Welcome to the Wild World of Martin Williams

Disclaimer: This is a pillar post. If a bunch of links to my own stories isn’t your thing and/or you don’t like self-promotions, this article is not for you. I certainly get that, which is why I included this disclaimer at the start to warn those of you away from the rocks. Like a lighthouse 😁

Well, how did I get here?

– Talking Heads

Back when Vocal released the Ship of Dreams Challenge, I had no idea how that one single challenge would end up spawning my first recurring character series. A series that will, at the end of March, become my first novel A Bloody Business.

The moment is lessened a bit by the fact that this won’t be the first time I’ve seen my words in print. That honor belongs to a poem back in 2017. Still, I’m excited to have a full-length book that is mine, versus sharing space with 20-30 other strangers in someone else’s anthology. (Though you wouldn’t believe how many authors’ names I’m starting to recognize. Small literary world, apparently.)

That I also will make royalties for selling these books is also a nice touch, not going to lie.

I figure I’ll start with the executive summary of what A Bloody Business is (and is not).

Or better yet, I’ll borrow the back cover text and kick my feet up:

History meets comedy meets hitman.

Martin Williams often finds himself in deadly historical events, with a good chance his mark will die without any intervention. But professionals don’t leave things to chance, and Martin is a motivated worker for his paymasters, the Firm.

Follow Martin’s lethal career across four decades, three continents, and thousands of cigarettes. Along the way, Martin will find himself on a sinking RMS Titanic, crawling through mud in the middle of the Great War, holding the sold stocks that trigger the Great Depression, embroiled in a home-grown Communist workers’ revolution, and relaxing on a peaceful Pacific atoll the day after Pearl Harbor, to cover half the adventures within.

But as time progresses, the world descends into the Cold War, and Martin finds himself increasingly in the crosshairs of equally skilled practitioners for rival organizations. Tiring of espionage, he begins to eye retirement. But will the Firm allow their prized employee to fade into obscurity?

Or will they send Martin to join his previous assignments in the ground?

Thanks, Past Me. Always appreciate your contributions.

So, with the stage set, let me offer a few clarifications around what this book is and isn’t.

It is, first and foremost, a comedy.

It is not historical fiction.

Why would I say that given the amount of history referenced in the description? Historical fiction has a huge emphasis on accuracy. The character may not be real, but everything else in the story should be accurate to the time period. Dress, speech, behavior: you get the idea.

In A Bloody Business, the emphasis is not on the history but on the man experiencing that history: Martin Williams. And he has a completely different set of priorities. Not really a smell the roses guy, our Martin. More of a smoke his cigarette, swig from his flask, and shoot his next target kind of chap.

That said, I do my research and don’t go out of my way to introduce falsehoods or anything like that. On the other hand, one Vocal Challenge later, and time travel is now a thing in this literary universe (see “Black Thursday”).

And that’s a fun note for you fellow Vocalites: all of the stories on this site are also challenge entries. Most of them didn’t place, but there was still a great synergy where the variety of challenge prompts on the site helped drive the chaotic energy of this series. Not to mention great motivation to keep the series going while disseminating the lift of writing a book out over a year and a half. To the point it honestly feels like cheating because the effort was so spread out.

But cheating or not, it’s happening, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

On to the pillar aspect of this post. And if you know me, you know that means subheadings.

Sinking Prospects

Date: April 1912

Context: How fitting that “Sinking Prospects” is the opening to the Martin Williams book, because it’s the story that spawned him. Vocal wanted a story set on RMS Titanic, and I gave them a story set on Titanic. Little did they know what they had inadvertently unleashed upon an unsuspecting world.

Pitch: Martin Williams is a simple Englishman from poor beginnings. His one source of amusement? Gambling. However, enjoyment does not equal proficiency, and Martin’s lenders, the Firm, offer him a proposition: work for them and exchange services rendered for debts owed. Offer him a proposition after removing his pinkie and breaking several bones, that is. Join Martin for his debut adventure as he must overcome the latest of a series of inconveniences and finish the job aboard a sinking RMS Titanic in...

For King and Country

Date: September 1916

Context: This chapter was both challenging and perhaps the most fun to write out of many entertaining chapters. The challenge was that this story has been on the table almost as long as Martin Williams has existed. I knew he’d be in WWI. It still ended up being one of the last sections I drafted, because I’d referenced it so much in other stories that there was a pressure that made me shy away for a long time. On the other hand, it certainly delivers on every promise I made for it.

Pitch: His debt to the Firm paid with a trail of bodies, Martin is now a full-time salaried employee. His first paid assignment? Enlisting with the British Army to chase down a target serving as an officer on the front lines of WWI. As men are mown down and blown to pieces all around him in the meatgrinder later called the Battle of the Somme, Martin must simultaneously work to stay alive while ensuring his target leaves this world in…

The book! Buy A Bloody Business to find out what happens in this print-exclusive chapter.

Black Thursday

Date: October 1929

Context: Vocal demanded a story that featured a time traveler, so they got a Martin Williams story that featured a time traveler with a decidedly bleak vision of the future to come. Perhaps that dark prediction is why the judges didn’t warm to this one. Whatever.

Pitch: Follow Martin on another adventure as a chance encounter on the New York Subway threatens to upend his entire world view. However, he regains his focus by keeping his eye on the money—and the greedy broker he's been sent after for stealing it in...

The Lindbergh Job

Date: March 1932

Context: To quote my editor, “The eyebrow raise this title gave me is unmatched.” So divisive is this chapter that I decided to leave it out of the full book. Martin and his colleague Malcolm both give this kind of energy throughout:

After all, Vocal wanted a heist in 200 words, so it wasn’t exactly beefing up the page count. Which leaves me in the very unique situation of having a Vocal-exclusive story print readers would never see. I’ll pretend I intended it that way to reward you, the Vocalites.

Pitch: Join Martin on another adventure as he must set aside conscience and morals to complete his latest assignment in…

A View to Die For

Date: February 1936

Context: Vocal wanted a story set in a cabin in the woods, so they got a Martin Williams story set in a cabin in the woods. Perhaps they did not intend for so much wanton violence to happen in said cabin, and that’s why the judges didn’t warm to this one. Whatever.

Pitch: Follow Martin on another adventure as he must battle the winds of change by shooting his way through a mountain cabin full of Communist agents in...

The Rising Sun

Date: December 1941

Context: Vocal wanted a story about an unlikely pair that meets on a tropical island, and I produced a Martin Williams story where he runs into returning character Tessa Windsor on a peaceful Pacific atoll. The morning of their meeting just happens to be the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. You’d think our unlikely pair then shooting their way through a rifle company of invading Japanese soldiers would turn off the judges based on prior experience, but… you’d be wrong? I don’t know anymore, man.

Pitch: Follow Martin on another adventure as he finds his vacation cut short by an old friend and unexpected news: the island he is relaxing on is about to be occupied. Even more irksome, his next job is the invaders' commanding officer. Martin must once again take up arms for King, Country, and, most importantly, his next payday in...

Run for the Border

Date: August 1943

Context: Vocal wanted a story set on a runaway train where the character doesn’t remember how they got there, and I produced a Martin Williams story where he wakes up aboard a train full of Nazi deserters fleeing to Switzerland. The amnesia is thanks to a blow to the head from his now captors. Perhaps the judges did not intend to see dozens of folks mown down between marauding Allied warplanes and Martin’s own hand aboard said train. Whatever.

Pitch: Follow Martin on his next adventure as he must overcome a case of amnesia while shooting it out with Nazi deserters aboard a runaway train in...

Down on Main Street

Date: July 1946

Context: Vocal wanted a story about someone who has just discovered something awful about their partner, and I gave them a Martin Williams story where he discovers something “awful” about Tessa. Perhaps the judges did not see the fact that proper Englishwoman Tessa can impersonate an American a little too well as awful as Martin does. It’s the main source of comedy—and barely anyone dies (at least by our usual standard)! Whatever.

Pitch: Follow Martin on another adventure as he and Tessa must infiltrate a corrupt police department that rules over a town in the American South. As Martin’s American accent proves less reliable than his companion’s, they must turn to Martin’s preferred method of doing business—massive firepower—in…

The Airlift

Date: November 1948

Context: Vocal wanted a story set on a plane in midair, and I gave them a Martin Williams story set during—when else?—the Berlin Airlift. Note that though he and co-worker Malcolm do not remain on the plane the whole time, they are in midair the entire story. Perhaps this technicality is why this one didn’t take. Whatever.

Pitch: Follow Martin on his latest adventure as he finds himself aboard a plane under cover of false diplomatic papers as the C-47 ferries supplies to West Berlin during the Soviet blockade. However, the crates aboard are not full of food, medicine, and other essentials: they are full of stolen Nazi gold destined for a Russian spy ring. All crates save one with three marks, which contains Martin's trump card. As the pilots reveal that they are not who they appear to be either, Martin must hope that he's left enough air holes in the marked box—or he'll find himself on a one-way flight to his grave in…

Into the Valley of Death

Date: June 1951

Context: This chapter, as you might expect, was a tough one to write. Just how do I end a winding and expansive career like the one Martin has had? The answer turned out to be by placing him near the front lines of the Korean War and having everything go to hell in a heartbeat. The exact kind of chaos our protagonist has learned to thrive in after so much hands-on experience.

Pitch: Martin has grown wary in a world increasingly torn apart by the growing Cold War. The new emphasis on espionage and shadow wars means he is coming up against equally skilled practitioners working for opposing interests, and Martin never signed on to be a spy. The Firm has offered him retirement—if he completes one more assignment first. Join Martin as he must confront the demons of his past in…

The book! Buy A Bloody Business to find out how it all ends in this print-exclusive climax.

Epilogue: Retirement

Date: August 1955

Context: The previous chapter was the climax, so I had to provide some resolution, didn’t I?

Pitch: Without spoilers, learn what has become of the (surviving) main characters in…

The book! Buy A Bloody Business to find out what happens in this print-exclusive epilogue.