Shirley A. Martin: A Brief Biography
Shirley is a hardworking mother of two children, now grown, whom she raised on her own. Her story is one of passion, determination, and overcoming. The gruelling hours of writing and editing it took to birth the ‘Jook and Gypsy Series’ just grazes the surface of this woman’s dedication to her self-proclaimed passion for written word; the obstacles she overcame and those she continues to battle are a tale all their own. We must also appreciate the subtle nuances that have come together to impact and inspire her writing, and love of the horror genre.
Now join me as we delve into the depths of Shirley’s story, uncovering some of the mystery of who she is and where she comes from, and take a small glimpse inside the brain of the creator of characters we have come to love and despise…
Early Life and Family:
Shirley was born in Boulder City, Nevada in 1956. She was raised in a single parent household, along with four siblings, three brothers and one sister. Her mother supported the family with her job as a waitress, and the family moved often throughout her childhood. They moved from Boulder City to Sedona, AZ when Shirley was still a toddler, and shortly thereafter to a number of communities in Southern California.
Shirley recalled a warm relationship with her mother, though stated she had never been supportive of her love of the arts; she was a practical woman who viewed Shirley’s daydreaming as ‘lazy’. To this day, even with two books under her belt, she still has to convince herself that days spent writing, are not better spent on chores. Sadly, Shirley lost her mother in 1992.
Her father, never a constant in her life, passed away in 1996. He was a free spirit, who just couldn’t settle into the traditional lifestyle of raising children. She describes her parent’s relationship as loving, but unstable; they just seemed never to be able to make it work. After her mother’s passing, she never spoke to her father again; he took the loss very hard. Shirley believes that she inherited some of her father’s traits, with her more rebellious nature and introversion, describing herself as ‘a bit of a wallflower’.
In 1977, shortly after dropping out of college, Shirley settled in Big Bear Lake, CA. Big Bear quickly became home, and as her many loyal fans will know, the setting for her first book. Shirley’s first child was born in 1979, a daughter Noelle. Her son, Rein, followed nine years later in 1988. Shirley worked to support her family through seasonal work, and later as a waitress.
Unfortunately, soon after her daughter’s birth, in 1980 Shirley lost her youngest brother when he became the unfortunate victim of a drunk driver; she was 23 when he passed away.
Shirley worked to make a life for herself and her family in Big Bear Lake, a town that has come to hold a special place in her heart. She has been a waitress at The Teddy Bear Restaurant for the past 32 years, and seeks to become self-employed as a full-time author.
How it all came together…
Shirley’s infatuation with horror began at a young age, as she fondly recalls being roused from sleep by her older brother to join him in late-night viewings of the horror flicks, which would later come to serve as the foundation from which her fascination would grow. One such film would ignite her love of werewolves, and years later would give way to her first novel.
Shirley’s love of writing bloomed early on. She describes a writing assignment she was tasked with in grade two; the children were set to write a Haiku. She was immediately fascinated by the description of the poetic style and eagerly went to work to create her first poem. Even at that age, she felt a strong connection to written word, stating from then on, she knew she was destined to be a writer.
In high school Shirley found her niche in creative writing. Her instructor was strict teacher with high expectations for her students. Shirley had been a bit of a self-described ‘rebel’, though soon found herself under the wing of Mrs. Malet (deceased). Readers may recall her name from the dedication in Bloodline Gypsy. Shirley feels that she would not have blossomed into the writer she is today without the guidance and encouragement of her beloved teacher, who ignited a passion for the craft that has impacted her so profoundly. She recalls vividly her first assignment and first A+; she was told she had been the student Malet had waited for all her life. She found the class to be both challenging and highly rewarding. It was here she really unearthed her natural talent. Among one of the most important lessons she learned, which we will revisit later, was to write for her audience. Soon she was off to college with a writing scholarship, and the hopes and dreams of a bright future.
Unfortunately for her, she had hoped that college would deliver more of the same, and was soon in for the disappointment of her life. On her first day of class, the professor all but doused the creative fire she had been stoking, “You don’t have to worry about failing this class, just hand something in.” Here, there was no discerning good writing from bad, or talent from what was akin to the amateur butchering of the English language. Here everything was a ‘B’. No matter what. Soon after, disillusioned with writing and disappointed in the college experience, she dropped out.
Shirley decided to pursue another of her talents, art. In art she found more of a challenge, feeling she did not have the advantage of natural talent she found with her writing. Though she could produce beautiful pieces, the process was painstaking and lengthy.
In her early twenties, Shirley discovered the esteemed ‘King of horror’(pun intended), Stephen King. At the time she was a single mother, working seasonally between a local marina and the ski-hill to make ends meet. She recalls not being able to afford books of her own; she would listen enviously as friends regaled her with book teasers, as she anxiously awaited the opportunity to get her hands on their used copies. She remembers waiting weeks for one book, and smiles at the profound sense of joy she felt when she finally had her hands on the copy. Her memory paints an image of her curled up in her bed on a snowy night with her book in hand at last, with her daughter put to bed, she began her literary adventure. The impact of the book lured her closer to her writing career; she longed to one day impart that sense of joy on her own readers. The book, ‘Christine’, became one of her favourite’s from King’s vast library.
Her children followed closely in their mother’s footsteps, she began reading them horror at a young age, and lovingly recalls piling blankets and pillows on the living room floor for horror movie nights.
Shirley’s love of horror never faltered though she hadn’t written in many years, she still devoured her genre in book and on film at every opportunity. She attended every werewolf film she could, though always leaving not quite satisfied. She felt she wanted more from the stories, and was left with incomplete explanations and inadequate origin stories. The film that first captured her interest as a child was ‘The Wolf Man’, first released in 1941 with Lon Chaney starring as the werewolf; she stated that following that film, any that failed to bring together the werewolf and gypsy tie, left her feeling something was missing. She yearned for that seductive dark link…
“Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.”
–Jenny Williams, The Wolf Man (1941)
This was where her motivation from Bloodline Gypsy came from.
Shirley however never put the proverbial pen to paper again until years later. She was in the middle of a popular horror book series when something finally snapped. Shirley had been on the second instalment of a trilogy when she stopped abruptly, throwing it down in frustration. She had finally had enough of consuming second rate horror that just wasn’t delivering what she craved from the genre. She humourlessly recalls stomping her way through her chores, fuming mad. Finally she picked up the phone and called a friend demanding that she help her get a computer immediately, exclaiming rather colourfully: “ I am writing my own ‘blankety-blank’ werewolf book!” Within the week, computer in hand, and a $30.00 writing program installed, Bloodline Gypsy was well under way.
It was in 2008 Shirley began writing Bloodline Gypsy, the first book in the young series. At that time she was managing the restaurant where she worked and was struggling to make time for her writing while she worked to pay her bills and care for her animals. Shirley recalls her first research trip with a smile on her face; she describes being rained out in her trusted Jeep Wrangler as she and a friend fought ‘monsoon rains’ on the trek through the Southwest. She stated she wanted to experience the trip taken by her characters, and candidly offers that so much of the book would not have happened the way it did without that trip. From the eerie encounter in Gallup, NM which gave life to Susannah’s pawn shop experience (Bloodling Gypsy chpt. 20), to the picnic that would come to serve as the location of the party at the continental divide (Bloodline Gypsy chpt. 23), the trip aided in filling out the storyline in lifelike detail.
A key piece of advice imparted to her by Ms. Malet, her Creative Writing teacher back in high school had been, “Write for your audience.” Shirley took this to heart when she started Bloodline Gypsy; she had no audience per say at that time, and so she wrote for herself. In doing so, she wrote for every horror fan who ever felt they had been short-changed at the theatre, for every reader who had waited on bated breath for an explanation that never came, a scene that was never brought to fruition, or an ending that left the reader disenchanted with the genre. She worked to fill every void that had been left vacant from years of horror consumption that had just not hit the mark.
Three years later Shirley would celebrate the completion of her first novel, while preparing to face one of her greatest challenges. In 2011, just one month after completing her book, and after months of fighting to keep the home she had worked back-breaking hours to obtain, she was evicted. As a result of the recession, her home had gone bottom-up in the market, as with so many other homeowners at the time. With no other option, she was forced to move from the life she had built, into a small trailer in the high desert. She took her four horses and five dogs, and now in her mid-fifties, she faced the notion of ‘starting over’. She decided then and there “If I couldn’t have what I wanted, I would do what I wanted!”
“If I couldn’t have what I wanted, I would do what I wanted!”
Shirley decided to forego the management position she had worked so many years for (twenty eight years total), and cut her hours back to part-time/minimum wage. She would dedicate her life to her writing.
Looking back on her loss, she now believes it to be one of the best things to happen to her. Losing her home, her life’s savings, and everything she had worked for up to that point, prompted her to pursue her dreams. She lost her life, but won the freedom to write.
However with complete book in hand, her struggles were not yet over. She spent the next year trying to get an agent and/or a publishing house to pick her up to no avail. She decided to self-publish.
One of the biggest challenges for Shirley has been the financial strain. In addition to losing her home, and the decision to cut back her hours to accommodate writing, comes at the cost of financial stability. Her decision to self-publish set her back considerably, and every spare dollar is invested into her books, for marketing and other necessities. As a self-published author, she has become a ‘Jane-of-all-trades’; often instead of focusing on writing, Shirley must continue to work her long-term job as a waitress and figure out how to be her own publicist and marketing specialist. The struggles of an author are seemingly never-ending, as she tries to get out the message that reviews can mean everything. She firmly believes the reader’s voice is number one and without the fans, there can be no success.
In contrast, the challenges are not to be outdone by the benefits of life as a writer. Shirley cherishes the relationship she has with her fans, delighting in the joy of having an audience to write for. She believes every writer puts themselves into their writing, and as a result the connections built with fans occur at such a profound level that nothing compares.
A little something you didn’t know…
Among Shirley’s multitude of talents, she is a charcoal artist. You can see her work at The Teddy Bear Restaurant in Big Bear Lake, CA and on our website. She is an equestrian enthusiast. She has four horses of her own, and had ridden competitively in the past. She is also a talented singer/song writer, and guitarist. She is a Chargers fan (“I love underdogs, I am one!”) Though nothing compares to poetic way in which Shirley discusses her craft; she describes the attitudes and colours of the words, as she pieces them together like an art form. She likens it to existing in an ‘other world’. When she is in the throes of her writing, she remarks that the tasks of daily life can seem colossal; her writing is ‘all consuming’. Perhaps because of her ability to so fully immerse herself in that other world, her readers are able to exist there right along with her when the words come off the page to pull them inside the story. Her words illicit such strong responses from her readers, that oftentimes it can be overwhelming. This is one of the things Shirley remarks she had not been prepared for, although she revels in every fan encounter.
A word of Advice…
To all the would-be writers out there, Shirley imparts the advice to research, research, research! She now feels that self-publishing was a blessing in disguise, as she holds all copyrights on the content of her books and has full control of it’s future direction. However the convoluted path it took to get her to where she is today was navigated only through immense research. She also offers that research on book covers and other authors in the genre you decide to write can be invaluable later on. Such oddities should be fully explored before committing to publishing.
To her fans, she extends her thanks. “You have totally changed my life.” Shirley pours her heart and soul into her work; despite the losses and the obstacles, she states she wouldn’t trade her story. She feels that being a writer is more gratifying then having her home, and by her own measure, the most valuable thing she has done with her life.
Looking Forward:
Shirley is a positive and livening presence; she has no notion of failure and lives each day in pursuit of her inevitable success.
“Sometimes in life, you have to choose between having what you want and doing what you want.”
Shirley has a plethora of unwritten novels floating around inside her head; she loves the supernatural, but states that not all her books will centre around werewolves and gypsies – so if you loved her writing, but the Jook and Gypsies Series just wasn’t for you, stay tuned! We have a feeling that this is just the beginning for Shirley A. Martin.
So, in parting, if you are a fan of Shirley’s work and wish to see more…please write a review, share our posts on social media, or simply tell a friend! We appreciate your unwavering support loyal reader! Happy Reading!
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Interview/Brief Biography
compiled by K. Wicks