zero to ten with Martina McAtee, aka Onley James

I say it all the time: “I think this is my favorite podcast interview ever.” But I really mean it this time, because I, Alyssa Pressler, a book nerd, got to geek out with a fellow book nerd and published gay romance author.

Martina McAtee joined the hygge fam just last month after moving to Charlotte, and just one day after joining shared her incredible story at Zero Day, our monthly community event. It was an incredible talk, during which she told us about struggling for years as a part-time writer and full-time nurse, wondering if she was wasting her time, and then deciding she was going to be a big author, writing herself a $1 million check she promised herself she’d cash one day.

Then, one of her book series really took off, particularly on Book Tok (the section of Tik Tok where book nerds talk… well, books). She was catapulted into minor fame and is very, very close to hitting her goal of cashing that $1 million check.

After hearing her speak, I knew I wanted to get her onto Zero to Ten to talk about her books, her journey, her writing process and more. And boy, she did not disappoint. Martina, who uses the pen name Onley James, is hilarious, pithy and a total open book (pun intended).

Her current book series, called Necessary Evils, follows 7 psychopaths who have been adopted by a billionaire for vigilante purposes and their love journeys in each book. She’s published 5 of the 7 book series, and the 6th book is coming out next month on August 31. She’s already thinking through spinoff series and more.

We also asked Martina about how she gets into her characters heads (we’re pretty sure she’s not a psychopath, after all), advice she has for writers, her favorite books and a little bit about her background in the porn industry.

Yep. You read that right.

This is a super fun episode. Listen to it above or search for Zero to Ten wherever you get your podcasts to hear the full convo. Follow Onley James on Instagram and buy her books via her website.

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