Friday, October 19, 2012

This weeks LexiCon Spotlight Author, Warren Martin.



  Hi, Warren. Thank you for taking the time 
to talk with me today.




Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I served 21-years in the United States Army retiring in 1996, am a Veteran of the Cold War and was a Green Beret.  I was born in Baltimore, my parents divorced when I was young and I had a four year stay (1962-66) in Ireland and then returned to and grew up in New York City, where I attended St. Stephens of Hungary Elementary School and Power Memorial Academy High School. 
I joined the Army in 1975 and met my wife Debbie, we had three children and traveled extensively as a military family.  While in the Army I served in the Infantry, Military Police and the majority of my career in Special Forces.  After retiring from the Army I transitioned into business and spent the next 10 plus years working for Domino’s Pizza as a Regional Manager in Seattle, Philadelphia, and later became a Domino’s Pizza Franchisee.
I recently earned an MBA from the University of Michigan and am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Business and Organizational Leadership from Northcentral University.  I live in St. Louis Missouri with my wife Debbie of 35 years and pursuing writing, research, teaching, and participation and support of fraternal, charitable, professional and other organizations.



When and why did you begin writing?

I always had the writing bug and remember growing up in NYC, watching TV and writing scripts, none of which went anywhere other than my imagination, but still at a young age I had imagination. It was about five years ago when a spark was rekindled by my son who asked me to read some of his stories.  A combination of my son’s writing and my wife’s encouragement were the major inspirations that kick started me into writing and to put ideas, experiences and thoughts to paper.

What inspires you to write and why?

My first book is considered a historical fiction, a Cold War POW story, which was inspired by a combination of historical events, personal encounters and travels, and a personal desire or maybe impulse to draw attention to a specific cause.  While my first book is fiction and entertainment for the reader, my underlying hidden message is to draw attention to the issue of what I consider Forgotten Soldiers, the POW/MIA’s who never came home. The first book and future books I plan on writng are all inspired by some kind of social issue which either needs to be never forgotten or needs to be addressed.  

Why did you choose to write this particular book?

We’ve all seen the books and movies about the Cold War, Vietnam, and prisoners of war, like the Rambo movies or Chuck Norris Missing in Action movies.  They are all entertainment, but no matter how they have been received, they do accomplish one thing and that is creating attention to what by many is not a believable sceniero, but to many others it is indeed very believable.  I felt that I could present a entertaining story, written in a manner that the reader would ask “Did This Really Happen?” which many readers have already done. The subject of POW/MIA’s is an issue I believed had been forgotten, especially since the end of the Cold War, and is a subject that needs to be remembered, and resolved.

How did you come up with the title?

The title was rather to come up with considering the subject of the book, which itself is about a forgotten era and forgotten people in our history. Forgotten Soldiers just seemed to fit, and the fictional character name of Jacob Walden was also a good fit, and was representative of those who served during Vietnam and the Cold War

Have you started another book yet?

I have started another book project and also have several concepts for other books.  My current project is tentatively titled “Operation Green Light” which is a Cold War action story which takes place in 1989 about a Green Beret A-Team that finds themselves behind the Iron Curtain and must figure out a way to get back home, while avoiding starting World War III. 

What do you do when you are not writing?

Most of the time I find myself always writing, although not book writing, but with my current PhD. studies keeping me deep in research and writing.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

In five years I envision having transitioned into teaching and lecturing Business Management and Leadership while also devoting time to my book writing activities and continued participation in charitable, professional and fraternal type organizations.  Even in the event that my books are widely and famously accepted, I would likely not deviate too much from what I have envisioned. 



How and where can we purchase your book?

Autographed Paperback can be purchased from my website and also through links on my blog

Paperback and Kindle e-books can be purchased through the Amazon site http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007WMQWGK

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