A letter from a prison inmate

Dear Martin,

How are you and the rest of the family? Good I hope!
I have to say even though you just sent a book, it felt like when I was reading it, like talking to you—listening to a story from you. I truly thank you for thinking of me.

Torn from normal was great. It was better than great. It came alive and so sad. I’m grateful to be where I am today. I could have had it worse than I’ve had it. To hear Andy’s life tragedy makes me think life is too short to spend it away from family.

I have a son who loves me to death and it’s like why did I make the decision that I’ve made to be here, not be with him as he is growing up. It got me thinking, that I’ve got to be a part of that boy’s life, and not be dead to him, being in here. But anyways, great story, really. The best one I’ve read being locked up I will say.

So I just wanted to know, was that a true story or did you make it up? Because it felt like it could have happened, but I don’t remember you ever saying anything about that before. And even though it’s so sad, it made me feel like you brought home, away from home, to me. Thank you!!!!

Yours truly ……

P.S, is there gonna be another book? Thank you again!!

Glen Ellyn BookFest 2010

Mere days and I'll be on my way to Glen Ellyn, Chicago. The Glen Ellyn BookFest will be my first official, public appearance as the author of Torn From Normal. Preparations for my appearance in Glen Ellyn, has been ongoing for nearly one year now. Special thanks to Rosemary, from Bundles of Books & Gifts




I'm very excited to have Ophelia Julien (Echelon Press) to my side in Glen Ellyn. Present with a newly designed cover art of her proclaimed novel Saving Jake, Ophelia takes another running start, concurring the hearts of readers all ages.


We are all very excited to meet you in downtown Glen Ellyn June 19th. It will be a pleasure to speak with readers all ages and sign your personal copies of Torn From Normal.

Ryan Kelley and Torn From Normal

So if you're all scroll through my older posts, you will find Ophelia Julian guest blogging about me, Ryan Kelley, and of course Torn From Normal. My debut YA novel.






In the photo you see Ryan Kelley holding two copies of Torn From Normal.

Stay tuned as there is more, much more to come.

Mountain View, California??

No I'm not visiting California, at least not yet :-) What drives me crazy and I have to know, according to my sitemeter, every other day or so, somebody with the "Mountain View, California" location visits my blog. Whoever you are, you've been a loyal visitor and it kills me not knowing who you are. Comment or send me an email at bnzmn600@aol.com would you? The least I can do is send you a free copy of Torn From Normal if you don't already have one.

Okay, with that out of the way I can move on and apologize for not updating my blog regularly. Among skiing a lot, I've been super busy at my shop. While Torn From Normal has been selling itself, I could have, and need to do a lot more to keep spiking sales.

I like to thank all my friends and everybody else for purchasing and reading Torn From Normal.

The book trailer is still very much part of my plan for 2010. I'm trying to work out a deal with someone who would be very helpful for the trailer, but, Hollywood moves slow and I need to be patient, (chewing nails..Argh)






After two months of publication, I'm more eager today, to bring you Torn From Normal on screen, and I'm working on that as well. Very hard you should know.

Recovery, aches and changes

I've been in a lot of pain since Sunday. Somehow I pulled a neck muscle, while this wasn't the first time, this time it seemed to get better, then Wednesday it got worse. This morning I could barely get up (hey I am not that old.) Anyhoo, unable to use my right arm, without excruciating pain, I called my chiropractor office this morning. They hooked me up with a quick appointment and by 2pm I walked into their clinic, stiff as a 6ft 2X4. 3:15pm I came out doing cartwheels.

What I really wanted to share with you tonight are some changes to Martin Bartloff's blog. I have been slagging off for way too long as far as my blog goes. For as many hits I get per day, I figured the least I could do is commit and give you a new blog post twice a week.
















So here is how it goes: Effective starting Sunday July 5th, There will be a fresh teen-friendly blog posted here every Sunday. Every Sunday will be a new theme and if you like to suggest a topic, feel free to do so in form of a comment. This Sunday's teen-topic will be: A teen and his first car. Anybody, young and old, is welcome to comment and tell about their first car, buying experience, the first ride etc. If you would like to participate and write a topic for our Sundays blog, a story, or something that happen to you, that you like to share. I'm very interested in posting your story. Must be Teen related though.


















Effective today, there will be a new blog post every Thursday, regarding news and updates about my debut novel Torn From Normal. This will include everything from release date, cover art to book-tours. I will also blog about my motives and inspirations that led to writing Torn From Normal. There will be book reviews from other authors as well.

Effective now, I would like you to participate in creating a teen-friendly name for this blog. Share your thoughts and ideas in form of a comment or two.

Ooops almost forgot, when commenting, use the "anonymous" setting unless you have a google account, otherwise it won't post the comment.

--Martin

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

Excerpt "Torn from Normal" by Martin Bartloff

Aftermath partII (Andy is 12 years old here)

* * * * *

It sounded like a good idea at first when his mom enrolled him in a local soccer team.
“It will be good for you being around other boys your age.” Her eyes flew over the sign-up sheet. “You can’t spend the rest of your life playing video games in your room hon.” She flipped the page, reading glasses at the tip of her nose. Andy knew the truth though.
She wants me out of the house to work more hours.
“And it will help you move on.” She mumbled.


Willing to try Andy gave in. “I’ll go, but I’m not staying if I don’t like it.”
“You can invite Jason, maybe he would like to watch you play sometime, or who knows, he might want to enroll with you.” Andy rolled his eyes; he knew that would be a waste of time. Jason skipped gym class every week and bragged about it. “The Mitchell’s can’t afford it and Jason has a girlfriend now.”

By the time he took the field, his stomach hurt from dreading this moment for two whole days. His mom got the best cleats and his jersey was bright white. The guys wouldn't give him a hard time for looking like a reject from a second hand store at least. The coach stuck him in midfield, probably, Andy thought, because he didn't rate good enough to play fullback and he was too slow to guard the goal. That was the story of his life though, wasn't it? Never good enough to get a pat on the back, and never bad enough to have the cool factor of a rebel. Just a total geekwad.


After four weeks the cleats along with Andy’s ambition showed first signs of wear.
Everyone else had a parent come to their games or pick them up after practice. “Why can’t you stick around just this once to watch me play?” Andy squinted retrieving the gym-bag from behind the seat.
“Andy, please don’t be difficult, we’ve been through this before. I have to work the extra hours.” She checked her watch, in a hurry to get going. “And who’s gonna pick me up after practice?”
“Well how’s all the boys get home, I’m sure I’m not the only mother with a job?”
“All the other boys have dads.” He shoved the door hard, letting her have it. He wasn’t gonna look back he thought as she sped away.


When practice ended Andy stood alone discarded like an empty milk bottle.
Watching as fathers joked with their sons hurt him so bad, but he didn’t tell anyone. Instead, he hurried to start the long walk home alone to avoid seeing all those families together. Gym-bag around his shoulder, he hurried to the other side of the street. Not wanting his cleats get ruined he chose the grass by the curb for his way home.


Vans and cars with team mates inside zipped by, no one looked or waived at him. The last one slowed down, the brake lights invited him, he squeezed the gym-bag tight and sprinted in the street thinking he got a ride; instead the van crossed a speed bump and continued on down the road. Somebody had to see him he thought sucking up the embarrassment and watching the pavement change color as rain turned to hail. Only once did he get a ride home. It was pouring down rain and the coach took pity on him.

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