When Alex Martin sat down to flesh out an old short story into a novel, he took the task to heart: The 21-year-old Shrewsbury author wrote the first draft in 10 days — 10,000 to 15,000 words a day.
“I just needed to get it out,” he said.
The novel, “Embassy,” released Jan. 1, follows Arman Lance, a boy determined to visit a planet across the galaxy and reunite with his love interest, Ladia Purnell. When his love turns into obsession, Lance joins the Embassy Program and embarks on an expedition to Ladia’s planet.
It was an exercise in imagination as Martin created the futuristic setting for the novel, which he intends to be part one of four.
“There’s a lot of different planets,” Martin said. “Human civilization has branched out farther into the galaxy.”
Geared toward young adults, “Embassy” is Martin’s third novel. “Shadows: The Narlan Wars” was released in 2007, and “Shadows: The Resurrection” was released in 2010. Martin re-wrote parts and combined them into a single volume, “Shadows: The Second Rising” in 2012.
Although a student at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Martin is taking this semester off to embark on a book tour and host writing workshops with high schools. A 2010 Susquehannock grad, he hopes to start close to home.
Read more about his writing at salexmartin.webs.com, or catch Martin on ABC 27’s Good Morning PA segment with Amy Kehm at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21.
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About the author
Name: S. Alex Martin
Age: 21
Lives in: Shrewsbury
Occupation: Student
Hobbies: Tennis, astronomy, biking, reading,
Online: www.salexmartin.webs.com, on Twitter at @SAlexM23, or on Facebook at S. Alex Martin — Author
Where to purchase: “Embassy” is available as an e-book and paperback at Amazon.com. You can also watch a trailer for the book on YouTube.
Also of interest:
— An update from Alex Martin, author of ‘Narlan Wars’ and ‘Resurrection’
— Teen’s story ‘Shadows: The Resurrection’ has sci-fi adventure
