Meet Daniel Eduardo Martinez — writer, baker, chef, small business owner, husband, father, and hobby drummer (currently without a drum set). Born and raised in Tucson and its surrounding areas, Daniel has spent more than two decades cooking in high-end and low-end kitchens across the country. Today, he and his wife own and operate Tucson’s premier French bakery, a beloved local staple since 2019.
But while food has shaped much of his life, Daniel’s imagination has shaped entire worlds. Dreaming of what it would be like to own a town — not for the hassle, but for the creative possibility — he built his own through storytelling. First came Totenbett, inspired by Tucson, nearby communities, and the small towns he’s lived in or visited. Then Merrotinay, rooted more specifically in the spirit of Bisbee, Arizona. Both serve as surreal, atmospheric settings for stories about identity, existence, rebellion, hope, and the contradictions of life.
Daniel’s body of work spans multiple collections and genres:
Totenbett Books | Memory & Verse | The Little Books
All at Once and Not at All
Daniel’s stories explore everything from serial killers and hard-living uncles to red foxes, dystopia, conspiracy, rebellion, hope, and the relentless “Why” at the center of being human. His invented towns become living organisms — part museum, part memory, part fever dream — offering readers a blend of introspection, strangeness, and truth.
✨ Meet Daniel Eduardo Martinez at the Scottsdale Book Festival and step into worlds that challenge, provoke, and remind us of the beautiful chaos of being alive.