Once again I am disappointed not to be able to find time to read a book. I just loved the sound of Sam Martin’s latest and, although I’m struggling to keep all the plates spinning at the moment, I simply had to invite Sam onto Linda’s Book Bag to tell me all about it. Luckily, Sam agreed to stay in with me!

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Sam Martin

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Sam and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve chosen Bitterblue. It is the latest of my three novels, published at the end of July 2024. I’ve chosen it because it is my latest book, and also because it is my very best work. At least, that’s how I think of it. My previous two novels both picked up book awards, and they are both film projects – one in development, and the other (a Czech-German co-production) in pre-production. But as a piece of work, Bitterblue is what I’m most proud of – and the one I surprised myself with the most.

That must be an amazing feeling Sam. I think authors do develop over their writing. And congratulations on the film projects for your other books too.

What can we expect from an evening in with Bitterblue?

You can expect a bit of a roller-coaster ride and I think you’ll get one because Bitterblue is a multi-narrative/multi-plot, multi-genre novel which weaves in and out of its cast of characters’ lives as they are confronted with their various conflicts and concerns which ‘life’ and circumstances have thrown up at them. In parts emotional and moving, in others thrilling, and at times not without its humour – Bitterblue is light – it is dark – it’s all the bits in between. If you have ever seen Robert Altman’s movie ‘Short Cuts’ you might get a rough idea of what the Bitterblue world of my book looks like…. maybe.

I haven’t seen the film but I love books that cross genres and don’t fit neatly into one aspect. Bitterblue sounds just my kind of read!

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I wrote Bitterblue partly, but not all, in Marrakesh with the hotel rooftop terrace as my office and the all-out attack on the senses which the colours and never-ending din of the Medina below me provided, and with the Atlas mountains as a backdrop (although the novel has nothing to do with Morocco). I’ve brought along the only photograph which I have of my laptop, with the text of Bitterblue as I was working on it visible – and alongside it, what the work eventually ‘became’ (i.e. a physical book to hold and read). ‘Creation’ and ‘product’ together, if you will.

And I’ve brought along a whole lot of hope that you might like my story – or “stories”, because Bitterblue is a tapestry of stories woven together to form its ‘whole’.

I think Marrakesh’s blend of sensory experience sounds the perfect backdrop for writing a muliti-strand novel Sam. I love it there.

And importantly, I’ve brought along a heavy heart, which is a part of me because it is a part of the territory when you’ve had someone who you love so much hit with the fatal hammer which is motor neuron disease – and Bitterblue is part of my quest in life to raise money for the scientific research into an illness which the scientists sadly have no clue about. What I earn from my work – from film, from books – is part of my fight. If someone like yourself wishes to join the battle too – however small a role it might be – however seemingly insignificant – then you have my eternal gratitude. And if in years to come, someone can say “I once had motor neuron disease”… “had” – past tense – meaning that there really is a cure for the most cruel of fates – then you’ll have played a part in that, and you can feel proud about yourself. And on behalf of all those who have to suffer, you’ll have my ‘thanks’.

Oh goodness Sam. I am so sorry to hear this. I’m including the link here to the Motor Neuron Disease Association site in case any readers would like to make a small donation. It must be something that is with you constantly. 

It is Linda. It’s something which has come to shape and direct and influence my own life and what I do with it at every single moment.

Thank you so much Sam, for staying in with me to chat about Bitterblue and in so doing to raise awareness of a terrible disease that affects not just the person but their friends and family too. I hope our staying in together will go some way to helping.

Let me give readers a few more details about Bitterblue:

Bitterblue

Love and hate―a beautiful combination. These emotions consume Liam MacMurray as he struggles with the question, “What do I do about Nina?” But is Liam really who he says he is?

“Bitterblue” is a unique, multi-plot, multi-narrative roller-coaster that takes readers on a thrilling journey with characters forced to make decisions that challenge their beliefs and principles―even life or death choices, like the one Liam must face. Enter this gripping tale where nothing is as it seems, and every twist makes you question the true nature of love and loyalty.

Published by Arrow Gate in paperback on 30th July 2024, Bitterblue is available for purchase in all the usual places including here and directly from the publisher here.

About Sam Martin

Sam Martin is an author and screenwriter from the north east of England. He has written three full-length novels: Pictures Of Anna and One Day In June, which won first prize i.e. the Gold Award at the US 2023 BookFest Awards and was shortlisted for the Hemingway Awards in the US. Bitterblue is his third novel.

Sam’s last movie ‘Stand Up’, directed by Timo Jacobs, picked up 62 major awards at international film festivals in 2021, including Best Picture at the New York International Film Festival and in LA/Beverley Hills. It received its premier and nationwide cinema release in Germany in June 2022. One Day In June is also in pre-production as a movie project.

F0r further information, find Sam on Goodreads.