About Marty

Marty Mokler Banks is a children’s author, travel writer, editor, tennis player, hockey fan and dog lover.

Her most recent children’s book is G.G. Rock Climbs  (The G.G. Series, Book #2) (Switch Monkey Press, 2014). The series follows the spunky, sassy, eight-year-old G.G. as she explores a new extreme sport in each book.

The first book in the series is G.G. Snowboards (The G.G. Series, Book #1) (Switch Monkey Press, 2013).

In 2012, Marty launched her first chapter book, The Adventures of Tempest & Serena, a charming yet suspenseful adventure that features exploding volcanoes, yaks, dragons and a little bit of magic.

The Splatters Learn Some Manners (Harvest House Publishers, 2009), Marty’s first published book, is a lively, zany children’s picture book and a Colorado Book Award finalist for Children’s Literature, 2010. She’s also co-authored a travel book: Insiders’ Guide to Colorado Springs (Globe Pequot Publishers, 2011).

Marty grew up in Southern California in a noisy house with lots of brothers, horse trails and a view of the ocean. After  an early, casual foray into barrel racing and riding bareback just for the fun of it, Marty spent most of her elementary, middle and high school afternoons training for horse shows on the weekends. By college, she gave up both her horses and view of water when she moved to Boulder, Colorado and earned a B.S. in journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

After various jobs at magazines and big corporations, Marty spent time with the smart and creative people at the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop. She now freelances travel and marketing writing when not writing children’s fiction. Marty is highly involved with the motivated and connected people at Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). She lives in Colorado with her family and dogs.

Contact her at MjaBanks@aol.com.

Marty Mokler Banks with two of her favorite young readers. Morgan, with the pug, loved Judy Moody books when she read chapter books. She’s now into middle grade novels and has enjoyed Lindsay Eland’s A Summer of Sundays. Lilly, with the cute little white dog in front, is just entering the chapter book world and is into the Heidi Heckelbeck series. Fun photo note: Marty had to hold the black lab’s collar because he really, really wanted to eat the carrot nose off the snowman.