When you visit bookstores Tuesday or happen to be looking at new offerings the same day on any number of on-line venues to acquire reading material and happen to think that name on a new offering looks familiar, you’re probably right. On April 19, a Bridgeport High School alum and city native will have his second novel go on sale to the public.

 

T. Michael “Mike” Martin, a 2002 BHS graduate and the son of Mike and Kim Martin, will see his newest literary offering “Mr. Fahrenheit” hit book stands everywhere that day. And for those thinking that this might be some kind of self-published book with a limited audience at best, you would be sorely mistaken.

 

Martin, a 2007 graduate of the University of North Carolina’s School of the Arts, has already had one book, “The End Games,” on the market. That book, which is part of a two-book deal with nationally recognized publisher HarperCollins, ended up selling tens of thousands of copies.

 

His first book was centered in West Virginia. In that book, it featured two brothers who were surviving a zombie apocalypse in the Mountain State.

 

“That was a great experience and we received some really good reviews,” said Martin. “Booklist called it the best young adult zombie novel ever and one magazine said it was worthy of Stephen King comparisons. I’ve got a ways to go to get there, but seeing so much positive feedback has been encouraging.”

 

That book is still available. It’s now out in a paperback version and can be accessed on any tablet or digital reading device. However, on Tuesday his latest work is set to go out to the masses and Martin is pleased with the effort that took several years to complete.

 

“I actually started writing it when I was living with my parents in 2007. I had a nightmare that Bridgeport was being invaded by Aliens and that led to the story,” said Martin.

 

Although Martin abandoned that early version, he resumed the thought process with variations in earnest in 2012. While the book has many turns in twists, it centers on high school seniors in Indiana that shoot down a UFO and decided to keep their incident a secret for a night.

 

“The book plays off that premise and those involved end up making bad decision after bad decision,” said Martin. “I actually finished in the fall of 2015 and the reviews of it have been pretty favorable. Booklist was a big fan of the book and compared it to the work of Ray Bradbury and there’s event been movement for a movie version of the book, which I think has a decent chance of happening.”

 

Martin said all of that is in the talking phase right now and was unable to disclose who was involved. He did say he has been approached by a particular producer in the industry that has what he described as an “a-list writing team” at their disposal. Of course, a lot depends on just how well sells of the new book go.

 

“It’s absolutely surreal to have had even this level of success and getting feedback because the writing to me is very personal; both books are personal,” said Martin. “It’s heartwarming to know that people are responding to the books in a very positive manner.”

 

Martin currently lives in Indianapolis, but said he hopes to be back in town this week as the book arrives locally. And he has a few ideas of what he may be doing.

 

“I’ll probably go to the bookstores in Harrison County and Morgantown and sign them all. I’ve actually snuck into libraries and wrote ‘Hi, I wrote this. Thanks for reading. Please don’t steal this book. T. Michael Martin.’ That’s actually got some unique publicity,” said Martin.

 

West Virginia University’s library tweeted out that message that was inside “The End Games.” He also got a similar Tweet courtesy of the City of Indianapolis’ library, who then invited him to their facility to sign additional books.

 

Martin’s life is still moving ahead with his writing. He, along with his wife Sarah and his new Pug Phil, will soon be moving to Los Angeles. He said “the time is right” to make the move. He also is working on a proposal for a third novel for his editor at HarperCollins.

 

In the meantime, head up to the Books-A-Million at Meadowbrook Mall Tuesday. Or, go on-line to Amazon.com or Web sites for Barns and Noble or go through stores for your iPad or just about anywhere else and see what Martin has to offer.

 

And for those that really want to follow Martin, visit his YouTube channel that has roughly 160,000 subscribers. Got to www.youtube.com/tmikemartin or also www.youtube.com/learnhowtoadult.com.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Mike Martin with his new book, while he's shown with his his and new dog in the middle photo. On Tuesday, some book stores will have the same look to it when his new book hits the shelves.