Maria Martinez's Blog

I just finished your book, "The Apple Tree Wish". What an amazing story you have shared with me and others. I was moved to tears when you went on your women's retreat. I could feel all your emotions. It 's amazing how God fills our hearts with love. I am so touched and moved by your story.

My take away from your book is how inspired I am by God's work. I know He loves us. I know He's with us. I know nothing is too big for Him to accomplish. I know He never wastes a hurt. I see how all these statements are validated in your life. It's inspiring to read how God wove all your hurt earlier in your life and made you in to who you are today. He never let the hurt break you. We go through different seasons in our life but God is always present. I love knowing and seeing that.

On a side note, what an amazing man you are married to. Thank you for sharing your heart in The Apple Tree Wish.

Nancy K., Irvine, CA

"I enjoyed reading your life story; in fact I could not put it down. I cannot describe how I felt since it is beyond words. Sometimes, we overlook god's attributes; it left me in awe of how almighty god is! Moreover, I would really love to see this book turned into a movie! " writes Hilary H. from Turkey, now living in Irvine, CA

Several other readers of "The Apple Tree Wish" have also thought it could become a movie. Recently, at the Southern California Writers' Association, I had the privilege of hearing Dete Meserve, President of Wind Dancer Films (creator of television hits such as Rosanne, Home Improvement and Saint George and producer of films such as What Women Want and Bernie, to name a few) speak on how a book gets turned into a movie. Who knows what direction God will take "The Apple Tree Wish."

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/red-ap...

Since Part II of The Apple Tree Wish contains letters dealing with various issues, it always blesses me to hear how my readers are affected. One reader writes:
"This book holds your interest to the end. Full of wisdom from the heart, it is flavored with just the right taste of Scripture. It gives hope to those who may have suffered emotional trauma in their lives, but it also provides life lessons to those with ears to hear. For me, a single parent for many years, it gave me some insight into the needs and love that a daughter requires from her father. Additionally, the chapter "An Inner Controversy" encourages us to follow the heart instead of the mind. With the right guidance from above, the heart often times is the correct choice. We just need the courage to step out and follow it. It's an easy read, well worth your time.
God bless."This book holds your interest to the end. Full of wisdom from the heart, it is flavored with just the right taste of Scripture. It gives hope to those who may have suffered emotional trauma in their lives, but it also provides life lessons to those with ears to hear. For me, a single parent for many years, it gave me some insight into the needs and love that a daughter requires from her father. Additionally, the chapter "An Inner Controversy" encourages us to follow the heart instead of the mind. With the right guidance from above, the heart often times is the correct choice. We just need the courage to step out and follow it. It's an easy read, well worth your time.
God bless.This book holds your interest to the end. Full of wisdom from the heart, it is flavored with just the right taste of Scripture. It gives hope to those who may have suffered emotional trauma in their lives, but it also provides life lessons to those with ears to hear. For me, a single parent for many years, it gave me some insight into the needs and love that a daughter requires from her father. Additionally, the chapter "An Inner Controversy" encourages us to follow the heart instead of the mind. With the right guidance from above, the heart often times is the correct choice. We just need the courage to step out and follow it. It's an easy read, well worth your time.
God bless." Craig McElheny November 4, 2014.

"Rachel loves to read," said her mother. The Woodbridge Village Book Fair was the perfect place for her to visit. After making the rounds to all the tables, she chose to purchase "The Apple Tree Wish." Naturally, I autographed it for her and learned that she was only 11 years old. I was curious to learn what she would think after reading the book and I invited her to call me. Well, she did just that less than 24 hours later. In fact, she said she finished reading the book at 11 p.m. that night. "Really cool," was her first comment. She said she liked the shortness of the chapters and her favorite character in the book was my step-mother Marie. Her perceptions and insights were well beyond her 11 years as she understood the surprise ending. She told me after she reads a book she thinks about a useful moral message that she learned: "We should accept the people in our lives." Wow! That's a great takeaway thought from the book. She is an exceptional young lady and really impressed me.

It always amazes me to hear how The Apple Tree Wish touches the lives of my readers. Just the other day, Jenette of Lake Havasu City, AZ, called to tell me she just finished reading the book.

" I couldn't put it down -- it was like a mystery/thriller. What I liked about The Apple Tree Wish was it was so easy to read and you stayed on point for the story. It just flowed. It was fantastic, but I didn't see the ending coming and was shocked. I really identified with your emotions and how you expressed them. I am going to re-read it again."

Thanks, Jenette, for your words of encouragement. Many fatherless daughters or daddyless daughters are finding new hope and meaning by reading The Apple Tree Wish.

Recently I found a website that deals with daddyless or fatherless daughters (http://www.thelovelifestyle.com/) and I have had the privilege of talking with its founder, Angela Carr Patterson. Here’s the email she sent me after reading my book:

“After being gone from home for seven days, getting unpacked, returning phone calls from family, catching up on reading mail, and resting some, I finally got around to reading your book tonight. I couldn't put it down. Oh my God! What an amazing and heartfelt story of love. I never saw the ending coming, but it was a delightful one.

It was written with such love and authenticity. You could feel God's handprint all over this story. I want to salute you for sharing such radical truth with us. I really see this being a Lifetime movie. You really should see about getting this book turned into a movie script and pitch the idea. Coming from the entertainment background, my mind immediately went there. It's worth the effort.” Angela Carr Patterson

February 6, 2013

January came and gone and I did not make any resolutions. A humorous thought came to my mind. “Does God use mafia tactics?” I imagined Him saying, “Maria, sit at that computer and promote My book or I’ll break your kneecap!” I did break my left kneecap on January 12th. Ha Ha! God certainly allowed it to happen and it is a very good break – stable and vertical and only mild discomfort. So I have been busy promoting the book.
I never thought anything about how I was going to promote the book while I was getting the manuscript ready to submit to the publisher. And I knew NOTHING about it or the publishing industry.
I have since learned how intensely competitive it is to promote a book. And I am learning a lot about the publishing industry as a whole. Most authors hire an agent or a publicist to capture attention for their works. Publicists are expensive. A six-week campaign can cost anywhere from $6,000 to $12,000 for basic types of promotion. Obviously, I don’t have that kind of money but everything my marketing rep tells me about the benefits of having a publicist and a campaign makes a lot of sense and I am sure that may be a route for a successful book. So the temptation is to go there because of my passion to have the message out where lots of people can read the book and be blessed.
But then God asked me the question, “If you spend a lot of money and hire a professional publicist, who will get the glory?” The publicist will, of course. So I think God is telling me that if He uses my efforts and works through the people who have read the book and recommend it, the glory will belong to Him. And I have to acknowledge that it is His story and He will direct the events. I just need to do everything in my power that I know to do and allow Him to do His part. That does not mean that I will not seek professional counsel. It just means that I need to trust Him to multiple my efforts. Word-of-mouth is by far the greatest advertising (apart from an interview on national television).
So, I have been taking it a step at a time. Once I start in a direction, the Lord then begins to guide me. It is such an interesting adventure to see how things open up and become clear, brick upon brick.
I am inviting my readers to become part of my word-of-mouth campaign and see what God can do.

The Apple Tree Wish -- Made by a Fatherless Girl

December 28, 2012
Christmas time is always so busy but special. I finally have a few minutes to post something new. "The Apple Tree Wish" was released on October 19th, just 2 months ago, and it is interesting to see how it touches people. Below are just a few comments from some readers. Go to my website: www.theappletreewish.com to read more.

Really amazing book that touched my heart. It was so well written and kept my interest from beginning to end. I highly recommend this book to anyone struggling with acceptance by their parents and by God, especially for any young women who did not have a father figure growing up. --reubenandesthersmommy

I was estranged from my biological father at age 2 and was adopted at the age of 7. The yearnings that were so honestly and beautifully articulated in this book seemed to meet a deep need in my own heart as I turned each page. Instead of indulging in bitterness and resentment the author clearly allowed our sovereign God to rein over her circumstances. That surrender ultimately paved the way for tenderness and love to abound in both daughter and daddy. A balance of tenacity and surrender made this a powerful book
Donna Watson, Irvine, CA

I was not an illegitimate child but I felt like an outcast, like I did not belong in my family. I saw how you let God be in control in all those times in your life. I know I can learn from your experiences to let God lead me in my life. – Rose De Ciccio

November 2, 2012

Over the past 25 years as my friends, family and others have read the copy of the original journal and heard the cassette story, I have been asked for more details. From time to time I will be posting information about The Apple Tree Wish.

Nov. 2, 2012 - How I came to write the Journal.

Dorene Walth, my pastor’s wife, lived around the corner from us and we were close friends. She knew of the events leading up to meeting my father and she encouraged me to write a journal. She said that the first year with my father would be very important and I should write about it. I had never written a journal before and I have not written one since. In November of 1985, after meeting my father a few months earlier, I asked him what I could give him as a birthday gift next year. He said, “I just want you.”

So I decided to purchase one of those hard bound books with blank ruled pages and write a book of letters to him. On December 3, 1985, after writing the title and dedication pages (shown as pages 99-101 in the book) I headed the next two blank pages “Table of Contents” and then wrote the first letter as shown on page 103). I numbered the pages as I wrote them and then would go back to the Table of Contents and put the title of the letter and its page number. The words just seemed to flow and I know the Holy Spirit was directing me. Especially because the last chapter called “God Is Love” written on October 5, 1986, completed the last blank page of the journal. It amazed me that all the pages were filled.

I don’t know what became of the original journal. However, before I gave it to my father I made a photocopy of the pages. I showed it to Dorene and she said, “Maria, you should get this published. There are so many that could be helped by reading this.”

“Oh, no, no, no. It’s way too personal. I could never do that.”

“Maybe someday in the future after your mother and father are gone, you will feel comfortable about publishing it.”

That was over 25 years ago and I am so glad that she is alive today to see how right her wise words to me were so long ago.



Nov. 16, 2012 - How I got the title and cover design.

After the manuscript was typed into a word document from the copy of the original journal and from the audio of the story, my Crossbooks representative told me that titles are not copywrited, but everything else in the manuscript would be. I was instructed to choose a title that was unique and not like another author's title so there would be no confusion to people who wanted to order it on the internet. My story was now ready for submission. I struggled with not knowing what to title the book. I wrote down about 25 suggestions that I got from others who read the draft. My husband and I discussed it many times. Then, one afternoon just as I was coming awake, I actually saw the cover and the title. I went directly into my office and told my husband, "I know what the title is and I know what the cover looks like." I thank God for choosing the title and letting me see the book's cover before it actually was published. And Crossbooks came so close to reproducing this "vision."



Nov. 28, 2012 - Godwink

There are times in one's life when things happen that are just not explained as random coincidences, times when you know God was definitely interacting in your events or circumstances or thoughts. Those times are referred to as Godwinks. Here's an example. In speaking with Brian Fox of CrossBooks on June 16, 2012, he suggested that I find some retired teacher would could proofread my manuscript before I submitted it to them. A short time later, while in the pool as a physical therapy patient, I was telling another patient that I was finishing a manuscript for publication and needed to get it proofread. "I would be happy to proofread it for you," said the patient, Pam Dyer. "I taught english composition for 42 years before I retired." Now what are the chances that I would find a retired english composition teacher in the pool just when I needed one. Pam, almost a complete stranger, was the first person to read my story, rather than hear it from the cassette/cd like the others in the past. I was wondering what she would think as she read it because she did not know me and I did not know her or if she had any spiritual interest. But I thought, "Okay, Lord, I will send it to her." I emailed it to her and the next week at our pool therapy session, she said, "Maria, I know I should have been proofreading it, but I got involved in your story, especially those letters to your father. They brought tears to my eyes. You really inducted me." I really felt God winked at me by her comments to let me know I was on the path with Him and also by letting me meet her at just the right time.















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