Leonide Martin Interview

What made you want to write this book?

I wanted to write a series about ancient Mayan queens. The Mayan culture fascinates me, and I lived in Yucatan, Mexico to study them and visit ancient ruins there. I learned that women had important roles, some as rulers or "warrior queens." These real historic women were the most powerful in the Americas during their time, but almost no one knows about them. The dynasty of the famous Mayan city Palenque placed particular emphasis on their women rulers and  queens. This inspired me to create a fiction series based on their lives. Four queens received most attention in Palenque's history, and the four books of the "Mists of Palenque" series are about them. This book, The Prophetic Mayan Queen: K'inuuw Mat of Palenque is the last in the series. Each book stands alone and tells a complete story of one queen. I was eager to write this book, so the series could be finished and I could bring everything to closure.

Where do you get your storylines from?

The history of Palenque, as recorded in hieroglyphs carved into stone panels or painted on murals, is the basic frame for my storylines in this series. I want my stories to be historically accurate, so I follow the timeline for events and the information archeologists have about the people living then and shaping events. There is a lot of research about the Mayas, and Palenque's dynasty is well-documented—at least the men. There is much less information about the women, and this is where my author's imagination comes in. Taking the known facts, I fill in with fictional happenings to explain and link these facts. The personalities, desires, goals, fears, doubts, motives, and reactions of the characters all must be interpreted, and appropriate emotions added. To fill out stories, I need to create some fictional characters also. It's important to add some spice with family conflicts, love triangles, betrayals, and hurdles to overcome.   

Was this book easier to write than others? Why?

Yes, it was easier than the first three in the series. I had experience creating scenes, fleshing out characters, describing settings, and building into the stories some tension, conflict, inner realizations, and character development. But, there was less known about this queen, K'inuuw Mat, than any of the other three. I had relatively free reign in creating her background, family circumstances, personality, talents, aspirations, and choices. It was fun to make her quite different from the other queens, especially her devotion to Great Mother Goddess Ix Chel and her triangulated relationship with two royal brothers in the dynasty.

Do you only write one genre?

When I began writing books about the ancient Mayas, I would have said "yes," the genre is historical fiction. Now I've learned that my books spread into other genres. Historical romance is certainly there, because each Mayan queen has love relationships. These are especially prominent in the current book. Fantasy or paranormal fiction also fit, because the Mayas were shamans and magicians who traveled between dimensions and interacted with Underworld demon gods, sky deities, and star ancestors. These otherworld beings were part of their every-day lives. Paranormal abilities are a big part of the main character's story. My books can be called Visionary Fiction, since they include spiritual themes and perspectives, including consciousness expansion and mysticism.  

Do you have a specific place or setting where you write?

I write at my computer in my office which is shared with my husband. It's also our TV room

and has a high-end audio system. When he's at his nearby computer, or watching TV or listening to music, you might think I'd get distracted. But, I don't since I have an uncanny ability to concentrate. When I'm in the world of my novels, the outer world just disappears. Sometimes this annoys my husband, or my cats who rub against my legs trying to get attention. I can leave writing to feed cats, or respond to an urgent question, but I'm immediately immersed again when I return. When traveling, I bring my tablet and can write most anywhere, even with waves lapping on white beaches of Mexico.

Describe what made you want to be a writer?

I've always loved to read, and my favorite genres are historical fiction and mysteries. Writing came naturally to me, starting as a pre-teen penning Western stories in a spiral notebook. My university career required publishing books and articles. It came easily to me and I enjoyed writing. The idea of writing fiction sprang up when I was nearing retirement. I wanted to share my fascination with the ancient Mayas with others, and realized more readers would be reached by fiction than by textbooks. I hope you'll be drawn to read this book, and experience the Maya's exotic, advanced, and astonishing culture full of pageantry and mysticism. Thanks so much for your time.