Authors Supporting Authors: Marty Baker

I know I said I was going to not write introductions to these blogs anymore but when I interview someone who holds a place in my heart such as Marty, I have to say a few words.  I met Marty when he sent me an e-mail for an interview on my blog.  That was about a year ago (I think.)  Since then, Marty and I have had many conversations from "how's your day" to "I need some advice" to "I really need to talk."  Even though I've never met Marty in real life, I know that he's always there if I need him and vice versa.  

I fell in love with the book that he and his co-author, Fran, are working on and hope to be published.  It's about bi-polar disorder told by a person who has it and a friend who sees it.  I've never heard of a collaborative book such as this and I think it's going to help SO many people when it's published.  Not just help people with bi-polar disorder but other mental illnesses.  Those of us with mental illnesses don't know what it's like watching us from the "outside" and I think it's extremely brave for Fran and Marty to share their story.  Love you!







1. What is your name?
Martin Baker (call me Marty!)

 

2. Where are you from?
I was born in Liverpool on Merseyside and lived there until I was eighteen. I studied pharmacy at Bradford University and lived in Norwich and London before settling in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the north-east of England.

 

3. What genre are you in?
I published a book of my poetry. I’ve written articles and short stories in the fantasy genre, and a goth novella, Playing at Darkness, set in and around Tynemouth Priory and Castle. I’m currently writing on a non-fiction book with my best friend and co-author Fran Houston, who lives in Maine. Our book is about what it is like to be a good friend when your friend lives with bipolar disorder.

 

4. Please list your books and the year of publication.
Collected Poems: 1977–1984, (2008). “Romantic and bittersweet, this collection traces my journey through school and university to life in the real world beyond.” It is available for Kindle and in print..

 

5. Do you have any weird/strange habits when you work?
When working at home in the evening I have a habit of exclaiming “Woop! Woop!” when the writing’s going well (I’m not revealing what I exclaim when it’s going badly, use your imagination!) Having researched this a little, it seems a bottle of stout enhances the quality, and frequency, of the said “Woop!”s.

 

6. Do you prefer writing or typing?
I have always loved writing by hand. I’ve kept a journal since I was fourteen years old (I am 54 this year) and still write ink-on-paper letters to friends on a weekly basis. My pen case holds four fountain pens (black, red, blue and purple).

I used to have a Palm PDA handheld which was wonderful for writing short stories. Using the stylus on the screen approximated to a pen or pencil on paper and allowed my thoughts to flow much more readily than at the computer. Far less practical for editing, though. I used to transfer my files to the computer, edit them there, and put them back on the Palm to continue writing.

These days most of my writing is done at the PC, or on my Chromebook, but there’s still a place for hand-writing (also known as scribbling!) Taking notes from other books, including my own journals, is usually easier on paper. Large-scale reviews and “sweeping” changes are simpler working on printouts than on screen.

 

7. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received about life, writing, or anything?
“Be aware of the stories you tell yourself, especially those that begin ‘I’m not the kind of person who …’”

Some such stories may still be valid (“Marty, you’re not the kind of person who attempts to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel”). Most, though, are little more than strategies we’ve evolved to keep from expanding our horizons. They deserve to be challenged now and again.

“Marty, you’re not the sort of person who’d do a charity zip-wire from the Tyne Bridge.”

“Marty, you’re not the sort of person who strikes up conversations with strangers in coffee shops.”

“Marty, you’re so not the sort of person to be writing a book about mental illness.”

Well actually, it seems I am just such a person! So, be aware of your inner stories, and maybe rewrite a few! It is very liberating!

 

8. If you could pick one place to write for the rest of your life, where would it be?  (For example, mine would be on the beaches of Hawaii)
I’m not too concerned about the specific location. (Not a beach in Hawaii though, far too hot and sandy!) I’m thinking a coffee shop. Not too busy. A cosy corner table in sight of the door or by the window. Free wifi and recharging points for my phone and Chromebook! I change my favourite coffee shop now and again: currently it’s Caffé Nero, St Mary’s Place in Newcastle.

 

9. Does your family/friends read your books?  If so, what do they think?
I have had great feedback from family and friends to my one published book of poetry, and enormous support on all fronts for the non-fiction book I am writing about supporting a friend with mental illness. That is a topic which affects so many of us, individually and as a society, and most of those I know fully support what I am doing.

 

10. Share one thing that would surprise people!
I once banged my big toe! Okay that’s arguably not so very surprising, I imagine most of us have banged toes at some time or other. Bear with me. This was years ago, on holiday with my wife and two young children. I pushed off from the shallow end of the swimming pool, misjudged the depth and kicked the bottom of the pool hard! “Pam...” I called out. “I’ve banged my big toe!” My wife collapsed in hysterical laughter! It wasn’t that she was unsympathetic, she just found the words and situation funny! To this day I only have to say “I’ve banged my big toe!” to reduce her to a giggling mess!

 

About the author
Martin Baker (“Call me Marty”) lives in the northeast of England. An ASIST trained Mental Health First Aider and a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Mind, and BipolarUK, Marty is passionate about mental health. He is active online and runs the social media for Gum on My Shoe. In June 2015 he will complete a zip-line challenge for UK homelessness charity Crisis. Marty and his best friend Fran Houston are currently seeking a literary agent for their non-fiction book about how to be a good friend when your friend lives with mental illness.

 

Links

Email: martin.baker@hotmail.com

Web / blog: www.gumonmyshoe.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Marty.Baker.Author  (personal page)

Facebook: www.facebook.com/GumOnMyShoe  (book page)

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GumOnMyShoeBook

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/martinbakerauthor

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/Marty_Baker

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Baker/e/B004QTBFMS#

 

Excerpts
untitled three

 

i think i’m

            falling

into friends with you:

allowing my affections leave

to flower

although i know you won’t be mine

(like all the rest)

still maybe in you i’ll regain

a little love lost on the way.

 

i feel i’ve found a newfriend

in you   .someone to think fondly of

speak fondly to, afraid though i

might hurt you   (like the rest)

by coming on too strong   .but

then you seem to like me,

made my world by phoning

            writing.

said you’d spend a day with me

 

a night …   i think i’m

                        falling

into trust with you,

or something deep as pillows

            soft

as your breathing   ,perilous

& tender

as one kiss i did not dream

 

and then you left me, like a dream

i had not kissed goodbye.

but on your promise of return

i think i’m

falling

into love again.

firstvisitor, my newfriend

let me fall for you

gently,

requiring only gentleness.  

 

Excerpt from Collected Poems: 1977–1984.

 

 

Sunshine and rainbows

Life is not all sunshine and rainbows. If it is real, if it has any depth, any meaning at all, then there are going to be edges and raw places. We have walked in some of those places, Fran. We are walking in such places now. It is not my job to protect you from them, just as it is not your job to protect me. It is our job, as friends, to be there in the darkness and the pain, so that we know we are not alone.

This book is about what it’s like to be in a relationship with someone with illness. More accurately, it’s about what it’s like for me and my best friend Fran, who lives on the other side of the world and has bipolar disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. It is an obvious thing to say, but being friends with someone with chronic illness, especially mental illness, isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Despite Fran’s courage and humour, and my natural (some might say pathological) optimism, there is much that challenges us. Mania, depression, chronic pain, fatigue, and suicidal thinking are part of Fran’s life, and we face them together.

Excerpted from work in progress.