Steve Martini
Encyclopedia
Biography
Early Years - Born on February 28, 1946 in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, Steve Martini was raised until the age of ten in the Colma area of Daily City just south of San Francisco. He is part of a large extended Italian-American family, some of which reach back four generations in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Martini’s mother and father moved to Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
in 1956. His father, Ernest Martini, was a rancher, managing and owning farms throughout California during his lifetime. His mother, Rita, was a housewife and homemaker, though in later years she worked extensively in the local library in San Gabriel, California
San Gabriel, California
San Gabriel is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is named after the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded by Junipero Serra. The city grew outward from the mission and in 1852 became the original township of Los Angeles County. San Gabriel was incorporated in 1913...
. Martini graduated from San Gabriel Mission Grammar School, San Gabriel High School
San Gabriel High School
San Gabriel High School is a secondary school in the Alhambra Unified School District. The school is located at 801 S Ramona St, San Gabriel, CA 91776....
and Pasadena City College
Pasadena City College
Pasadena City College is a community college in Pasadena, California, USA, located on Colorado Boulevard. PCC is the third largest community college campus in the United States. PCC was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. In 1954, Pasadena Junior College merged with another junior...
before transferring to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1968 with a degree in Government (Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
).
Professional and Legal Career- Martini’s first career was in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
. He worked as a newspaper reporter for the Los Angeles Daily Journal, the largest legal newspaper in the country covering the state, the local courts and the civic center beat. In 1970 he became the newspaper’s first correspondent at the State Capitol in Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
and later its bureau chief. There he specialized in legal and political coverage. During this period he attended night law school and in 1974 took his law degree from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law
McGeorge School of Law
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, ABA approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific....
. He was admitted to the Bar in January 1975.
Martini has practiced law both privately as well as for public agencies appearing in state and federal courts. During his law career, in addition to other activities, he worked as a legislative representative for the California Department of Consumer Affairs
California Department of Consumer Affairs
The California Department of Consumer Affairs is a department under the California State and Consumer Services Agency. DCA's stated mission is to serve the interests of California's consumers by ensuring a standard of professionalism in key industries and promoting informed consumer practices...
, the State Bar of California
State Bar of California
The State Bar of California is California's official bar association. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, and prescribing appropriate discipline...
, and served as special counsel to the California Victims of Violent Crimes Program. He has worked as an administrative hearing officer, a supervising hearing officer, an administrative law judge, and for a time served as Deputy Director of the State Office of Administrative Hearings. He is currently inactive with the State Bar of California
State Bar of California
The State Bar of California is California's official bar association. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, and prescribing appropriate discipline...
, choosing writing instead as a full-time occupation.
Writing Career - In the mid 1980’s Martini began his fiction-writing career. His first attempt at a novel, THE SIMEON CHAMBER, was represented by an agent and sold to the New York publisher D.I. Fine within two weeks of its submission. It was published in 1987. COMPELLING EVIDENCE, his second novel, introduced his series character, attorney Paul Madriani, and was published by G.P. Putnam & Sons. A national bestseller, the novel earned Martini a critical and popular following. It was followed quickly by New York Times bestsellers PRIME WITNESS, UNDUE INFLUENCE , THE JUDGE and THE ATTORNEY, each featuring the series character Madriani and his contrarian and irrepressible law partner, Harry Hinds.
THE LIST, published in 1997, a novel and thriller about the commercial book publishing industry, has had nibbles for feature film and was the first Martini novel to depart from the series characters since the author reached the best sellers list. CRITICAL MASS, his next novel published in 1998, continued the departure from the courtroom as well as the Madriani series, though it involved a lawyer protagonist and was well within the legal-thriller genre. CRITICAL MASS addressed issues of terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and the threat from weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
two years before the events of 9/11 and the toppling of the World Trade Center Towers. It was a topic to which Martini would return in later years.
Other novels by Martini include: THE JURY, THE ARRAIGNMENT, DOUBLE TAP, SHADOW OF POWER, GUARDIAN OF LIES, THE RULE OF NINE and TRADER OF SECRETS.
To date, two network mini-series have been produced and broadcast based on Martini’s works, UNDUE INFLUENCE by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and THE JUDGE on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
Personal Life – Steve Martini was previously married to the former Wanda Leah Martini, now Leah Martini-Puhlman. They have one daughter. Steve Martini currently resides in northwest Washington State but spends much of his time in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
where he writes, travels and acquires research and color for future works.
Paul Madriani Series
- Compelling Evidence (1992)
- Prime Witness (1993)
- Undue Influence (1994)
- The Judge (1996)
- The Attorney (1999)
- The Jury (2001)
- The Arraignment (2003)
- Double Tap (2006)
- Shadow of Power (2008)
- Guardian of Lies (2009)
- The Rule of Nine (2010)
- Trader of Secrets (2011)
Stand Alone Novels
- The Simeon Chamber (1987)
- The List (1997)
- Critical Mass (1998)