The Jezebel Remedy is Clark’s second novel
to win in the award’s 8-year history
By Angela H. Hill
Martin Clark is at it again: winning prestigious book awards and giving away the cash prizes.
For the second time since the Library of Virginia established the People’s Choice Awards in 2004, the author many know as Judge Clark won the top prize in fiction.
In 2008, Clark won for his third novel, Legal Limit. On October 15, he received the 2016 award for his fourth and most recent work, The Jezebel Remedy.
This time, however, the award came with a surprise bonus—$2,500 cash—which Clark promptly set about giving away. A big chunk went to the Stuart library, 10 percent went in the offering plate at Stuart Presbyterian Church, and the rest is being given back to his readers via random Facebook drawings.
After a panel of Library of Virginia judges selected five finalists for the People’s Choice Award, Clark began drumming up support for reader votes around town, and around the country.
“I just sent out the email [with the Library of Virginia’s website link for voting between the five finalists] saying ‘I hope you folks will vote for me and help me out.’ The email said nothing about the prize,” Clark said with a chuckle.
Upon reading a newspaper article that mentioned the prize, a friend of his broke the news to Clark, joking that that’s why Clark asked everyone for votes. While Clark usually donates his book proceeds to area organizations, this time he decided to give some back to his supporters.
So how do Clark’s fans get to share in the prize? Every few weeks, Clark puts a book-related post on his Facebook page. Those who hit the “Like” button are automatically entered to win, and his publishing company Penguin Random House in New York selects a winner at random.
Two prizes of $50 each and one of $100 have been given away so far; two to people he knows here in Patrick County, and the other to a reader in Chicago.
Byzantine journey
Clark is a circuit court judge for Martinsville and Patrick and Henry counties, and it typically takes him two years to write a book. The Jezebel Remedy took five, he said, due to his father’s illness and death.
A book about a team of lawyers working in a small community, The Jezebel Remedy is described on Clark’s website as “a stunning portrait of a marriage, an intricate tour of the legal system, and a relentlessly entertaining story that is full of inventions, shocks and understanding.”
The Jezebel Remedy appeared on several bestseller lists, and was selected as a Boston Globe Best Mystery of the Year. Upon reviewing The Jezebel Remedy, Entertainment Weekly proclaimed, “Martin Clark is, hands down, our finest legal-thriller writer.”
When asked where he draws his inspiration, Clark said he’s motivated by a love for writing in and of itself. He began creative writing in college, but his first novel The Many Aspects of Mobile Living, was continuously rejected for 20 straight years. He wrote it at age 20, and it was published when he was 40.
“That’s the truth,” he said. “It was beat down after beat down … it’s a long, Byzantine journey between the words you write and bound volume. The more I’ve been in the writing world, the more I’ve learned that.
“Writing—as with so many things—you need to stick with it and have a thick skin.” Encouraged by advice he received from Tom Wolfe, Martin said he urges fellow writers to write at least one page every day. “It’s not that formulaic, but it works.”
Martin Clark’s Novels
The Many Aspects of Mobile Living, published 2001
Plain Heathen Mischief, published 2005
The Legal Limit, published 2009
The Jezebel Remedy, published 2016
