Introducing myself.

My name is Martin Galba. I'm originally from Slovakia and I immigrated to Canada over 2 decades ago. I currently reside in Sherwood Park, Alberta with my amazing wife Stephanie, daughter Cassidy (Zonks) and three retired greyhounds Wacky, Slider and Cash. My story telling journey begun at a very young age. I think I was about four or so. I would learn short poems and recite them to anyone who would listen. This natural ability to capture the attention of an audience through my art evolved into a life on the stage - primarily as an actor and a singer in musicals and operas, but also as a stage director, choreographed and producer. I never thought I would have the drive to explore other avenues - such as writing. Being that English is not my first language, writing a novel was far from anything I thought I would do when I first stepped foot on the Canadian soil - barely speaking the language itself. But, here I am, two decades later sharing the story of Zonks with the world.

This story started off as nothing more than short little bedtime stories I would tell our little Zonks before she turned two years old. I've always had a wild imagination, so coming up with the characters and the various aspects of Molly's journey seemed to come naturally. We had so much fun getting lost in it each night before bed. One day I decided I should probably write down some of those details, because I was worried our little bedtime story would soon run away on us. And thus, the journey of writing Zonks and The Gate Keepers begun.

Writing this story became a huge passion for me. Zonks and The Gate Keepers is a self-standing 3 part young adult fantasy fiction that is part of a larger series entitled The Chronicles of Heartland, which will also include a collection of seven novellas - one story dedicated to each of the seven segments of Heartland, as seen and experienced by Maggie. (Not Molly, although they do look alike. You'll have to read Zonks and The Gate Keepers to find out more...). These novellas serve as a prequel to the Zonks series.

I'll be publishing regular blog posts each week. Tune in (either here or on Facebook or Instagram) to learn more about Molly, Maggie, Heartland, The Gate Keepers and my writing journey.

Wanna learn more about me? Praised for my significant contribution to the arts in Canada, I am honored to be the distinguished recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. But that is just one little fun fact about me. Click here to learn about my performing arts career.