Bookpleasures.com welcomes as our guest Marty Essen whose latest book, Hits, Heathens and Hippos has recently been published.

Marty Essen began writing professionally in the 1990s as a features writer for Gig Magazine. 

His first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, won several national awards, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune named it a “Top Ten Green Book.”

Marty's second book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico, won four national awards.

His novels, Time Is Irreverent, Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not Again! and Time Is Irreverent 3: Gone for 16 Seconds are all Amazon #1 Best-Sellers in Political Humor. Hits, Heathens, and Hippos is Marty's sixth book, and like all of his books, it reflects his values of protecting human rights and the environment—and does so with a wry sense of humor.

Marty is also a popular college speaker, who has performed the stage-show version of Cool Creatures, Hot Planet on hundreds of college campuses.

Good day Marty and thanks for taking part in our interview.

Norm: What has been your greatest challenge (professionally) that you’ve overcome in getting to where you’re at today?

Marty: I’m not the kind of author that can write for the market and crank out thrillers or romance novels. Instead, I write to change the world. Or, more realistically, change a small corner of the world.

Since my values include protecting the environment and human rights, I sometimes rub certain people the wrong way.

Where I am, in the United States, I have to be careful to whom I market my books to. If I market too broadly, I will get angry one-star reviews from Trump-supporters and conservative Christians for putting my politics into “their book.”

And this happens despite me openly warning potential readers that I’m a liberal author, and that if they find such values offensive they should seek out something else to read. To overcome that challenge, I’ve really had to hone my book-marketing skills.

Norm: At one time you were a music talent agent. What does a music talent agent do and how do you become one?

Marty: I was both an agent and a manager. As an agent, I would get the bands I represented gigs in nightclubs, fairs, festivals, and concert venues. As a manager, I would handle their entire careers, from their visual image to choreographing their shows to their press and publicity.

As for how to become an agent or a manager: Some colleges offer talent agent/management degrees.

But In my case, I was working as Minnesota’s youngest DJ, at KQDS-FM in Duluth, and the general manager there had previously been the manager for Tommy James and the Shondells and the U.S. agent for The Who.

We became friends, and when he got fired from the radio station, I talked him into taking me on as a partner and opening a new, Minneapolis-based, talent management agency. Essentially, I was able to learn on-the-job from one of the best in the business.

Norm: Where did you discover ‘new’ artists for your roster?

Marty: I used to hit the nightclubs, looking for talent. Also, after my business partner and I split up, I formed my own agency, and became known in the industry. At that point musicians and bands would seek me out—usually with a demo in the mail.

Norm:  How much impact can a bands online profile (social media, website, etc) have on the success of a tour?

Marty: It’s been a while since I was in the music business, but as a lifelong music lover, I know that the bands I listen to and see in concert are very strong on social media.

Norm: When talking with promoters, what sort of ‘news’ (ie album release, award, press piece, etc) helps you get them interested?

Marty: Albums, awards, and press all help, but mainly promoters are interested in one thing: “Will the act fill the house?”

Norm: How has the Internet, if any, changed the business of a music talent agent?

Marty: I think it’s a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that the internet has made worldwide communications much easier. The bad news is that digital downloads and streaming take a huge bite out of album sales, which, of course, a manager gets a cut of.

Now live shows are more than important than ever.

Norm: What do you think is the future of reading/writing?

Marty: I think the major publishing companies will get even less creative than they are now and pretty much cater exclusively to celebrity clients. As a result, more and more talented and creative writers will publish independently.

Norm: Do you think about your reading public when you write? Do you imagine a specific reader when you write?

Marty: I don’t imagine a specific reader when I write, but I certainly think about readers in general. “Will this make them laugh? Will this make them angry? Will this make them cry? Will this make them care?” That sort of thing.

Norm: Do you write more by logic or intuition, or some combination of the two? Please summarize your writing process. 

Marty: I write both nonfiction and fiction, so it depends on what kind of book I’m writing at the time. Nonfiction is easier, because I’m writing about something that has already happened.

Fiction is harder, because I’m writing about something that only happens in my brain. Other than having a general idea of where I want the story to go, I don’t plot out my novels ahead of time.

Sometimes I feel as if my characters take over my fingers and type the story for me. For instance, in my first time travel novel, Time Is Irreverent, I planned for snarky lesbian Nellie Dixon to die in a timeline change, but my characters wouldn’t let her go—she was just too much fun. Somehow they figured out how to save her without a deus ex machina, and Nellie is now the lead female protagonist in the series.

Norm What do you think most characterizes your writing?

Marty: Passionate belief in what I am creating.

Norm: Could you tell our readers something about your most recent book, Hits, Heathens and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer?

Marty: With my latest book, I’ve returned to nonfiction. People often tell me that I’ve lived an unusual life, and that they wish they could do what I have done, so I wrote a book that reflects that—with both stories and advice.

Norm: Where did the title come from?

Marty: In addition to being a talent manager, I was also a mediocre baseball player and the owner of an amateur baseball league. The word “hits” comes from both the music business and baseball. “Heathens” comes from my growing up with an over-the-top Christian father, who unwittingly pushed me in the opposite direction.

“Hippos” comes from my wife and me being among the few people to survive a hippo attack. The hippo bit through the middle of our canoe and lifted us six feet into the air! “Agent, Activist, and Adventurer” further describe my life.

Norm: How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?

Marty: It’s about my life—so I lived it.

Norm: What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them? 

Marty: I’m not a major television celebrity, so I had to work harder than most to write a memoir that people would enjoy.

I think my major goals were to make people laugh at my stories, ooh and aah at the adventures, and when they finished reading, realize just how much they learned.

And by learning, I mean not only about my life, but also how to run businesses, write books, and, in general, be successful at whatever they want to do.

Norm: What was the most difficult part of writing this book and what did you enjoy most about writing this book?  

Marty: The most difficult part was sharing personal events and private thoughts that weren’t always flattering. The most enjoyable part was all the memories that came flooding back as I wrote.

Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and Hits, Heathens and Hippos?

Marty: Since Hits, Heathens, and Hippos is a memoir, it’s naturally a great place to learn about me. That, and my WEBSITE,

All of my books, whether in paperback, e-book, or audiobook formats, are available on virtually every internet bookseller website.

Local bookstores can also easily order the paperbacks, if they don’t already have them in stock.

Norm:  As this interview comes to an end, if you could change one thing about the world what would it be? How would it change you?

Marty: My novel Time Is Irreverent reflects exactly how I would change the world—if time travel existed. Since time travel doesn’t exist, if I could change the world in some other way, I’d make it so everyone based their lives and their politics on actual facts.

As for how that would change me: I would no longer be frustrated with the damage to the environment and human rights caused by ideologies devoid of facts. Conversely, if that happened, I’d have much less to write about.

Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors.