Welcome to the 2023 ARIA Author Showcase and Giveaway Event!
How to enter – Comment on the daily showcases to enter the daily giveaway. Comments close one week after the initial Showcase post. GRAND PRIZE drawn on Dec 8th (1 -$250, 1 -$100, or a 1 -$50 Amazon gift card. One grand prize pp) – For every showcase you post on, you automatically gain one entry to the grand prize. 30 Authors = 30 entries.
Martha Reynolds will be at the Rhode Island Author Expo
On to the Showcase!
What name do you like to write under? Martha Reynolds
Where do you call home? Right in the middle of the state
What genre(s) do you write? Literary fiction, contemporary fiction
What genre(s) were you drawn to when you were younger Was there a reason that genre(s) appealed to you the most? I loved biographies of well-known people and whatever was on the New York Times bestseller list.
What were some of your favorite books growing up? Why? “The Yearling” by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. It was already about 30 years old when I was assigned it in grade school. I didn’t think I’d like it - a story about a boy who lived on a farm. But an orphaned fawn had me in tears! It was the first novel that moved me. I read a book about President Kennedy when I was in junior high school. Someone had gifted it to my father, who felt a true bond with JFK. The book was called “Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye” and was a memoir written by two of his friends. I wanted to read more biographies after that. I read “The Thorn Birds” while studying abroad in the late 1970s. If one student had a paperback novel (in English), it got passed around. I was drawn to the saga of young Meggie and Fr. Ralph, in a land so far away (Australia). I wanted to be able to write those kinds of novels.
What are some of your favorite books today? “American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver
What inspired you to become a writer? Reading great books. I wanted to tell captivating stories that moved readers.
In a Dark Time
“In a Dark Time” is the 2023 anthology from the Association of Rhode Island Authors and features members’ prose and poetry.
Tell us a little about how “In a Dark Time” came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma or something else? This is the eighth annual anthology from ARIA members. As chair and editor of this project, I choose the theme. Yes, it was inspired by the times we’re living in, but darkness can mean many things. It can be literal (nighttime), emotional (the blues), or symbolic (good vs. evil). Our members dug deep and the result is some exemplary writing!
What do you like best about being a writer? I like to transport my readers to a different place. Many of my books are set in foreign countries, or within other parts of New England.
If you could collaborate with any author past or present, who would it be? What would the title of the book be? (If possible) - Give us a one sentence blurb. I’d love to collaborate with Irish author Roisin Meaney to write a sequel to my “April in Galway.” When newlyweds April and Bill return to Galway, they each have different expectations about what the trip will promise.
You can follow Martha Reynolds here -
https://www.facebook.com/MarthaReynoldsAuthor
Instagram - @MarthaReynoldsWrites
Martha is giving away a copy of “In a Dark Time,” the ARIA anthology. To enter comment below --> Do you read anthologies? If yes, list your favorite. If no, what has been your favorite read so far in 2023?
(Comments are open for one week)