AN ABBOTTS ANN man who turned his life around by going to recovery and joining a creative writing class has published his debut novel telling the story of drugs and modern slavery.
Martin White, 46, has published a borderline dystopian science fiction named ‘Faze’ set in a society forced into addiction by taking a drug that turns them into slaves.
The author, who had been a chef for most of his life, said his novel is a cross between George Orwell’s 1984 and the Mad Max film series.
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Having left school at a very young age, Martin turned his life around eight years ago when he went into recovery.
“When I started the senior school, I just avoided it,” Martin said.
“I bunked the classes and stayed around people’s houses. I was disconnected from school. Around that time, I lost my father in a car accident and there were a few other things that happened in my personal life.
“I also got into bad habits. Although I wasn’t a terrible child, I wasn’t the best teenager either.”
Martin said he became an addict during this time, but he always wanted to write.
“While I was in recovery, I started going to a writing class,” he said.
“Catherine Tally, the lady who took the course saw my work and told me I have a talent. She also diagnosed the fact that I was dyslexic. She was instrumental in my journey.
“She asked me why don’t I go back to school and re-educate myself. A little bit later, I went to Andover college as a mature student and did a two-year creative writing course. I passed it with flying colours.”
It was during this time Martin wrote a collection of short stories, which was the platform for his debut novel.
“The short stories were a twist of nursery rhymes and fairy tales,” Martin said.
“It was then someone told me to link all my stories together for a novel. It was a long process. But in the end, it wasn’t great and had 125,000 words, which didn’t gel. So I had to press delete and started writing again.”
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In the meantime, Martin also joined Winchester University based on his Extended Project Qualification, although he had no GCSE and A-level.
Now in his second year, he is preparing a sequel for his debut novel.
The first book is also being adapted to an audiobook and a graphic novel.
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