Marthese Fenech was born the youngest of five to Maltese parents in Toronto. She has traveled extensively across four continents, and in the course of researching for Eight-Pointed Cross, spent time in Malta, Turkey, Italy, France—a wealth of fascinating places that introduced her to her characters and their cultures in a most authentic way.When she was twelve, she lived in Malta for six months, enrolling in an all-girls private school run by nuns. She lasted three days before getting kicked out for talking too much. Back in Toronto, she started her own business recording, editing, and selling bootleg heavy metal concerts. While in high school, she took a position with a popular seafood chain as its first female dishwasher. She later worked with special needs children and adults, where witnessing small miracles on a daily basis was part of the job.
A former kickboxing instructor, Marthese currently teaches high school English and history. She speaks fluent Maltese and French and is learning Italian. As part of her research for Eight-Pointed Cross, she took up archery, and ended up accidentally becoming a certified instructor. She loves adventure, photography, running, music, snowboarding, and yoga.
While living in Singapore, she began work on the sequel to Eight-Pointed Cross, and has published Falcon’s Shadow: A Novel of the Knights of Malta in 2020.