Martha Gilstrap
Martha Gilstrap
... has been a writer all her life, passing around the latest installments of a never-finished novel in her junior high science class, long before she earned a B.A. in English.
She has surrounded herself with beauty–a daughter in her 20s, Siberian huskies, artwork by long-time friends, and interesting stones picked up from riverbeds and pastures. Her daughter and near-son currently live with her, along with a mean cat, a half-trained police dog, and a four-foot geriatric iguana.
Her family’s oral tradition claims descent from the legendary Leif Erickson, a story of which she is inordinately proud, although her mother always wondered why she’d claim “that old pirate.”
Martha has worked since she was 14. A job at the local police department in mid-Kansas was created for her; she heard of a need where no opening existed and applied. She has worked in public libraries, in law enforcement agencies, and as a legal assistant. Most recently she worked as a learning specialist for a nuclear weapons contractor, but after almost 30 years decided she’d played it safe long enough and left to pursue her writing career.
She smugly notes that her Kawasaki ZL600 motorcycle had more git-up-and-git than a 1000cc BMW, wishes she could ride horses more often, misses having huskies around the house. She once wore a bite sleeve for a Rottweiler to attack when none of the men in black belt class would volunteer. She studied Ryu-Te® Karate for eighteen years while writing, editing and publishing the international newsletter, taking Japanese language classes, and studying iaido, the sword-drawing art–in addition to a full-time job and a family.
Martha enjoys learning, reading, writing, and almost anything else interesting and challenging.
