For the release of his first novel, “Do not look at me! », Martine Grandjan Marquès could not have dreamed of better publicity: 70 billboards scattered around Toulouse. His brother, who runs Affi Capitole, is on the initiative. But not alone.
So, it’s her, the famous Martine that we could see on posters 4 by 3, last May, around Toulouse, on the occasion of the release of her first novel “Do not look at me” (MVO editions).
Martine Grandjan Marquès benefited from a huge publicity stunt, quietly orchestrated by her brother Pierre, director of the company Affi Capitole, and his family. “My children provided a photo of me and my brother took care of the rest”, sums up Martine Grandjan Marquès.
A surprise she will remember all her life. “My husband blindfolded me and took me to one of the first two billboards installed, close to the house. When I opened my eyes, my whole family was there. They wanted both to celebrate my birthday (Editor’s note: 60 years) and the publication of my first novel. It was total emotion,” recalls Martine.
Immediately, everyone tries to find out who this Martine is. “I made the buzz on social networks, in the media,” recalls the author.
This immediate success even encouraged Martine’s brother to continue the adventure. He then prints 70 panels in the process. When we know the cost of such an undertaking (about 5000 €), we can measure the attachment that binds the brother and the sister. “We are three children and we are like that,” says Martine, joining her two hands. Without this dazzling boost, Martine Grandjan Marquès’ first novel would have taken longer to emerge. “Few unknown authors can afford to have such an campaign”, to make Guillaume Musso green with envy.
First fair and first price
And it would seem that this first novel, carried by its heroine Léa, a girl “afflicted with an unwatchable ugliness”, finds its audience. “I enjoyed reading so much that if I can give a little in my turn, I would be granted,” says the Frouzinoise, who has just received a prize at the Mirepoix book fair, in Ariège. For a first try, we couldn’t have asked for better.
A great reader, Martine Grandjan Marquès devours up to three books a week. She has always loved words. “I’m the one who writes the poems for Mother’s Day, writes the speeches for birthdays, weddings and even funerals. I like this ! “, she says.
So Martine had been carrying this first novel with her for a long time. “It was following coaching with a friend that I discovered that I had to write in order to give meaning to my life, after 20 years of FFE and 10 years as a salesperson in the company of my brother “. FFE? “A fulfilled housewife”, specifies this mother of two children. At the rate of “6-7 hours of non-stop writing per day”, Martine gives birth to her first book in four months. Added to this were two months of proofreading. “I asked two friends to read it aloud. It allowed me to review the punctuation, the poetry, the inconsistencies and above all to take a step back”.
Spruce and cheerful
Original, jovial, sunny and direct, Martine overflows with energy and freshness. “I always said to myself: Be you! “, proclaims the dapper sexagenarian. Since she put pen to ink, Martine has taken a liking to it, she is in the process of finishing her second novel, she who sincerely thought “never to write again. I don’t consider myself a writer, I’m a writer. Full stop”. In her garden, she turns the trunks of dead trees into crayons and paints them pink (her favorite color). “Like what, it was premonitory,” concludes Martine.