Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Award winning author J.R. Turner about Martin Bartloff


By: J.R. Turner

I want to share with everyone a little story about Martin and me :)

Martin and I met more than two years ago. I've worked with many authors on their first novels over the decade I've been writing seriously. Some people come to me with little more than an idea, others came to me with books half a million words long (I'm not kidding.) In between there were non-fiction authors, memoirists, and even a poet a two. The challenges they offered me, in my quest to ensure I was offering the best advice possible for their vision of their work, helped me grow immensely as an author and help me grasp the nuances of many different genres. Martin, however, had two things I'd never seen before: a book that was nearly impossible to peg in any genre, and a level of passion for the storytelling that I have rarely encountered.

Many of you have seen the red flags in aspiring authors--those little tale tells hat give away their chances of becoming successful as an author. The largest for me is a lack of the maturity to understand your own personal flaws and accept them as part of who you are, or have allowed yourself to become. Martin showed incredible insight and a surprising, intuitive sense for his young adult characters--most likely because he's young at heart :)

Between his passion, this unique story, and that level of insight--I found his book was a project that excited me as well. His enthusiasm was and is contagious. I think as he learns the ropes, absorbs more about the processes of networking and marketing, and continues to grow as an author, there won't be any stopping him. I'm thrilled to have him with us, and honored to be considered his friend.



Warmly,
Jenny:)

http://jennifer-turner.com

http://jr-turner.blogspot.com/

Monday, May 4, 2009

The sought-after Ryan Kelley

My name is Ophelia Julien and I write about ghosts and the supernatural/paranormal. I believe in a lot of the unbelievable, so I don't know why I would find it surprising that Martin Bartloff, the owner of this blog, would eventually wind up becoming my friend. I mean, I believe in ghosts. So how odd can it be to have a friend who practices the Law of Attraction, writes to music the same way I do, finds connections between random events and people before those connections become apparent, and makes things happen? If he weren't my friend, he would scare me about seven ways from Sunday.


That said, Martin has also written a YA book, something near and dear to my heart, and like most writers, he has a picture in his head of the actor he would like to play the lead character if (in Martin's case, when) this novel gets made into a movie. That actor is a young man who, by some cosmic coincidence, happened to grow up in my home town of Glen Ellyn, Illinois. (Bear in mind that Martin lives about seven states away from me and we've never met face to face: I told you Martin was scary). The actor's name is Ryan Kelley, and part of the reason for this blog is to act as an APB: Do you know where Mr. Kelley is???



Martin's book, Torn From Normal, is due to debut from Quake Press (Quakeme.com) later this year. Because my writing colleague is the sort of person who really likes to get all his ducks in a row, we figured it's not too early to start trying to find Mr. Kelley so that he can consider the part. You've heard of "six characters in search of an author"? Think of this as 1.5 writers in search of an actor. We know he's out there somewhere!

And Ryan Kelley is very talented. If you've never heard of him, do yourself a favor and google "Prayers for Bobby," one of his more recent movies (with Sigourney Weaver). The trailer alone will wring your heart. If anyone can pull off this role, it would be Ryan Kelley.

So thanks for dropping by Martin's blog and reading the words of his guest writer, today. Writing and marketing that writing is very tough work, I know this first hand. Anything I can do to assist a fellow novelist, I'm very happy to do.

And hey, Martin won't mind if I do this so…

You can find me at www.opheliajulien.com

And you can find my own ghostly blog at opheliajulien.blogspot.com

Friday, May 1, 2009

No Secret, The Law of Attraction part 1



Author: Martin Bartloff

First let me say this. I’m not here to sell you anything, or make you buy my novel.
I prepared this blog solely to share my very own experience with you about the law of Attraction. It has helped me throughout my life and until this day.

What you’re about to read is based on true events, no sugar or pepper added. I will start with a short introduction then move on to what you came here for. The Secret.
Keep in mind this is only part I of a short series. There is too much to pack into one blog and I don’t want you to droop out on me. I don’t need to overwhelm you with too much information all at once. Throughout this series I will present watertight prove that the law of attraction is very present in my life.

My name is Martin Bartloff. I was born and raised in Germany. I moved to the United States in August of 1991 at the age of twenty-five. I’m a YA fiction writer and a business owner of a European automotive facility. We service, repair and sell Mercedes Benz and other European brands. My automotive business has grown to be self sufficient and I only go in to turn a couple of screws here and there and to make sure everything is running smoothly.





I didn’t always know about the law of attraction, matter of fact, I didn’t even read “The Secret” until two years ago when a dear friend and customer demanded I read the book.
I was stunned as I flipped the first pages. The book explained what I previously thought was a special connection with the almighty creator, who granted all my wishes and desires, dreams and goals since early childhood.

Thoughts become things, which is what the law of attraction is all about. I’m not here to explain the technicalities of that. You should read “The Secret” or other literature explaining the phenomenon.

I assume most of you have heard, or perhaps been introduced through other media, or the word of mouth of the law of attraction. If this is totally new to you, read on, you cannot afford to miss this.

Basically, and just to get started here, if you engage in drama, drama is what returns to you. If you walk to your mail box expecting nothing but bills. Bills is what you will receive and if you constantly convince yourself that your problems are out of your own control, then your problems will remain with you. You need to stop now and make some changes, unless you’re perfectly content with where you are in life. Are you?

I think we all have room for improvement in our lives, some more than others.
When I graduated from high school I was always told that I could not attend trade school (big deal in Germany) based on my math grades. I wanted to learn a trade where I worked, but they wouldn’t sponsor me, telling me I would bitterly fail at math. I believed it. At seventeen, my life was going nowhere. I learned a partial trade as a room decorator.
My hobbies where cars, but the thought of applying for a sponsorship to attend trade school, never even remotely entered my mind until I had built a large group of friends who brought their cars to me to look at. Still I was not able to legally work on automobiles anywhere. Not having a trade school diploma in Germany, all you can do is work at a gas station, wash windows and check oil.

There was a small repair facility outside of my town, where I took my friends cars for the annual emissions tests. At the age of twenty-two my girlfriend at the time suggested I apply there to be sponsored. It was worth a try, so I asked and was accepted despite my bad math grades back in high school. I made a ton of money working day and night and going to trade school for 3 weeks every other month. I graduated with an -F- in math, but an -A- in technical drawing which was also a main subject of automotive school.

As a child I wanted nothing more than to be self employed and own an automotive shop. Three years later and just days before my graduation, it didn’t look so good; my homeroom teacher in trade school prepared me for the worst. He said my math grades were likely to cause me to fail, meaning I would have had to tag on another 6 months and try again.
In the mean while I had plans to spend the money I made traveling the United States and stay until my funds were depleted. I visited a psychic-just out of curiosity. She was from another town and knew nothing about me. Rumors had been that she was outstanding.

I never forget sitting on the sofa, expecting to see a crystal ball any second now. Instead she sat there sifting through random pictures she requires with any customer. I even tricked her and mixed in a picture of a person I didn’t even know.

“I see no relevance to this person.” Then she went on, telling me things she couldn’t have known. And then came the big one. “You’re going away very soon after you finish something that has been on your mind. Worry no more, it will end in your favor.”
Then she explained I was going away right after and not come back. Wow, I didn’t even know that at the time. She warned me about tropical weather where I was going, how it was dangerous and I should me on the look out.

On graduation day I overslept, came in two hours late. I thought that was it and saw myself going to school for another 6 months. That afternoon I finished first and received my diploma as an Automotive Technician (big deal in Europe.)
Two days later I was packing my stuff, got on the plane to the United States. I told my family that I will not come back until my funds were gone. Five years later I opened my own business in Virginia, Today I have five employees.

End of part 1

--Martin

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