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Charles Martin
Charles Martin earned his B.A. in English from Florida State University and his M.A. in Journalism and Ph.D. in Communication from Regent University. He served one year at Hampton University as an adjunct professor in the English Department and as a doctoral fellow at Regent. In 1999, he left a career in business to pursue his writing. He and his wife, Christy, live a stone's throw from the St. John's River in Jacksonville, Florida, with their three boys: Charlie, John T., and Rives. When he's not writing, Charles fishes with his boys, works in the yard with Christy, coaches t-ball, and kneels by his boys' bed at night. Right now, the boys are praying for two things: a boat "with space for a cooler, three or four people, and five or six rods" because they're not catching any fish off the neighbor's dock, and "daddy's book."
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Charles Martin Answers The Faithful Fifteen
May 2006
 Charles Martin has written the acclaimed Christian titles THE DEAD DON'T DANCE and WRAPPED IN RAIN. In this interview Martin discusses from where his ideas for his latest book, WHEN CRICKETS CRY, stemmed and describes the impact he hopes his work will have on readers. He also recalls some of his favorite moments in classic novels and shares a touching experience he had with a fan.
Writing
FaithfulReader.com: Could you give a brief summary of your latest book?
Charles Martin: WHEN CRICKETS CRY is the story of a nine-year-old girl in need of a heart transplant and the doctor she finds to help her. In a sense, it's the story of two transplants: one physical and one emotional.
FR: What role does faith have in the book? What inspired you to write it?
CM: I'm amazed by the heart. Fist-sized, it pumps over a hundred thousand times a day, every day, without a break. It's the original Energizer bunny. How do we thank it? We smoke and drink like fish, feed it everything from doughnuts to steak and buffalo wings, deprive it of sleep and exercise, and then expect it to tick like a Timex. (My weakness is wings.) Seems an odd way to treat the very thing that keeps us going. King Solomon, the wisest man on the planet, said "it's the wellspring of life." He also said to "guard it above all else." Seeing the contradiction in my own life, I started tinkering with an idea.
FR: What do you feel your calling is as a writer?
CM: I'm not sure I can answer this, but this is what I hope --- sometimes when I meet people, they seem cold, like their hearts are calloused, covered up in a shell that they've erected to protect themselves, mostly from life. If my books could shake off the scales, smooth the callouses, filter down in through the hurt to the tender meat inside and stir hope, then my stories will have done what I'd set out to do.
FR: Who are your favorite authors and mentors? How have they influenced your work?
CM: I'm attracted to scenes in literature more so than entire works. Some of my favorites are: when Huck sits on the raft and deliberates whether or not to set Jim free, finally saying, "alright then, I'll go to hell," and when Robinson Crusoe wakes on the beach, shipwrecked, a castaway, knowing he can't get himself off that island and that he is a man in need. Second to that would be the scene in which, after many years on the island, he sees a fresh footprint that is not his --- a moment of extreme fear and absolute hope. Beautiful. There are others.
FR: Do you have any favorite stories of encounters with readers?
CM: I was sitting in a restaurant last summer, about midnight. I and a few other writers had just finished an all-day seminar. Glassy-eyed, we were toast. One of the guys who had joined our group asked, "Would you sign my book?" I knew he was a fan, knew he'd read everything I'd ever written, and yet we'd never met until that night. "Sure. Absolutely." He walked to his car and returned with his book. Standing next to the table, tears streaming down his face, he handed me a galley copy of my first novel, THE DEAD DON'T DANCE. The spine was creased, maybe even taped together, most every page in the book had been underlined or written on --- it looked like a textbook from a used college bookstore. He laid it on the table, and managed, "This is the book that got me over the death of my daughter."
Spirituality
FR: Tell us about your personal faith journey.
CM: I think the Lord would rather have us wrestle like Jacob and scream at the top of our lungs than say nothing at all. I'm no Jacob, but I'm good at a couple of things --- showing up, coming hungry and crying out. My knees are calloused and scabbed --- mostly from falling. Given that, the rest of my story is one of mercy and forgiveness poured out on me.
FR: Who are your spiritual mentors?
CM: My parents.
FR: What is your current church community involvement?
CM: Christy and I, along with about thirty other families, started a church last year in inner-city Jacksonville at the City Rescue Mission. It's a real melting pot --- black, white, addict, single-mother, broken father, searching kid. We number about 300 now. We love it.
FR: What are your Scripture reading habits? Prayer habits?
CM: I'm better at praying than reading, but I could use improvement in both areas. I read to the boys in the morning before school. Psalms, Proverbs, Gospels, we skip around. Most of my heroes are found either in the New or Old Testament so I try to share that with the boys --- make it real, rather than just words on an old page. And we pray about most things, most all the time. If Ephesians 6 is true, then the battle for our lives is a spiritual one. I'm working on living this rather than just writing about it. When they get older and look back, I pray they see this.
FR: If you had one message for Christians today, what would it be?
CM: Show up, come hungry, and cry out.
Life
FR: Tell us about your family. Spouse? Kids?
CM: I'm a fifth generation Jacksonvillian. Christy and I married in '93. We have three boys: 8, 6, and 3.
FR: Do you and your family have any special traditions?
CM: We like eating whipped cream straight from the can --- the kind with the spray nozzle. Got one in the fridge right now.
FR: What are some of your favorite hobbies and activities?
CM: Cycling. It helps me keep my sanity. And I coach my sons' baseball teams. Ocassionally, I write.
FR: What are your media habits? Television? Movies? Music? Etc?
CM: Because I hate commercials, I'm a flipper. While Christy reads at night, I flip. Drives her crazy. For news, I read the Wall Street Journal and get the rest online. As far as music, my tastes vary. When I write, I'll listen to stuff without words --- everything from Bach and Mozart, to George Winston and Enya. There is one exception to the no-word rule --- Celine Dion. She amazes me.
FR: What excites you about life?
CM: Everything Christy...and hearing my sons pray.
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WHEN CRICKETS CRY
MAGGIE