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,WORK TITLE: Taking on Lucinda
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.frankmartorana.com/
CITY:
STATE: NY
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Children: three.
EDUCATION:Graduate of Cornell University Veterinary College.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, novelist, and veterinarian. Cazenovia Animal Hospital, Cazenovia, NY, veterinarian.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Frank Martorana grew up in upstate New York and always wanted to be a veterinarian, especially after working for one when he was young. In addition, his family raised Golden Retrievers as hunting dogs. In school, Martorana noted on his home web page, he did well in science classes but did not excel in the humanities, including writing and literature. After graduating from veterinary college, Martorana planned on working for a veterinary clinic for a year or two before embarking on his own. However, he loved his job so much he remained there.
Martorana started to write when his three children were in grade school. He was reading crime novels by John D. McDonald and Dick Francis, as well as some of Larry McMurtry’s novels. He decided to write a mystery novel, received numerous rejections, but finally broke through with his debut titled Taking On Lucinda: A Kent Stephenson Thriller. Martorana told Colgate University Bookstore Times website contributor Lauren Cassulis that he wanted to create a “page turner” that included “arson, murder and mayhem” while also shedding “a good light on our profession.”
Taking On Lucinda begins with Aubrey Fairbanks, a Hollywood starlet, coming to the small village of Jefferson in upstate New York. They are not there to vacation. Rather, Aubrey and the others are protesting a local cosmetic company’s animal testing practices. Not everyone in Jefferson is happy to see the starlet and company because the cosmetics firm is the largest employer in Jefferson. Meanwhile, Kent Stephenson is the local veterinarian and lifelong resident of Jefferson. Having recently gone through a nasty divorce that also resulted in him essentially losing his daughter, Kent has withdrawn from the world as much as possible in small town. He is content on caring for the animals he loves and who love him unconditionally, especially his coon hound, Lucinda.
Kent’s older brother, Merrill, is Jefferson’s chief of police. However, their half brother, Maylon, called May-May, is something of a misfit and lawbreaker. Merrill ends up recruiting Kent to help keep things quiet in town via negotiations between the starlet and the cosmetic company. For some time, Kent had a crush on Stef Copithorn, CEO of the cosmetic company. However, the vivacious and sexy Aubrey has caught his attention, which does not bother Stef because she has recently come out as being gay.
Aubrey and her crew are not in town all that long when a wing of the cosmetic company building is burnt to the ground in an obvious case of arson. Suspicion immediately falls on the Aubrey’s Hollywood organization Freedom of Animals Movement, or FOAM. Kent thinks he has been double crossed by Aubrey, with whom he has begun to have a relationship. The small town of Jefferson faces even more upheaval when a local journalist, who was formerly the police chief, supposedly commits suicide. Kent’s mother, the wheelchair bound June Stephenson Mays, was a friend of the journalist and believes the man was murdered. Kent agrees to look into the matter while asking her about May-May’s activities since he has gotten out of prison.
Another murder then occurs, and this time it is a member of Kent’s family. Furthermore, more and more strangers have been coming into town just as Kent’s animal patients start to disappear. Kent soon has help in defending Jefferson. Although their relatinship has been up and down, Aubrey is dedicated to helping Kent find the murderer or murderers and stopping a cult that is connected to the animals’ disappearance.
“Martorana produces a compelling story starring an engaging hero,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor who went on to note: “A vet with investigative chops and his loyal coonhound make an appealing duo in this origin story.” A Publishers Weekly contributor called Taking on Lucinda a “promising debut” and pointed to the “memorable characters and plotting.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2018, review of Taking on Lucinda: A Kent Stephenson Thriller.
Publishers Weekly, March 19, 2018, review of Taking on Lucinda, p. 56.
ONLINE
Colgate University Bookstore Times, http://blogs.colgate.edu/bookstore/ (February 16, 2018), Lauren Cassulis, “Taking on Lucinda Book Launch.”
Frank Martorana website, http://www.frankmartorana.com (August 3, 2018).
BIOGRAPHY
If you’ve read many author biographies, you are aware that most authors knew at a young age that they wanted to be writers. That’s not the case for Frank Martorana; he never wanted, or expected, to be a writer. In fact, the thought of him as one would make his old English teachers chuckle, for sure. From the time he stopped wanting to be a cowboy, all he ever wanted to be was a veterinarian. He loved, and did well, in science classes, especially biology. Humanities, like literature and writing? Not so much. It’s strange how things work out.
Frank grew up in upstate New York. That’s the beautiful part of the state that is selfishly kept secret from downstaters whom consider anything north of Yonkers to be like darkest Africa. Not knowing about its fantastic lakes and rivers, forests and mountains, farms and orchards — that’s their loss.
Growing up, Frank’s family raised Golden Retrievers. Back then they were actually hunting dogs. With his dad and brother, they hunted pheasants, partridge, woodcock, and ducks — all noble game for retrievers. Truth be told, they occasionally let the dogs flush a rabbit or two, for a little variety. They also hunted deer, and fished for anything that would take a worm, shiner, or dry fly. There were a few sheep and a horse or two around, as well. But the experience that piqued Frank’s interest in animals was working for Stanley E. Garrison, a veterinarian and local legend, in Burnt Hills, New York. Dr. Garrison also owned a dairy farm, and growing up with cows and farm life provides some of Frank’s best memories.
Frank graduated from the Veterinary College at Cornell University one year after marrying the love of his life, Ann Marie. The plan was that he would hire on in a practice for a year or two, make his “rookie mistakes” under their reputation, and then start a practice of his own. To that end, he joined the Cazenovia Animal Hospital, a thriving central NY mixed cattle, horse, and pet practice. The only problem is — he never left. Over the years he progressed from being the rookie in constant need of mentoring, to the old man who has mentored a handful of bright young veterinarians that followed after him.
Frank’s writing didn’t start until his three children were in grade school, and he decided he should set a good example by doing “bookwork” while they wrestled with homework. At the time, he was reading authors like John D. McDonald, Larry McMurtry, and Dick Francis, so he figured he’d write a mystery novel. While the kids did homework, he wrote Simpatico’s Gift. He shopped it around to a bunch of agents and got his obligatory pile of rejection letters. So then he wrote Taking On Lucinda and got similar results. Undaunted, he wrote The Color of Wounds. But by then, indie publishing had come of age, so he took control of his own destiny.
Now, when he’s not working on his next book, he’s still treating animals, fly fishing in the Adirondacks, or making wine.
If you’ve read many author biographies, you are aware that most authors knew at a young age that they wanted to be writers. That’s not the case for Frank Martorana; he never wanted, nor expected, to be a writer. From the time he stopped wanting to be a cowboy, all he ever wanted to be was a veterinarian. He loved, and did well, in science classes, especially biology. Humanities, like literature and writing? Not so much.
Martorana grew up in New York's Capital District —mostly in Colonie and Burnt Hills.
When he graduated from the Veterinary College at Cornell University, his plan was to hire on in a practice for a year or two, make his “rookie mistakes” under their reputation, and then start a practice of his own. To that end, he joined the Cazenovia Animal Hospital, a thriving central NY mixed cattle, horse, and pet practice. The only problem is— he never left. Over the years he morphed from the rookie in constant need of mentoring, to the old man who has mentored a handful of bright young veterinarians that followed after him.
Taking on Lucinda is Martorana's debut mystery/thriller. Books two and three in the Kent Stephenson Thriller series are titled Simpatico’s Gift and The Color of Wounds. They will follow soon. For updates visit frankmartorana.com.
Taking on Lucinda Book Launch
BY LAUREN CASSULIS ON FEBRUARY 16, 2018
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Join us at the Colgate Bookstore on Saturday, April 14th at 1:30pm for a book signing and presentation by local author and veterinarian Frank Martorana. The cruelty of dog fighting, veganism vs. a meat inclusive diet, the credibility of veterinarians who enjoy hunting, and even the very notion of pet ownership, are hot button topics Frank Martorana weaves into his new novel, Taking on Lucinda. And it all happens while the reader enjoys a wild ride, as protagonist veterinarian, Kent Stephenson, battles to protect the people and animals in his town from a cult that thrives on all that animal lovers despise.
Dr. Martorana says, “My primary goal was to write a page-turner, with all the requisite arson, murder, and mayhem, but I also wanted it to shed a good light on our profession. By the time I looked up, I had a three-book series, The Kent Stephenson Thrillers.” (Books number two and three are complete and currently in production.)
“Martorana produces a compelling story starring an engaging hero…descriptions are strong. Both sides of the animal rights controversy are well-presented. A vet with investigative chops and his loyal coonhound make an appealing duo in this original story.” — Kirkus Reviews
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Print Marked Items
Martorana, Frank: TAKING ON
LUCINDA
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 15, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Martorana, Frank TAKING ON LUCINDA VinChaRo Ventures LLC (Indie Fiction)
In this debut thriller, a fire destroys the research wing of a rural upstate New York cosmetic corporation's
headquarters, casting suspicion on the animal rights activists who recently protested at the company.
Kent Stephenson's older brother, Merrill, Jefferson's chief of police, enforces the law, and their misfit half
brother, Maylon (nicknamed May-May), has been known to break it. Kent, a small-town veterinarian
always in the company of his coonhound, Lucinda, focuses on doing the right thing, especially when it
comes to animals. Kent once had romantic feelings toward Stef Copithorn, CEO of the cosmetic company
that's crucial to the local economy. Aubrey Fairbanks, field representative for the Hollywood-based
Freedom of Animals Movement, is in town organizing a protest against animal testing conducted by Stef's
company. Kent's attraction to gorgeous Aubrey is a professional, not personal, concern to the now openly
gay Stef. The two women disagree vehemently about the humaneness of animal welfare codes. When a
blaze obliterates the cosmetic company's research wing, suspicion falls on FOAM, and Kent feels duped--at
least for a time--by Aubrey, with whom he's begun a relationship. During Kent's visit with his wheelchairbound
mother, June Stephenson Mays, the two discuss the fire and also the supposed suicide of a wellknown
local journalist. June does not believe the man--her dear friend--killed himself; she says it had to be
murder, and Kent vows to find out if she's right. He also questions her about his jailbird half brother's recent
activities and ponders their legitimacy. Kent finds more to investigate when a family member is apparently
murdered. In addition, dogs in the town, disappearing occasionally at first, start to vanish in record
numbers. Can Lucinda remain unscathed? Martorana produces a compelling story starring an engaging
hero. The author also introduces notable characters like June, with her "matchstick legs," "kittenish white
hair," and no-nonsense attitude. At one point, she tells Kent that May-May's "got his father's wickedness."
Descriptions are strong, such as the account of how police cars are clustered at a crime scene: "The lot was
jammed with official vehicles parked at all angles, the way cops like to do." Both sides of the animal rights
controversy are well-presented. But the depictions of abused animals could be upsetting to some readers.
A vet with investigative chops and his loyal coonhound make an appealing duo in this origin story.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Martorana, Frank: TAKING ON LUCINDA." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A530650617/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=23f27633.
Accessed 14 July 2018.
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Taking on Lucinda: A Kent Stephenson
Thriller
Publishers Weekly.
265.12 (Mar. 19, 2018): p56+.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Taking on Lucinda: A Kent Stephenson Thriller
Frank Martorana. VinChaRo Ventures, $13.50
trade paper (283p) ISBN 978-0-99893-260-6
In Martorana's promising debut and series launch, veterinarian Kent Stephenson, who lives in Jefferson,
N.Y., is shocked to learn that Aaron Whitmore, the upstate village's former police chief, has been found
dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. Kent can't believe that Aaron committed suicide.
Shortly before he died, Aaron, who became a journalist after leaving the force, told his mother he was
working on a story that he feared would hurt her. Meanwhile, Kent joins forces with his brother, Merrill,
who succeeded Aaron as police chief, to solve an arson case after a fire guts the research wing of Copithorn,
a local company that tests cosmetics on animals. Copithorn was the recent target of a group of animal rights
protesters headed by sexy celebrity Aubrey Fairbanks ("Testosterone gushed like toilets flushing, pouring
into the bloodstream of every man in the place, when Audrey stepped into Kolbie's Tavern"). The
memorable characters and plotting will appeal to Paul Doiron fans. (BookLife)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Taking on Lucinda: A Kent Stephenson Thriller." Publishers Weekly, 19 Mar. 2018, p. 56+. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A531977348/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b58b35bd. Accessed 14 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A531977348