Jean-Louis Marteil

His first career was already defined by the act of looking. A photographer, he walked away from it all as the new millennium approached, taking a risky gamble on writing and publishing. In 1999, *La Relique* was published—a medieval novel described by one journalist as standing "at the crossroads of Monty Python and Don Camillo." The extraordinary adventure of these three "stupidly ordinary" monks struck a chord, with over 15,000 copies sold to date.

His meeting with Noël Balen led him into the publishing world, eventually becoming the literary director at Éditions de l’Hydre. He later founded his own publishing house, La Louve Éditions. He continued to publish: *La Relique* spawned two sequels, followed by the *Et Dieu reconnaîtra les siens* cycle and *La Chair de la Salamandre*—all meticulously researched medieval novels grounded in vibrant human emotion, winning awards such as the Prix Mémoires d’Oc.

He also writes for the stage. His play *Et Dieu reconnaîtra les siens* was performed outdoors 35 times at the most prestigious sites in "Cathar Country," following its premiere on the radio station France Culture. Screenplays have also been adapted from his work.

His human values ​​and passion for history also find expression in darker works. The slim volume *Oradour-sur-Glane aux larmes de pierre*—a deeply moving, distilled emotional experience—serves as a tribute to his father, who was a teenager during the war and passed away before the book was published. Often invited to speak to school classes about this text, Jean-Louis Marteil notes: "This book was the only way I found to tell my father I loved him. Tell people you love them; one day, it will be too late."