Biography
Marthese Fenech is the author of historical novels set in sixteenth-century Malta and Türkiye. She is also the writer of an award-winning television pilot based on her novels.
Her research has taken her to the ancient streets her characters roamed, the fortresses they defended, the seas they sailed, and the dungeons they escaped. Obstinate curiosity has led her to seventy countries across six continents. She does her best plot weaving while hiking mountain trails, wandering through local markets, paddleboarding in cliff-sheltered bays, and remembering the hours spent curled up on the couch with her beloved Siberian husky, who now lives on in her books.
She speaks fluent Maltese and French and knows how to ask for directions to the bathroom in Spanish and Italian. A former kickboxing instructor, she snowboards, surfs, scuba dives, climbs, skydives, throws axes, and practices yoga—sometimes including goats.
Marthese divides her time between Ontario and British Columbia, where she lives with her brilliant, mathematically inclined husband. And she carries the memory of her brilliant, musically inclined dog, Niko, who was known to lead family howl sessions on occasion.
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The Pen is Mightier than the Halberd
While going through a shoebox of old photographs, 
I came across this little gem, evidence the Knights of Malta fascinated me from a very young age.
When I was little, my parents owned a life-sized knight armed with a halberd It stood in a corner of the house near the fireplace. and was much taller than me.
I looked up at that knight with awe and admiration—until the day my older brother snuck up behind me while brandishing the fake halberd. I never screamed so loud or ran so fast. After that, I was wary of the knight.
Until I grew taller than him.
An Inveterate Storyteller
Storytelling has always been important to me, something woven into the fabric of my being.
My dad shared this video of a four-year-old me telling a Pulitzer Prize-worthy story.
No, not really—there's not much of a plot, hardly any character development, and the dialogue is sorely lacking. But there's a lot of heart in the telling.
Also, I'm wearing barrettes and a Papa Smurf sweater.
@fenka33 An early attempt at storytelling #futurenovelist #havetostartsomewhere #1984 ♬ original sound - Marthese Fenech - Author