In the small town of Hankey, Pennsylvania, a dramatic and quirky set of characters convene to save their failing opera house. Coming together for a common cause, a lonely divorcee, an heiress to a ketchup franchise, a nearly 30 year old virgin, a flamboyant balloon impresario, a loyal ghost, and three dachshunds try to set aside their own drama to stage the great Don Giovanni. When a sexy and promiscuous Argentine gaucho enters the picture, can the dysfunctional group hold it together long enough to get the production on stage? Set against the backdrop of opera, this is a delightfully humorous story of lust, love, and haunting that will not soon be forgotten.

“A fast, fun read with wit, charm, and can-do optimism at its heart. DON JUAN IN HANKEY, PA is a tale of longing, lust, and love in small-town USA, featuring a sympathetic rake, a bipolar ketchup heiress, a desperate divorcée, a spurned society matron, a pimping balloon entrepreneur, and one plucky ghost. Some authors write comedy with aplomb. Others excel at infusing stories with emotional warmth. Martin combines both in a debut novel that will have you doubled over, laughing, that deserves to be welcomed with a hearty brava.” – Kaylie Jones, author of LIES MY MOTHER NEVER TOLD ME and A SOLDIER’S DAUGHTER NEVER CRIES

“Gale Martin has achieved an unlikely feat: an opera buffa in prose. Martin paints her characters in primary colours and whirls them through a series of improbable events and operatic in-jokes, at a pace worthy of the closing stages of a Rossini overture. And to help us along the way, of course, there’s a very particular phantom….” – David Karlin, founder of BACHTRACK

“Gale Martin has written a clever and enchanting story that sings from the first page to its last. Opera buffs and novices will enjoy the juicy drama and intrigue that happens both on and behind the stage. What a treat!” – Margo Candela, author of GOOD-BYE TO ALL THAT,
LIFE OBSERVED, and THE BRENDA DIARIES

“Like a fabulous production, DON JUAN IN HANKEY, PA seethes with wild jealousies, convoluted mysteries, wry comic turns, resident ghosts, mysterious assailants, bold intrigues, longing, love, lust, and – of course – plenty of opera. Gale Martin’s novel is ‘meraviglioso!'”
– Lenore Hart, author of BECKY and THE RAVEN’S BRIDE

“Hold onto your libretti! Gale Martin takes opera, and mayhem, to new heights in her laugh-out-loud, rollicking, confection of a novel. One part romance, one part mystery, DON JUAN IN HANKEY, PA will sweep you off your feet. You won’t want to put it down!” – Nina Solomon, author of THE SINGLE WIFE

“With a subtle humor and tenacious wit, Martin brings alive the world of Hankey, Pennsylvania, and its struggling opera house. By the end of the first chapter, we are already rooting for Deanna and her gang of dysfunctional dreamers. DON JUAN IN HANKEY, PA has grace, snark, intelligence, but more importantly, it has heart. Within her cast of misfits, Martin manages to strike a familiar chord in the center of all of us, and with her melodious prose provides one beautiful libretto.” – Amye Archer, author of A SHOTGUN LIFE

“A lively romp about a dysfunctional, small-town opera guild. Martin writes about the Pennsylvania Dutch and opera fanatics with the same verve that Garrison Keillor writes about Minnesota Lutherans and public radio.” – Richard Fellinger, author of THEY HOVER OVER US

“A pleasingly coloratura tale of romance and intrigue set in a small-town opera house with big ideas.” – Jonathan Pinnock, author of
MRS. DARCY VERSUS THE ALIENS

Gale Martin’s work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Duck & Herring Company’s Pocket Field Guide, The Giggle Water Review and in several anthologies. Recent accolades include first- place in short fiction from the 2009 Writers-Editors International and Scratch writing competitions and a Pushcart Prize nomination. Gale has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. She lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which serves as a rich source of inspiration for her writing.

Gale is an accredited reviewer for Bachtrack, an online site featuring classical performance, and she hosts Operatoonity.com, a blog about opera, and can also be found at her author website Galemartin.me.