MARTIN, Gail Gaymer

PERSONAL:

Born in MI; married second husband, Bob Martin; children: two stepchildren. Education: Wayne State University, B.S., M.Ed. Religion: Lutheran. Hobbies and other interests: Traveling, singing, reading, music.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Lathrup Village, MI. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Steeple Hill Books, P.O. Box 5190, Buffalo, NY 14240-5190. E-mail—martinga@aol.com.

CAREER:

Former high school English teacher and guidance counselor; Davenport University, Kalamazoo, MI, adjunct instructor in English and public speaking.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Writer of the Year award, Detroit Conference of the American Christian Writers, 1996; third place, A Dark and Stormy Knight Contest, Iowa Romance Writers, 1997; American Christian Writers prize, 1997, for story "The Mahogany Rocking Chair"; National Readers' Choice Award finalist, and Holt Medallion Award, both 2001, both for Upon a Midnight Clear; National Booksellers Best Book Award second place, 2002, for Her Secret Longing; Book of the Year Award, American Christian Romance Writers Conference, and Romantic Times Best Love-inspired Award, both 2002, and Winter Rose first place, 2003, all for A Love for Safekeeping; Blue Boa Award third place, and Holt Medallion Award, both 2003, both for Loving Treasures.

WRITINGS:

Kneel before the Babe: Four Christmas Services for Worship Planners, CSS Publishing (Lima, OH), 1996.

Come, See the Wonder: Four Complete Christmas Programs for Schools and Churches, Standard Publishing (Cleveland, OH), 1997.

Seasons, Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 1998.

Through the Eyes of a Child: Six Worship Services and Dialogues for Advent through Epiphany, CSS Publishing (Lima, OH), 1999.

Dreaming of Castles, Heartstrong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 1999.

Upon a Midnight Clear, Steeple Hill Books (Buffalo, NY), 2000.

Secrets Within, Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 2001.

Her Secret Longing, Silhouette (Buffalo, NY), 2001.

Over Her Head, Heartsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 2002.

A Love for Safekeeping, Steeple Hill Books (Buffalo, NY), 2002.

Let's Pretend, Silhouette (Buffalo, NY), 2002.

Loving Treasures, Steeple Hill Books (Buffalo, NY), 2002.

Loving Care, Steeple Hill Books (Buffalo, NY), 2003.

Loving Ways, Steeple Hill Books (Buffalo, NY), 2003.

Out on a Limb, Hearsong Presents (Uhrichsville, OH), 2004.

Adam's Promise, Steeple Hill Books (Buffalo, NY), 2004.

Also author, with Lenora Worth, of Easter Blessing, Steeple Hill Books, 2003. Also author of We Give You Thanks and other collections of programs for churches.

Contributor to anthologies, including Home for Christmas, 2001, The English Garden, 2001, German Enchantment, From Italy with Love, 2004, Hidden Motives, 2004, and That Christmas Feeling, 2004. Contributor of articles and short stories to magazines. Contributing editor, Christian Communicator.

SIDELIGHTS:

Gail Gaymer Martin writes Christian romance novels in which she combines her religious faith with stories of love, difficulty, suspense, and hope. Martin told online interviewer Anne McDonald of Dancing Word: "I give my characters deep back-stories that are difficult things they struggle with—that touch on their faith—things they are ashamed of and things that need improvement and ways they need to grow as a Christian."

Martin's first novel, Seasons, tells of Sally Newgate, a new widow who joins a Christian support group to cope with her emotional turmoil. There she meets and is attracted to Brad Mathews, a widower with two small children. When Brad's daughter resents her presence in Brad's life, Sally must make a decision about the future of their relationship. The story's resolution depends on Sally's willingness to listen to what her faith tells her.

Dreaming of Castles finds Spring Dalton moving to Heidelberg, Germany, to pursue a career in art. When she meets Matt Sherman, both are interested in a relationship, but both also have problems from their past. Spring, long overweight, cannot believe that Matt is genuinely interested in her, while Matt has his own guilty past that leaves him feeling unworthy of love. ShellyCarol Castellanos, reviewing the novel for Writers Space online, concluded that "if you enjoy inspirational romances, this is definitely the book for you."

In Upon a Midnight Clear Callie Randolph, a nurse specializing in caring for the elderly, decides to change her career and work as a home nurse for a young girl with special needs. The girl, withdrawn since her mother's death, and her distraught father, soon attract Callie's sympathies. Melanie C. Duncan, reviewing the novel for Library Journal, praised the book's "realistic background" and predicted that "series fans will enjoy this."

Martin combines suspense with romance in the novels Secrets Within and A Love for Safekeeping. Secrets Within tells of Laine Sibley, who has moved back home to care for her terminally ill sister Kathleen as well as Kathleen's young daughter Becka. The sisters cannot escape the troubled nature of their relationship, however, and when Kathleen dies, she leaves many unanswered questions about her past life. Laine soon finds herself surrounded by deceit and lies as Kathleen's friends and Laine's new neighbor all seem to be something other than they claim to be. Lesa Boutin in Dancing Word called Secrets Within "an intriguing, suspense-spiked romance." In A Love for Safekeeping Jane Conroy returns to her hometown to begin work as a schoolteacher. She soon finds herself stalked by a stranger who sends her threatening letters and even vandalizes her classroom. When local police officer Kyle Manning investigates Jane's problem, the two find themselves romantically drawn to each other. But the stalker seems to be motivated by a secret from the past, a secret involving Jane's late policeman father and Kyle's pastor father. Linda Mae Baldwin in Dancing Word stated that Martin "has masterfully woven faith, love and suspense" in this novel. Duncan, writing in Library Journal, admitted that Martin's "latest novel will delight old fans and win new ones." Tracy Farnsworth of the Romance Readers Connection concluded: "This is an exceptional story that should not be missed!"

Martin explained to Sandra Moore of the American Christian Romance Writers Web site how she develops a story: "Stories live in my mind and heart—moving from bones to flesh—until I am driven to write it down on paper. A variety of things trigger a story from a title idea to characters in conflict to a setting. Then it grows. I always know my beginning and ending—and often conflict points—but exactly how I get there happens as I write, although I do begin with a synopsis to try to keep me focused." On her home page, Martin explained: "Writing inspirational romance combines two important elements of my life: the love of a man and woman—and their love for the Lord."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, September 1, 2000, Melanie C. Duncan, review of Upon a Midnight Clear, p. 186; April 1, 2002, Melanie C. Duncan, review of A Love for Safekeeping, p. 86.

ONLINE

American Christian Romance Writers Web site,http://www.acrw.net/ (October 6, 2003), Sandra Moore, interview with Martin.

Dancing Word,http://www.dancingword.net/ (February, 2001), Anne McDonald, interview with Martin; (October 6, 2003) Lesa Boutin, review of Secrets Within, and Linda Mae Baldwin, review of A Love for Safekeeping.

Gail Gaymer Martin's Home Page,http://www.gailmartin.com (May 15, 2004).

Romance Readers Connection,http://www.theromancereadersconnection.com/ (January, 2002), Tracy Farnsworth, review of A Love for Safekeeping.

Women on Writing,http://www.womenonwriting.com/ (October 6, 2003), Vickie McDonough, review of Easter Blessing.

WriterSpace.com,http://writerspace.com/ (May, 2000), ShellyCarol Castellanos, review of Dreaming of Castles.*