Author Interview - Marta Burden

Anne: There will be a very special book released this evening, West Line Encounter. I get to review it tomorrow, and I'm betting I get to introduce to you someone you don't know tonight--the author, Marta Burden. I met Marta at a writer's conference a few years back, and we've been friends ever since. The better I get to know her, the better I like her.

Now to the interview. She sits down in the flowered wing-back chair with a mug of coffee, smooths her skirt, and smiles...

My friend, tell us what inspired this story.

Marta: I follow a Jewish Orthodox gal on social media. She has a large family and shares about the day-to-day goings on from her heart. I enjoy her take on life, so I used her family to build my story around.

Anne: Sometimes people write their story as though to a particular person--who did you tell this one to?

Marta: This story is written to the Jewish community as well as believers who want to understand the Jewish community better.

Anne:. Other than Joshua (the elder), who is your favorite character? Why?

Marta: That's a hard one. I'd have to cheat and say both Seth and his wife, Rivka. Seth is caught between his Orthodox upbringing and his heart. Rivka is that gracious, understanding lady I strive to be - you know, the one that everyone loves to be around.

Anne: Are you one who plans out your book (plotter) or writes by the seat of your pants (panster)?

Marta: (Laughs) Definitely a panster. I've tried to plan a book. In fact, I'm struggling with a short story now by that method. It's not working. The more I try to plan, the more frustrated I become.

Anne: When did your characters "come to life" for you?

Marta: This dovetails into the last question. I find that once I've met my characters and given them names, then as the story unfolds in my mind, they come to life. Seth, Joshua, and Rivka became "real people" as we walked through the story together.

Anne: When did you know you wanted to be an author?

Marta: When I was around eight, I wrote a story called, The Mystery of the Giant Foot Prince. Funny thing - my spelling wasn't the best. It was supposed to be Prints, not Prince. Evidently I quit writing the story after a few pages and tucked it in a box. I found it when I was in my teens and had a good laugh.

I loved to write - took creative writing classes, waxed eloquent in journals and such, but the thought of writing a book seemed impossible...until my first endeavor, Martha's Place, was planted in my mind one night. That's a long but fun story for another time. I realized, as my critique group read my submissions and pronounced them good, that I wanted to be an author. I was doing the impossible.

Anne: I can't wait for Martha's Place to come out. I was privileged to read a prepublished copy of that. So--tell us a little about your next book.

Marta: I have several irons in the fire. I'm in the process of editing a few short stories based on encounters with Yeshua (Jesus) from a Jewish perspective. I also have a short story which I'm turning into a novella called Abba's Promise about a Jewish girl living in London right after WWII. And then there's Martha's Place. Book 1 is completed, book 2 is in edit and I'm creating book 3 when I have a few minutes to think in between life and my other projects.

Thanks for letting me share my literary life with you.

Anne: It was my privilege and honor, Marta. Thanks for being here.

Other ways to you can see more about Marta and even chat with her (click on the blue writing--they're all links):

Marta's Journey
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