Mr Martin Galba

As a child growing up in Slovakia, Martin’s story telling journey started at the age of three where he would learn and recite short poems to anyone who would listen. That love transitioned into almost three decades of performing on stage and in film both in Slovakia and then in Canada after immigrating here in 2000.

The journey of being a writer started in the fall of 2009 in the form of bedtime stories Martin would conjure up for his daughter Cassidy, who was the true inspiration for this book. Cassidy’s nickname had always been Zonks because she would often fall asleep, or ‘zonk out’ before finishing her bottles.

As the story started to grow, Martin began writing down the elements of the story and after over ten years of molding and shaping the text, the story of Zonks and the Gate Keepers was born. This story is a true family collaboration – with chapter heading illustrations created by Cassidy and editing by his wife Stephanie.

The book you are holding in your hands is part of a much larger story called The Chronicles of Heartland – which consist of the three-part series of Zonks and The Gatekeepers and seven novellas dedicated to each of the Heartland segments. Martin was honored for his significant contribution to the arts in Canada, and is the distinguished recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.

“I hope you will enjoy reading the story of Molly and Maggie just as much as I enjoyed writing it. At its core, this is a complicated family story that teaches us that we can’t always forget the unintentional pain caused by others, but perhaps we can find a way to at least understand why they acted the way they did and ultimately seek a path towards forgiveness.”

~ Martin Galba