Dracula
64” x 38”/ 162 x 97 cm.
Oil on linen.
John Butler private collection
An academic painter from Vitoria, Spain. She attended the Fine Arts University of the Basque Country and graduated in 2000. Unable to find any classical art training, she moved to New York. There she enrolled in the New York Academy of Figurative Art (NYAA) MFA program and graduated in 2002.
It was during this same year that she met her mentor, Jacob Collins, the founder of the Water Street Atelier, the Hudson River Fellowship and The Grand Central Academy. To develop her training still further she studied under him at the Water Street Atelier from 2002 to 2005, where she completed her training following the nineteenth century academic method.
The technical expertise, the
considered compositions, the exceptional treatment of light and the
human form are evident and much appreciated in Martinez’s work. The
symbiotic relationship of these elements creates imagery that evokes
Romanticism and Symbolism.
Her work has the ability to recreate a dream world where magic and fantasy are part of reality.
Want a set of six(!) exclusive quote cards? Pre-order MARKED from any retailer, e-mail proof & (US only) mailing address to readjennymartin@gmail.com.
These are limited ed., 3x5 glossy beauties. Each quote is one of my very favorites, from a favorite, crucial MARKED scene. Consider it a sneak peek of the book that stole my heart and made me cry way too hard.
Pre-order campaign ends May 16th. Thanks, dearest ones!
In the wake of Mark Oshiro’s report on his experience at ConQuest, I am really fed up with the behavior of some fans and pros (NOT ALL FANS, NOT ALL PROS, sigh, let’s get that out of the way before the avalanche of indignant denials). His report didn’t shock me. I’ve seen the same behavior for years–I’ve even sometimes found it funny, but not in that context. Been on similar panels where the tone-deafness of the panelists burns.
But you know what? It’s not necessarily the fault of the volunteers throwing conventions. Audiences and panelists must hold each other accountable if fandom is going to continue as it began. ConComs are not gods. They can’t vet moderators, they can’t interview panelists about every panel topic to see if they’re qualified. They are organizers of a show for which they don’t get paid, and while they do shoulder the burden for responding to bad behavior, WE are responsible for responding immediately to the bad behavior in the first place. (I have been guilty of letting things slide, of trying to play “can’t we all get along,” of not pushing myself hard enough to be articulate and responsible. And I’m sorry. If you see me falling short or saying dumbass things, stand up and say so. I will learn and grow as a person from that discussion.)
As of 2016, SF/F conventions are 80 years old. If we want them to continue much longer, we need to take action.
So here’s my personal manifesto for 2016 and beyond.
1) I will, before the convention, ask for and review my panel schedule. If I am a moderator, I will prepare questions in advance and circulate them to the panelists if at all possible. If not possible, I will advise them before the panel if I can, and provide them with printed copies. If I’m a panelist, I will take time to find out about others on the panel.
2) If I am assigned to a panel that I’m not qualified to be on, I will ask to be switched out with someone more appropriate. I won’t just hold down a seat. There are people who can and should speak with authority. If at any point I spot someone in the audience who is better qualified, I will ask them to switch out with me because the audience is there to get the best panel.
3) I will not participate on any more “Strong Woman Character” or “Women Writer” panels. All characters should be strong, women are not aliens from Planet Female, and END OF DAMN DISCUSSION WHY DO WE EVEN HAVE IT COME ON.
4) I will not participate on any more “Why Read YA” panels, because in the wake of 15+ years of amazing, groundbreaking, bestselling work being done in YA, it’s a dumb question, and we’re dumb for asking. I will, however, happily participate in “How writing and reading YA enriches SF/F” or similar topics, because it’s kicking ass and we’re delighted to talk about the exciting work there. (I will also ask for panel title adjustments/description adjustments when appropriate.)
5) I *will* call bullshit. If you are on a panel and say inappropriate things–by which I mean, things that are hurtful, ignorant, demeaning or abusive–I will confront, in public, what you say or do. If you continue, shit will get real. Tables will flip. I am no longer going to be Texas Nice about it, because apparently that doesn’t get us anywhere.
And before someone slaps down the PC card: Funny is one thing. Humor is admittedly subjective. But making people deliberately uncomfortable and then getting angry when they don’t find you funny is quite another. I’ve observed it over and over–do something in poor taste, then angrily turn it back on the person who “can’t take a joke” and call them humorless, PC, feminist, etc. Guess what? Being an asshole has nothing to do with rebelling against PC culture. It’s just giving yourself license to be an asshole. And what’s the first rule of being a good person? DON’T BE AN ASSHOLE. It’s a low bar. If you overstep (and we all do), apologize sincerely and move on.
And btw: uncomfortable laughter from other panelists/audience is not approval. It’s self-defense.
If you want to do an R-rated panel or show, cool, conventions have always been safe space for that. People can choose whether or not to attend and know what they’re in for. But don’t drag us into it when we’re supposed to be talking about something else altogether in a general audience. And don’t drag fellow panelists who aren’t down with it into it.
6) If I see a bad situation developing at other times–in hallways, at parties, etc.–I will intervene, confront, and do what I can to prevent it from happening again. As a panelist and guest, that is my responsibility.That includes asking the person made uncomfortable if they want to report it.
So, fair warning: regional conventions, if you want me back, you’re getting Rachel Caine 2.0.
The moment the girl kneels and smoothes her cloak, Ren knows. He knows his master, the Honorable Seht Selah, Third Son of the Emperor, will choose her over all the others. This one is different.
In the spare and white-washed room, Seht sits across from her, sinking into the cushions beside the table. Before him, the girl arranges the cups, the buds, the nectar, the steam press—everything she’ll need for this little dance of formality.
This audition. Without a word, Ren excuses himself, backing away to stand sentry against the wall. He will wait here, just inside the doorway, with his hands clasped behind him. Always watching, yet somehow outside. Alert, he scans the room. Data streams crowd the edges of his peripheral lenses, but he ignores it. He finds his gaze continually drawn to the Prog.
In part, it pains him to mark her in these terms. He is a Burn after all, as vulnerable to the usual slurs. But that is what she is—a programmed girl, groomed and trained and uncommonly nurtured in this Greenhouse. Not to work in the fields or own a shop or become a well-fed wife or have children of her own, but to be the companion of some wealthy merchant or lord.
“You are Mai?” Seht asks her.
“Yes, Patron.” She nods. Not my Patron. No, not yet.
“You may begin.”
“As you say.”
There is banter, soft laughter between words, but Ren isn’t listening anymore. When she opens the ceramic press and measures out everything for the draught, Ren paces within himself, and tries to read her. She is the itch between his shoulder blades—he cannot reach what it is that sets her apart and hasn’t failed to make her irresistible to his master. Her voice isn’t high and musical. Simply…small. The grace in her movements isn’t any less deliberate. Any less calculated than it is in any of the others, is it?
She begins the ritual; first, pouring the watery nectar into the reservoir, then carefully selecting a few buds to infuse. One plump Mehta flower for honor. Three shriveled marrow blooms for strength. One measure sweet, three bitter. Nothing else. No herbs for wealth or cheer or prosperity. She closes the press.
When the steam begins to rise, Ren takes in the peculiar fragrance—the autumn scent of noonday drills, the thicket almost set to burning by the climbing sun. Endless days of marching and sparring under the stained glass leaves. Exhaustion so sweet, it erases the twitch of hard-spent muscle and merciless hours. For Ren, one breath conjures another kind of Greenhouse. The barracks. The range. The grove. All of them, a cradle for his brand of soldier.
The press sputters its last plumes. Ren turns away the memory and returns, alert at his post. At the table, the girl pours the offering into two cups. After it cools, either Seht will take the cup and drain it, signaling his intention to bid for her at auction, or he will push it away, dismissing her.
Seht has dismissed many of her sisters. In this house and in countless others.
She smiles at Ren’s master. As she always will, when Seht looks at her. She will always brighten for him, so steadfastly and so often that he will eventually forget that is what she is programmed to do. He will never know that every time he looks away, her eyes sweep toward the errant rays of light shining through the high windows. That her expression doesn’t simply fade into something blank, the way it should, outside his gaze. That instead, her brows knit in mysterious longing.
But Ren sees, and the ache comes like a foe. He twists his fingers around the hilts of his pyro swords, steeling himself against it. The blades are cool and dormant at his back, but Ren senses the heat sleeping inside them.
He cannot focus. He cannot keep his eyes from her.
She is modest. Her cream-colored shell is pulled tight to ward off the slightest glimpse of her inner robes. No turning down the collar. No cheap tricks of seduction. And that is it, isn’t it? That is her allure.
Because she isn’t really any more beautiful, is she? Yes, she is soft. Not slight, but well-curved. But her eyes are not jewels. From such a distance, Ren can only guess they are as unremarkably brown as his own. Perhaps hazel. Her hair is done up in the usual way. The top layer, from tip to root, is dark, untouched. But the locks underneath, those thick fistfuls of silk at the nape of her neck, are glossed emerald. The two-toned knot at her crown signals she belongs to this particular Greenhouse, the most prestigious in the empire. Only when the auction is over, when she leaves this honeycomb of rooms—when she finally blooms—will she take another color. A new household hue, one that belongs to her Patron.
Ren stares at the sea-foam sky and the tidal waves embroidered on his master’s sleeves. Seht raises the cup to his lips.
San Diego Comic-Con is just around the corner, and we can’t wait to share the book love with all of you! Read on for all of our author events and signings.
THURSDAY, JULY 9TH
PANELS
10 -11 am The Buffy Effect in room 28DE with Rachel Hawkins & more
12 - 1 pm The Modern Fairy Tale in room 32AB with Renee Ahdieh & more
1:30 - 2:30 pm Return of the Smitten Wordin the Horton Grand Theatre with Rachel Hawkins & more
3 - 4 pm World Building in room 25ABC with Sabaa Tahir & more
SIGNINGS
10 -11 am Sabaa Tahir, AN EMBER IN THE ASHES (will be available for purchase) in booth #1519
11:30 -12 pm The Buffy Effect panel signing at Table 6
1:30 - 2:30 pm The Modern Fairy Tale panel signing at Table 6
3 - 4 pm Renee Ahdieh, THE WRATH AND THE DAWN (will be available for purchase) in booth #1519
4 - 5 pm Return of the Smitten Word signingat Table 4
4:30 -5:30 pm World Building panel signing at Table 9
FRIDAY, JULY 10TH
1 - 2 pm SIGNING: Rachel Hawkins (grab your ticket in the morning, free copies of REBEL BELLE will be given away and copies of MISS MAYHEM will be available for purchase)
7 - 8 pm PANEL: What’s Up with Penguin! with staff discussing hot authors like Sabaa Tahir, Richelle Mead, Marie Lu, and more.
SATURDAY, JULY 11TH
PANELS
11 - 12 pm Book to Screen in room 7AB with Melissa de La Cruz (WITCHES OF EAST END) & more
12 - 1 pm Q&A Session in room 28DE with A. Lee Martinez featuring Jenny Martin (TRACKED)
2 - 3 pm Keep YA Weird with Jenny Martin, Kim Liggett & more
SIGNINGS
12:30 - 1:30 pm Book to Screen panel signing at Table 9
3 - 4 pm Marie Lu, (get your ticket Saturday morning, copies of the Legend Graphic novel will be given away and copies of THE YOUNG ELITES and the Legend series will be available for purchase.)
3:30 - 4:30 pm Keep YA Weird signing at Table 9
SUNDAY, JULY 12TH
PANELS
10:00 - 11:00 am No Cape Required: Modern Day Superheroes in room 25ABC with Marie Lu & more
11 am - 12 pm Middle Grade Spectacular in room 25ABC with Sherri Smith & more
3:45 - 4:45 pm What’s Hot in YA in room 5AB with Sabaa Tahir & more
SIGNINGS
10 - 11 am Sabaa Tahir, AN EMBER IN THE ASHES (will be available for purchase)
11:30 - 12:30 pm No Cape Required: Modern Day Superheroes signing at Table 9
12:30 - 1:30 Middle Grade Spectacular signing at Table 9
2 - 3 pm Melissa de La Cruz (grab your ticket Sunday morning, copies of TRIPLE MOON will be given away)
Jenny Martin is hitting the road and going on tour for TRACKED! Will you be able to meet her on one of the stops?
ABOUT TRACKED
On corporately controlled Castra, rally racing is a high-stakes game that seventeen-year-old Phoebe Van Zant knows all too well. Phee’s legendary racer father disappeared mysteriously, but that hasn’t stopped her from speeding headlong into trouble. When she and her best friend, Bear, attract the attention of Charles Benroyal, they are blackmailed into racing for Benroyal Corp, a company that represents everything Phee detests. Worse, Phee risks losing Bear as she falls for Cash, her charming new teammate. But when she discovers that Benroyal is controlling more than a corporation, Phee realizes she has a much bigger role in Castra’s future than she could ever have imagined. It’s up to Phee to take Benroyal down. But even with the help of her team, can a street-rat destroy an empire?
