Martin Marais

Website: martincmarais.wixsite.com/author

Twitter: @MartinCMarais

Facebook: @MartinMaraisAuthor

As a child I was a voracious reader, but mainly of non-fiction and, living in South Africa, I had a particular interest in books about African wildlife, such as “Operation Rhino”. As an adult I now read more fiction than non-fiction and my favourite novels include; Watership Down (Richard Adams), The Killer Angels (Michael Shaara), Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (John Boyne), Twelve Years a Slave (Solomon Northup) and Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry).

I have always wanted to write a novel, but for many years could not find a style or subject that enthused me sufficiently to put the time aside to write one. I have a great interest in history and one day picked up a copy of The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. It is a wonderful telling of the Battle of Gettysburg and it provided me with an idea for the structure of my novels and also the subject matter. My debut novel, The Battle of Paardeberg: Lord Roberts’ Gambit, the story of a key battle of the Boer War in 1900, was the result.

My first western novella, The Bounty Hunters (written as Martyn C Marais), came to me during a sleepless night. It is inspired by the Spaghetti Westerns I used to watch as a child. It is the first in a series of potentially five stories about a pair of alienated Bounty Hunter cousins who meet unexpectedly in a remote cattle town.

When I am not writing or reading I enjoy photography, cycling and the red wines of South Africa and South America.