An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir April 2016 www.dfmagazine.ie 8 | I t's been 14 years since Martin Malone left the Defence Forces before changing career path. He had been a long term contributor to An Co- santóir and already had two novels published. One of which won the John B Keane/Sunday Indepen- dent Literary Award and was shortlisted for the Irish Fiction Award, alongside the likes of Anne Enright (Man Booker Prize) and Joseph O'Connor (Star of the Sea). In addition, he had landed a deal with a major international publisher... so the roses were in full bloom. Although everything appeared to be flourishing, within six months of leaving the DF the wheels fell off the literary wagon. It would be similar to going outside to find each of your tyres, including the spare, punctured. One moment you have Salman Rushdie's editor praising your work to high heaven and beyond, a novel that was given a star rating by The Bookseller, eclipsing that year's Booker prize-winner, interviewed in front of a live audience by RTE news reporter Bryan Dobson – and the next you're won- dering what else could go wrong. A lot as it turned out; a TV deal fell through, a new novel declined, and a mixture of things went awry in his personal life. Aside from those, there were the first year blues – that discon- nect, when you leave behind a career that had been a huge part of your life for 21 years. There is a wrench – no matter how well prepared you think you are to push on. This transitional period needs to be endured until the corner is turned, and turn it does. But a year can be a dreadfully slow turning. Martin never regretted leaving the Defence Forces, had he gone without having a pension, it would have been a different story. It was there to fall back on when the creative juices stopped flow- ing and money dried up from the literary well. Not writing, writers block, under pressure in all sorts of ways... Martin took on any sort of work go- ing: security, warehouse, car parking until he picked up the pen again, writing two short stories that yielded prize money of about €6,000. The two main questions he gets asked are, How much does it cost to publish a book? – "To date, I don't know I haven't had to pay to see my work in print." How much do you make from writing? - "My first three books earned about €28,000 (4 years work), roughly three times more than the last seven books put together. Of course, radio work, articles, stage, bring in money, but none of it is regular. Bursaries from the Irish Arts Council also put ink in the well, so then in relation to the whole writing game: you write because it's in you. But you do hope money will arrive, at least enough of it for you to justify the hours and weeks and months and years that you devote to the craft; because writing is a sponge that soaks up time." Martin went to Trinity College as a mature student, to earn a degree in the Philosophy of Cre- ative Writing. Without a primary degree, his writing CV booked his ticket. Whatever future job market he had in mind his plans to do a Masters, flew through the window when the economy crashed. The degree, however, allowed him to engage full-time with a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course. This qualification, recognised by the Dept of Education, allows him to teach English as a second language, which he does part-time for about five months of the year. Martin has travelled a lot since leaving the DF, India a couple of times, invited guest on three occasions to Verona. America too beckoned, and a job offer in Japan had to be declined because of a health issue. A common question he is asked, "Did your military life help discipline wise, when it came to having and sustaining a daily schedule?" His answer is always in the positive, "I think being in the DF taught me the importance of resilience. I think that's one of the gifts it imparted." The above is just a brief overview of a former soldier's life; Martin is the author of Black Rose Days - just published by New Island Books, priced €13.95, 256 pages, ISBN: 978-1-84840-517-2, March 2016 (http://newisland.ie/). with Martin Malone Martin Malone Martin completed five tours of duty in Lebanon, and one in Iraq.

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