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E. S. O. Martin accepts invitations to visit book clubs and other groups discussing Candid Family Portrait via Skype or Zoom. A book club discussion guide is available here.
Note: In print, any of these variations of my name are fine: E. S. O. Martin, Martin, Ms. Martin. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
High resolution PDF author photo for print.
Bio in various lengths
25 words
E. S. O. Martin holds an MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State University. Candid Family Portrait is her first novel. Visit www.esomartin.com
50 words
E. S. O. Martin holds an MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State. Candid Family Portrait is her first novel. E. S. O. Martin holds an MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State. Candid Family Portrait is her first novel. Visit www.esomartin.com and sign up for her newsletter to receive a free copy of “Heart in a Jar: A Short Story.”
100 words
E. S. O. Martin writes speculative fiction, gothic horror, and mainstream literary fiction with strong emotional themes and atmospheric settings. She holds an MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State. She has worked as an editor, publisher, bookseller, and journalist. Her fiction has been published in Every Day Fiction, The-Tusk, Flaunt magazine, and is being gathered into her forthcoming short story collection What We Talk About When We Talk About the Apocalypse. She was nominated for the Hazel reading series, which showcases experimental women-writers. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, son, and dog, Merlin. Learn more at www.esomartin.com
Candid Family Portrait
High resolution PDF author photo + Candid Family Portrait cover images for print.
Back cover copy for Candid Family Portrait:
By all appearances, June has the perfect life: a fulfilling career as a photojournalist, an egalitarian marriage with a man who adores her, and an apartment in San Francisco. But everything June and her husband, Vince, love about their lives and their marriage is about to be thrown into chaos when they decide to take the next big step in their relationship…
STARTING A FAMILY.
Written with humor and authenticity, Candid Family Portrait is a novel about one couple’s struggle to attain work-life balance and self-actualization in a world that is determined to force couples into narrowly-defined gender roles. Candid Family Portrait is a story about work, equality, self-actualization, and the triumphant power of love.
Reviews of Candid Family Portrait:
“Lovely writing with a hint of sass. E. S. O. Martin has written an honest and deeply moving novel about marriage, children, and female ambition.”—Elizabeth Bartasius, award-winning author of The Elegant Out
Interview Questions about Candid Family Portrait
What inspired you to write Candid Family Portrait?
Much of Candid Family Portrait has to do with how artists struggling to balance day jobs, art, and parenthood. You were parenting a young child when you wrote this book. What was your approach to carving out the time to write as well?
In Candid Family Portrait you have a section titled “Alloparenting.” Can you explain what that term means?
Can you discuss June’s character and her relationship to femininity, motherhood, and feminism?
Can you discuss Vince’s character and his relationship to masculinity and fatherhood?
The fairy tale of the selkie—a woman who can shapeshift into a seal—comes up multiple times in Candid Family Portrait, including when June’s mother tells her the story as a child, and again when June tells a modified version of the story to her own daughter as a bed-time story. Can you discuss what role this fairy tale plays in your story?
Where can people go to learn more about you and your work?