Martti Nelson is the author of comedy novels Lyssa Strata and Attack of the Rom-Com, which is due out later in 2021, as well as some love letters to Totino’s in honor of their fine Party Pizzas. She’s been featured on such luminous sites as Weekly Humorist, The Belladonna, Robot Butt, Daily Drunk Magazine, and Slackjaw. In addition to writing brilliant stuff that is often referred to as “stop mentioning menstruation so much,” Martti enjoys yard work with power tools that make her feel important. Martti creates funny books because she believes that humor can inspire joy, bring people together, and save the world, even in times of darkness. This bio has gotten a tad deep, so she will end on another joke.
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Before you started writing your book, what kind of research
did you do to prepare yourself?
I pulled on a couple of different threads of research. First,
I re-read Lysistrata by Aristophanes. Man, does that work hold up! It’s
hilarious on every level, and the eagle-eyed can find actual quotes from Lysistrata
in the book.
The other thing I did was research still-on-the-books sexist
laws in the United States. Child marriage is still legal in several states. Isn’t
that just wonderful? There are less horrifying ones. For example, In Michigan,
a wife must obtain her husband’s permission before she can cut her hair. That’s
not misogynistic at all! Did you know that women can’t wear pants in Tucson,
Arizona? The argument about these laws are that they’re not enforced, so who
cares? The point is, they could be enforced, which, *spoiler* happens in
Lyssa Strata—after the women start a sex strike protest against the very
same laws.
All this research put me right in the mood…to not let any of my characters be in the mood.
Did you pursue publishers or did you opt to self-pub?
Lyssa Strata got picked up by two amazing men, Marty Dundics and Andy Newton at Humorist Books. I’ve never talked with a publisher and editor who so completely understand humor and the challenges that can come with getting funny work out there. It’s funny—I was actually pitching another book to them (Attack of the Rom-Com, releasing early 2022!) when I brought up Lyssa Strata. I sent it to Andy so he would know I’m able to, ya know, actually finish a book…and then he ended up wanting to publish that one, too! Got two for the price of one, and I couldn’t be more delighted.
If published by a publisher, what was your deciding factor
in going with them?
They’re weirdos who get my weird.
How did you choose your cover?
Marty Dundics designed my cover, and I love it! A pink fist pump is kinda my whole thing. Unless I’m expressing a pink middle finger, but that’s much more rare.
Did you write your book, then revise or revise as you went?
I revise as I go. A lot of writers talk about getting the words on the page, no matter if they’re not-so-great, just to finish the first draft, or that all first drafts are automatically terrible. Well, that’s a good way to give your first draft low self-esteem! But I only write when the funny is flowing because I don’t love thinking that any of what I type out is terrible. I require more delusion than that.
What’s your opinion on giving your book away to sell other
copies of your book?
I like giveaways, both as an author and a reader. A free book can land in the hands of someone who otherwise wouldn’t pick up my work. It’s tough to get your work out there as a debut author; one great review can beget five more and so on.
Do you have a long term plan with your book?
First books from non-famous authors are an exercise in patience for we nobodies. It’s slow and steady wins the race, so I try to just keep going, keep promoting, and write more. Because the best way to sell a back list is with a good new book. Plus, I need these bats out of my brain, so take them away and read them. Read them, please!
What would you like to say to your readers and fans about
your book?
Thank you for being a fan! I knew I’d get one eventually.
Seriously, though, my ultimate goal is to make every lady, no matter her age, origin, creed, sexuality, color, gender, or anything else, feel like a superheroine by the time she closes my book. I know what it’s like, as a woman, to never be able to win. We’re too fat or too thin, too bold or too meek, too tall, too short, too medium, probably too old, and how dare we express an opinion?! No matter how awesome we’re out here trying to be, it can feel like the negative messages are burying us, as if our pink convertible hit the back of a manure truck. But those messages are bullshit, my sister. You’re never too old to be awesome, pursue your dreams, change your life. You’re never the wrong color, or size, or gender to matter. I believe in your capacity for greatness—heck, I’m willing to bet you’re far more kickass right this minute than you believe yourself to be. That’s what Lyssa Strata is about. It’s what all my books are about.
Inside the Book
Title: LYSSA STRATA: A COMEDY FOR THE FRUSTRATED
Author: Martti Nelson
Publisher: Humorist Books
Pages: 205
Genre: Women’s Fiction / Commercial Fiction / Humorous Fiction
BOOK BLURB:
She’s mad as hell, and she’s not gonna give it up anymore.
Librarian Lyssa Strata has long begged the Town Council of Athena, Massachusetts, to repeal its disgusting old misogynist and racist laws. But the Council, an all-male entity for 400 years, has blown her off as a redheaded spinster—who, according to a 1673 law, should legally be run out of town at the end of a musket upon a poor fiscal year. So Lyssa seeks to invade the male bastion as the first woman ever on the Council. The men in charge treat her candidacy as a hilarious joke, which does not impress the female townsfolk.
The women are damn tired of being second-class citizens. For example, it’s illegal for them to use a toaster, as the manipulation of buttons is thought to impede brainwaves and cause menstruation. They decide to wield the only power left to them: Lyssa leads them on a sex strike as a revolt against inequality. The fellas are enthusiastic supporters! LOL no, they protest and issue death threats. Yet, when the national news shows up to cover the contentious election, everyone finally starts to listen to the ladies.
In retaliation against the motley crew of sex-strikers, the Council enacts the antique laws they assured Lyssa were merely charming historical trivia. She is accused of witchcraft and thrown in the stocks! Now this bookish dork, once content to hide in the stacks and distribute quiet feminism via checkout, is burning down her torture device and sending the evils of the past to the dustbin. When you want something done, do it yourself.
Or don’t do it—they’re on a sex strike, after all.
PRAISE
“If you’ve ever wondered what it would have been like if Terry Pratchett wrote The Handmaid’s Tale, this is the book for you.” —Jenny Trout, USA Today and Internationally Bestselling Author
“Funny and rage-inducing is a tough balance but Martti Nelson has written a book that is equal parts laugh riot and just plain riot. I want be Lyssa Strata’s best friend!” —Jen Mann, New York Times Bestselling Author of People I Want to Punch in the Throat
“There’s a lot to be frustrated about: the pink tax, politics, old white guys. Nelson deftly satirizes local politics and the patriarchy in Lyssa Strata. The ladies of Athena, Massachusetts may cherish a secret, but I don’t—read this book.” —Brooke Knisley, Your Local Redheaded Succubus. Oh, and Also Writer.
“Nelson’s deliciously laugh-out-loud spin on an ancient Greek tale shreds modern-day sexism with OG feminism.” —Marta Acosta, award-winning author of the Casa Dracula series
“Fans of Parks and Recreation, rejoice—there’s a new Leslie Knope to be found in Martti Nelson’s Lyssa Strata. Packed with callbacks to the Greek myth on which it’s based, this book will make for a satisfying read for any woman who’s mad at hell at the patriarchy and isn’t going to take it anymore, but also wants a laugh a minute along the way.” —Lana Schwartz, author of Build Your Own Romantic Comedy: Pick Your Plot, Meet Your Man, and Direct Your Happily Ever After
“A wickedly clever, sly take on the Greek classic that will have you rolling in the aisles of your own home as hard as the ancient Greeks rolled in the …aisles? Of their…. Ancient theaters??? Whatever, I didn’t read the original Aristophanes and neither did you. Save yourself the trouble and read this hilarious reimagination of it instead.” —Emily Flake, Saint Nell’s Proprietrix & Cartoonist, New Yorker
“Martti Nelson has created a character in Lyssa the librarian who anyone could love, admire and relate to—one who has had enough of the BS and does something about it. This novel will make you feel alive, or at least awake.”
—Jessica Delfino, author of Amazon #1 bestseller Dumb Jokes For Smart Folks
ORDER YOUR COPY
Amazon → https://amzn.to/3hSVLpu
Humorist Books → https://bit.ly/3vl08xH
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