Craig Martelle

High school Valedictorian enlists in the Marine Corps under a guaranteed tank contract. An inauspicious start that was quickly superseded by excelling in language study. Contract waived, a year at the Defense Language Institute to learn Russian and off to keep my ears on the big red machine during the Soviet years. Back to DLI for advanced Russian after reenlisting. Deploying. Then getting selected to get a commission. Earned a four-year degree in two years by majoring in Russian Language. It was a cop out, but I wanted to get back to the fleet. One summa cum laude graduation later, that’s where I found myself. My first gig as a second lieutenant was on a general staff. I did well enough that I stayed at that level or higher for the rest of my career, while getting some choice side gigs – UAE, Bahrain, Korea, Russia, and Ukraine. Major Martelle. I retired from the Marines after a couple years at the embassy in Moscow working arms control. The locals called me The German, because of my accent in Russian. That worked for me. It kept me off the radar. Just until it didn’t. Expelled after two years for activities inconsistent with my diplomatic status, I went to Ukraine. Can’t let twenty years of Russian language go to waste. More arms control. More diplomatic stuff. Then 9/11 and off to war. That was enough deployment for me. Then came retirement. Department of Homeland Security was a phenomenally miserable gig. I quit that job quickly enough and went to law school. A second summa cum laude later and I was working for a high-end consulting firm performing business diagnostics, business law, and leadership coaching. More deployments. For the money they paid me, I was good with that. Just until I wasn’t. Then I started writing. You’ll find Easter eggs from my career hidden within all my books. Enjoy the stories.

Martelle’s Motivation: Staying Excited as an Author

Is the grind getting you down? The hustle of being an author? It’s understandable. In our business, there’s always so much to do.

When you feel yourself sinking in too deeply, reach for the convenient vine hanging over the quicksand. What vine? It’s the one you put there yourself. It’s what got you excited about writing in the first place. It’s the thrill of creation. It’s the joy of seeing your story come alive when others read it. It’s the attraction of money being deposited into your account. 

It’s realizing the value of your imagination. 

Peer groups can be challenging because some authors may find traction more quickly. You’ll see them move ahead with substantive careers. Maybe quit the day job. Maybe even buy a new house.

They are not you, and you are not them. Comparison-itis is the thief of joy. You can only be better than yourself from yesterday. 

I’ve written and published nearly two hundred books, yet my latest series didn’t take off. It’s technically sound, but for whatever reason, it didn’t resonate. I’m writing the last book in the six-book series while watching low sales on the first three volumes; four and five are written and waiting to go live. It’s hard to get motivated, but you know what lies beyond this volume? Spaceballs! Well, merchandising—that means an omnibus edition, which attracts a different level of reader. It means more opportunities to make money off a finished series, which is marketed differently than a series that’s ongoing. It’ll be fine. I’ll do the best I can writing this last book. I always do the best I can.

And then I’ll move on to new stories, ones that are well written and have compelling storylines. I’ve been outlining ideas the past few months. These are stories I’m jonesing to write. 

These are the vines hanging over the quicksand. A series that doesn’t sell well won’t pull me down. I have a lot more stories to tell. Because that’s what keeps me excited about being an author. No one else can tell my stories.

Peace, fellow humans.