an effect. For instance, my latest, "The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles," is less politically liberal than my previous books and instead focuses on more across-the-board issues like spousal abuse, animal cruelty, mass shootings, and homelessness.
As for what I'd say to internet review trolls: Get a life!
What would you say to your readers?
I put thousands of hours into every book, and I write both nonfiction and fiction in multiple genres. Please check out my author page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Marty-Essen/author/B0032FSCPU
Share a bit about yourself – where do you live, are you married, do you have kids?
I grew up in Minnesota and now live on 25 acres in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. My wife and I call the property surrounding our house "The Essen Wildlife Refuge" because we protect all the wildlife here from hunters and poachers.
And the animals seem to know that, as they like to hang out here. Our wildlife visitors include bears, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, foxes, deer, moose, elk, owls, eagles, fishers, pine martens, as well as a variety of rodents, reptiles, and amphibians.
What is your day job if you have one?
I have been a talent agent/manager for more than 25 years. Originally I worked in the music business, and now I represent college speakers.
What are your hobbies? What do you do in your free time?
I am an avid photographer. My photography is featured in my first two books, "Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents," and "Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico." I also shot the cover photo for my memoir, "Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer."
I have recently gotten into underwater photography and have a trip planned to swim with and photograph whale sharks off the coast of New Guinea.
Did you have a happy childhood?
I'll save that for readers of my humorous memoir, "Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer."
Is there a particular experience that made you start writing?
Do you have unpublished books? What are they about?
I am now writing the sequel to "The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles."
What do you think should be improved in the education of our children? What do we lack?
I could write a book on that! In short, we need to fund our schools better and keep Christian nationalism out of them.
If you were allowed 3 wishes – what would they be?
In today's toxic American political environment, I think I better keep those wishes to myself.
What is your favorite music?
I was the youngest radio DJ in Minnesota history and later ran two Minneapolis-based talent management agencies that represented rock, new age, and contemporary jazz acts.
Prince even wrote a song for one of the artists I represented, and it became a Top-3 Hit. So even though I personally have no musical talent whatsoever, I'm a musical person.
Music plays throughout my house most of the day. I generally start with mellow contemporary jazz or blues, move on to 80s new wave by midday, and end the day by rocking out to female-led symphonic metal (like Nightwish, Beyond the Black, Evanescence, or Within Temptation).
Also, all my books feature some sort of musical element in the plot.
Share a secret with us 🙂
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote a humorous memoir, "Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer." After that tell-all book, it's difficult to have any secrets.