About Me
James Conroyd Martin set aside his screenwriting ambition when a friend asked him to read the 1791 diary of his ancestor, a Polish countess. He realized that a novelization of the diary was what was needed. While teaching English Literature and Composition, he worked for years on the project before St. Martin’s Press purchased Push Not the River.
While he was taking an art course in Los Angeles, the professor’s informed discussion about Empress Theodora prompted him to consider her as a subject. While Push Not the River was being prepared for publication, he started work on Fortune’s Child. St. Martin’s suggested a sequel as a follow-up instead. Who was he to argue? In this way, Against a Crimson Sky and The Warsaw Conspiracy followed, completing the family saga. The Polish translations sold extremely well.
Next, the hussars at the Battle of Vienna—when King Jan Sobieski and his Winged Hussars saved Vienna and Eastern Europe from the Ottomans—caught his interest. The Boy Who Wanted Wings is the story of an orphaned Tatar youth adopted by a Polish family. His two wishes in life are to romance a Polish count’s daughter and to become one of the legendary Polish Winged Hussars. Neither option was open to him—but fate can be capricious.
Martin never forgot Empress Theodora, and so returned to the project from long ago. Theodora has been described as a sixth century Eva Peron. The BBC has rated her the 35th most important woman in world history. She was not only a power behind the throne, but she also became known as one of the first a feminist leaders. One novel was not enough for Theodora and her husband Justinian. The duology Fortune’s Child and Too Soon the Night was born.
Then came a novel based on the life of Countess Marie Walewska, whose interest in Napoleon was strictly patriotic, whereas his interest was more personal. Marie became his mistress and bore him a son at a time when he himself thought he was sterile. Her love for him outlasted the relationships he shared with both of his wives.
Along the way, Martin penned a paranormal ghost story that takes place in a spirit-inhabited house in Hammond, Indiana. Iconic science fiction writer Piers Anthony, who almost never writes blurbs, praised Hologram: A Haunting for its originality.
The author’s current work-in-progress is under wraps. Stay connected.
Martin has retired from teaching in Chicago and now lives and writes in Portland, Oregon. He holds degrees from St. Ambrose and DePaul Universities.