Holiday Guest Spotlight: Martin Wyatt

AUTHOR BIO:

I’m an unusually social, creative, and fun loving ex Chartered Accountant.

Being retired and only in my 50s has given me the time and opportunity to do what I have always wanted to do. I have been able to finally really express my creativity by sharing the places and stories on time travel and science fiction I have always encountered and enjoyed within my own mind.

“You, an accountant?…you’re not a typical accountant!”.. is a phrase I’ve heard a hundred times. I love people, not maths or logic. I have always wanted to help people and improve lives. But I was a rebel. I carried a beating heart on my sleeve. I would kick against the rules. I was a non-conformist. To my chagrin, life and my career buried my humour, resolve and personality. Living in tram-lines that were not my manufacture, I was forced to become what society understood. Now I am free to be Martin Wyatt again. Criticised for sporting an ear stud as ‘not what a chartered accountant does’, now I can pierce what I want.

I am blessed to have five talented and beautiful children. I have wonderful, precious twin granddaughters. My best friend, apart from my wife, is Chloe my companion in life, my dog. I’m an avid Oxford United fan.

AUTHOR Q&A:

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

MW: It was when I was just 15 years old. I wanted to train to be a journalist. My career’s master counselled against it. It was not to be for another 40 years before I wrote seriously. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant. 3 years ago I contracted a very rare blood disease (1 in 100,000) – it caused me to have 3 strokes – as a result I am deaf and lost the ability to walk. My eyelid was stitched to my cheek as I scratched my left eyeball – I have lost sensation on the left side of my body. I had to retire from work aged 55. I contracted another disease which affects only 3 people every year – my nose has bled constantly for the last 3 years. It has rejuvenated my passion to write. I love it.

How long does it take to write your book(s)?

MW: 2-3 months for a 60,000 word novel.

What is your work schedule like when writing a book?

MW: It depends on my mental state. Sometimes I start writing at 6 a.m. – some nights I go on until midnight. If I fight the procrastination – I do on average 6 hours a day topped up by a lot of black tea.

Where do you get your ideas or information for your book?

MW: The stroke has awakened my imagination. I have no idea why my brain has switched on this area. Where the ideas come from is a mystery. Research comes from reading online articles and reading books.

When did you write your first book?

MW: 3 years ago I started – I self-published last year. Since then I have written 5 further manuscripts. One was self-published. One is to be self-published within the month. The others I am holding in abeyance.