Former city radio host launches second book

Two for two!

That's the exuberant feeling behind Edmonton author Sheree Zielke's completion of the second title in her Martha's Vine series in less than two years. Martha's Mirror, the sequel to the original, gets its public launch this weekend.

"I've kind of stunned myself and yet some of my readers who have done some of the pre-reading are clamouring for a third book," said Zielke, the former radio personality with CKST and St. Albert's 1070 Gold. "I'm saying, 'Do you want me dead? Do you know what that takes out of me?' Oh my God!"

She said she always conceived of this extended story as a three-book series. The conclusion is still in her head at this point, as she's trying to get through the business of promoting this new title.

Writing the book has been a kind of endurance test, requiring the willpower and the routine to write at least 3,000 to 5,000 words every day, sometimes from morning till night, she said.

"If people have ever tried that, that can be a nine-hour day to an 18-hour day depending on how the words are coming out of you. It has to be a discipline. If you allow yourself the luxury of just waiting for the inspiration – and that comes too – but it comes at the worst times like when I'm driving my car or when I'm in the shower for crying out loud. 'Stop giving me inspiration then. I have no pen!'"

The good-humoured writer can't believe the whirlwind of activity that goes behind an event like this. Since she's an independent author, she doesn't have an agent or manager or anybody else helping her behind the scenes. She's doing it all herself.

"Because you wear all the hats it becomes more gruelling than exciting. What? Isn't it enough that I wrote two books for crying out loud? Can't someone else do this?" she laughed.

"It's literally putting on one hat or pushing one pen aside and picking up another and going into another job. There's no break. There's no time where you can say, 'God, I've had enough already, somebody else just take the reins."

Life and death

Martha's Mirror picks up where Martha's Vine left off.

The original tale of post-apocalyptic Alberta is about a world with no electricity and dwindling resources, including food. No controls mean global chaos. A biker gang in Eastern Canada emerges with a leader called The Man, a power-hungry monster who has visions of being a dictator king of the new world.

A survivalist named Matthew (who calls himself the Gatekeeper) is there to stand in the way but his wife, Martha, is the real heroine. A strong-willed woman, she fights hard to defend and maintain her freedom and that of her family.

In this sequel, a battle between the peace-loving survivors and the evil bikers means that some will live, some will die, and the women and children have become commodities for the mafia on two wheels. Martha has to fight to rescue those who have been kidnapped and to protect her own adult daughters, Elizabeth and Ruth, the latter being the one whose scruffy but determined gun-toting image appears on the cover.

The big debut

Zielke will be launching Martha's Mirror this Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Chapters location in West Edmonton (9952 170 St.)

According to the Facebook page "Martha's Vine: Action/Adventure Novel," this is the only chance that fans of the series will have to purchase one of a limited number of author's editions. These will be made available on a first come, first served basis. There is only one print run of these collectible copies. After they're gone the regular first edition copies will be on sale to the general public through bookstores and Amazon.ca.

If you can't make it to the book launch, you can still buy an autographed author's edition from Zielke directly but these must be pre-purchased through PayPal before Friday. You can make contact with the author to make these arrangements via her website at marthasvinethenovel.blogspot.com or her email address at [email protected].