BETTING ON BERNIE, A MEMOIR OF A MARRIAGE is Martha Marks’s intimate story of her long and happy—but ultimately tragic—life with businessman and fine artist Bernard Marks.
AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
Rated 4.6 out of 5 by 76 readers (reviews ranked “A” by the non-Amazon Fakespot analyzer).
Kindle / Paperback / Large-print Paperback
Audiobook read by Martha Marks & Max Highstein: Amazon / Audible / Apple Books
Rated 4.7 out of 5 by 72 readers on Goodreads.
To read eight professional and editorial reviews right here…
A READERS’ FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL *GOLD MEDAL* WINNER and also AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER ON AMAZON!
Bernard Marks and Martha Alford met by chance. No real reason for it, just a series of fluky coincidences. The odds were long that they would hit it off. That wasn’t in the cards they’d been dealt at birth. “It’ll never last,” people whispered after they got engaged. “Poor probability of success” was the general consensus when they married. But Bernie and Martha ignored the naysayers. Gamblers in love, they rolled the dice.
And then they worked hard, took even more risks, caught a few lucky breaks, built satisfying careers, enjoyed terrific travels, and won their own version of the lottery of life. For over four decades, Lady Luck smiled on them—until one day, she didn’t.
Out of the blue, Fortune spun her wheel and taught them that no one is immune to tragedy and heartbreak. Bernie’s two-in-a-million medical crisis sent him and Martha into a tailspin. How could such a cruel twist of fate happen to a couple who had overcome the odds to lead such positive, productive lives?
▲ Bernie on a train in Holland, 1994
BETTING ON BERNIE is Martha Marks’s “intimate, honest remembrance” (Kirkus Reviews) of their improbable courtship, happy and prosperous marriage, and not-so-golden “golden years.” It will make you think, wonder, laugh, and cry.
▲ Martha in Madrid, 1978
PART I: Betting on Bernie in Love and Life
PART II: Betting on Bernie in Work & Art
PART III: Betting on Bernie in Sickness & Death
HOVER YOUR CURSOR over any image on this website to learn more about it.
FOUR FUN SIDE STORIES (newest at the top)
#4 THE AWARD CEREMONY — In Miami, Florida on November 23, 2024, Martha accepted an international gold medal for BETTING ON BERNIE in the non-fiction “Health – Medical” category from the notable book-review-and-award-contest organization Readers’ Favorite. (See #3 below.) Other winners came from around the USA and as far away as Pakistan and Gambia.
This is Readers’ Favorite’s official image of its gold medal, which Martha is now authorized to use here and elsewhere:
Martha’s photo of her actual medal is shown here, too. Its color is closer to a true gold than it appears in the shot. If only it were honest-to-gosh solid gold!
#3 THE GOLD MEDAL — On September 1, 2024, Martha got word that BETTING ON BERNIE had received a Gold Medal from the internationally respected organization Readers’ Favorite.
While nobody would claim that this award is the equivalent of a Pulitzer or Nobel Prize for Literature, it’s not a nothingburger either!
Since 2009, Readers’ Favorite has been recognizing successful authors and their books — both traditionally published and “indie” — in a wide variety of categories. Professional reviewers read and rate each entry. Competition is stiff. You can’t buy an award. And it carries some weight in today’s fast-changing publishing industry.
Martha is delighted that her two published novels and this memoir have made her both a best-selling and an award-winning author. (See the screenshot in this section and the links in #1 below.) And she knows that Bernie would be proud, too. “That’s my Martha!” he would cheer, as he always did at her most-successful moments.
#2 THE ENDURING LEGACY — In October 2023, right before the paperback edition of BETTING ON BERNIE went to press, one of Martha’s friends in Santa Fe sent her this photo of a framed piece hanging in a local medical center. The friend’s written note to Martha was, “Beautiful painting. He continues to grace the world.”
The tag on the wall beside it reads: “‘White Rock,’ Watercolor Painting, Bernard Marks, Gift of the Artist.” Martha was thrilled to see it and worked in a mention of the friend’s discovery and comment in the second-to-last paragraph of her book.
Not long after, a different friend also spotted the painting in that same location and sent his own photo of it with this note: “The person registering me said it gets a lot of comments.”
Bernie often donated his paintings to charitable organizations and causes, so its presence there didn’t surprise Martha.
What was new to her was the translated title. Bernie had called this painting “Plaza Blanca,” which is the actual name of a place on privately owned land in northern New Mexico where Bernie made the painting. “White Rock” is the real name of a different place that Bernie often painted, too. But still, both Spanish and English titles perfectly describe the gorgeous subject.
Click the photo to see it larger. Click again to see it in even closer detail. Or find the same painting on Bernie’s art website. (That link will take you to a separate site that Martha also built and owns.)
#1 THE BOOK LAUNCH — On September 19, 2023, the ebook of BETTING ON BERNIE was the first of its four editions to launch. Over the next weeks, in the hands of an expert publicist, it soared to the #1 paid best-seller spot in its main Amazon category in the USA and also to #1 paid in a related category in Australia. And then it held both top positions for another week. Steady sales of the two paperback editions and glowing reviews of them all began coming in from as far away as India, New Zealand, and the UK. Mission accomplished.
And so, within Amazon’s worldwide community, not only is Martha’s memoir legitimately termed an “international best seller,” but she herself is a “best-selling author.”
See screenshots of BETTING ON BERNE’S #1 best-seller rank:
BETTING ON BERNIE also reached the #2 paid rank in the US maintained that distinction for weeks (screenshot July ’24).
Was that a successful book launch? You bet!
And the best part of it for Martha? Readers’ positive and ongoing written reviews of her immensely personal, labor-of-love memoir.
All this was especially cheering for Martha, because twelve years earlier, in the spring of 2011, her first novel RUBIES OF THE VIPER had reached #1 of historical mysteries for the Kindle and then held the #2 or #3 spot for much of that year. And while there was a lot less competition in those early days of ebooks, it was still a big deal to reach and hold the top positions.
Which means… Martha has now achieved #1 best-seller status on Amazon for TWO different books on TWO different continents and in THREE different categories. Cool, no?
Martha welcomes your comments on this site, Bernie’s art, her photography, her memoir, and/or her novels.
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This website is © Martha Marks, 2023-2024. All rights reserved.
Except as noted, all written content is © Martha Marks.
Bernie, Martha, or their relatives took most of the photos, but a few were taken by unknown individuals.
Bernie’s artwork is © Bernard Marks Fine Art LLC, which Martha owns.