About Martini Fisher:
I graduated from Macquarie University, Australia, with a degree in Ancient History. I have written a few books, all relating to world cultures, history and mythology. “Wayang: Stories of the Shadow Puppets,” is based on the traditional puppet shows in the island of Java. It’s a compilation of ancient stories of Javanese creation myths all the way up to the first kings. “Songs from a Mountain,” is a novel, also based on East and South East Asian history. I wrote “Time Maps” Dr. R.K Fisher, analyzing the world from the very beginning, examining theories of evolution and other beliefs on the subject, before discussing Biological Evolution in details. He’s a mathematician, so it was an interesting partnership with his sense of precision and my curiosity.
What inspires you to write?
I have a pretty extensive background in history. I came from a family of history buffs, and I got a degree in the subject, so I’m always very interested in the past. One day, I was writing a report for one of my subjects in university and my professor wrote in his comment, “try to look at an event with the eyes of the time.” and I realized that a lot of misunderstanding about history, and a lot of what makes some historical novels really uninteresting is that the writers would look at something like The story of Emperor Nero or the fall of the Roman Empire from the eyes of a 21 century writer. So that comment always stuck with me and became the basis of a lot of my writings.
Tell us about your writing process.
Research is very important for me. And a lot of drafts. For “Wayang: Stories of the Shadow Puppets” and “Time Maps” I have hundreds of notes that I have accumulated, as well as translations etc. The tricky part is to put them together in a proper sequence. That’s where the drafts come in. I have a big board on my wall that I use to stick my paragraphs or sections on so I can move them around when I think it’s necessary. When I get the sequence/plot I want, then I’d start looking at the finer details.
What advice would you give other writers?
I have spoken to a lot of people who say that they always wanted to write, but they never seem to be happy with what they’ve written. Please do not let that stop you. It’s like hearing your own voice on a recording sometimes. it sounds good in your head but not so much when you hear it. And that’s okay. That’s what drafts, revisions and editors are for. And if your writing is shockingly bad when your best friend wouldn’t even answer your calls after reading it, think of it this way: before you can write a good story, you need to write a bad story. Before you can write a bad story, you need to write a story.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I started with self-publishing. I found that it gave me more control. I would also recommend that for new writers, because then they can see for themselves if what they’ve been doing, as far as writing, promoting and so on, works for them. It’s a better learning experience, I think.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think that with the rise of ebooks, book publishing has become a very competitive field. As a writer, you now have the option to self-publish, self-promote and build your own network. It’s great in a sense that it puts you in the driver’s seat and hold you accountable for your own success, but you really need to get yourself educated on how to do that effectively. As a reader, you will have all these options of reading materials. Again, great. But now is the time to be more selective, because there are more books out there and some of them may not be so good.
What do you use?: Co-writer, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: non-fiction, fiction, historical fiction
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Link To Martini Fisher Page On Amazon
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit, to allow you, the reader, to hear the author in their own voice.
