Ali Luciani, arts & living and Ava Mumaw, asst. arts & living

On Wednesday Sept. 23, Berry welcomed alumnus Dan Desai Martin (02C) back on campus for a Q&A discussing his debut novel “In The Shadows of the Sanctum,” his journey in becoming a published author and the experiences that shaped his writing. The event gave students an opportunity to hear from a former Berry student who turned his passion for storytelling into a published book while also offering insight into the challenges, persistence and unexpected paths that can come with pursuing a career in writing.

Martin majored in religion and minored in psychology and sociology. Although he did not study creative writing as an undergraduate, Martin said his education at Berry helped develop critical thinking skills that later influenced both his writing and the themes of the novel.

“I didn’t take a lot of communication classes or creative writing classes when I was an undergrad,” Martin said. “I did learn to think and string ideas together and to question my assumptions, not just take things at face value.”

Those skills became particularly important as Martin developed his novel, which centers on religion, power and the consequences of extremism.

The novel follows a young woman living in a world ruled by a violent and oppressive religious regime. After escaping a particularly violent high priest, she becomes involved in a rebellion despite wanting nothing more than peace and safety. The story explores anxiety, distrust, vengeance, power and manipulation as the main character begins to confront her past and understand the world around her.

Martin described the book as a cautionary tale about religion and the ways faith and religious institutions can be manipulated.

“I want this to be kind of in the lines of ‘A Handmaid’s Tale,’ or something where it’s kind of a cautionary tale of how religion and faith and what it means to grow up believing something and then having your world turned upside down,” Martin said.

For Martin, fantasy offered a way to explore those subjects without directly connecting the story to one specific religion.

By creating a fictional religion and society, Martin said the readers can consider the ideas presented in the story without automatically connecting them to their own religious beliefs.

“I think writing about religion in a fantasy setting allows you to be one step removed, so you can explore ideas and people can read those ideas and not feel, whether they agree or disagree,” Martin said. “The religion [in] my book is not based on Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism – it is something that’s different.”

His interest in fantasy began long before he started writing his novel. Martin said he has been reading fantasy since middle school, when a friend introduced him to the genre. He said he always found himself returning to fantasy.

Eventually, years of reading led him to wonder what kind of story and world he would create himself.

“I’ve read mysteries and thrillers and crime fiction and lots of other stuff, but I always come back to fantasy,” Martin said. “When you read a lot of fantasy, you always are like, ‘what if I were to write a book? What would my world look like?”

Martin’s academic background also played a significant role in developing the story’s themes. His time at Berry taught him to examine religion from historical and cultural perspectives and to consider how religious beliefs and institutions can change depending on the time and place.

“I remember learning why they built cathedrals in the Middle Ages on the highest hill in town and they were really large,” Martin said. “It would remind you to look up to the heavens, and I thought that was a really symbolic way of how society incorporates religion in both a very subtle and maybe not so subtle way.”

If a student is planning on publishing writings or a book in the future, Martin advises that the best thing one can do is to just keep writing consistently.

“[Writing] is kind of akin to running a marathon,” Martin said. “You got to put in the work every day. You got to train even if you don’t feel like it, even if you’re tired, even if you’re just not feeling it that day, you got to lace up your shoes and do it. It’s the same with writing. There were many days when I didn’t feel like it.”

Sophomore Sara Provost held the position of announcing Martin for the Q&A. The role was offered to her as a result of a longstanding tradition within the creative writing department, and she readily accepted.

Provost found Martin’s encouragement during the Q&A to be particularly inspiring. A dual major between creative writing and political science, Provost plans on publishing her own book of historical fiction in the future.

“For me, it was really encouraging to hear that this is his first novel and he has had many other jobs before this,” Provost said. “Especially as a creative writing major it shows for me that you can do what you love, and it’s going to look differently at different points in your life, but you can still get to where you want to go.”

Provost notes how she hopes that the other students in attendance were as inspired by the Q&A as she was and that success can come in different forms for people.

“Success looks differently for different people, and even the same person at different points in their life,” Provost said.

Each person holds their own goals and ambitions and their own plan on how to achieve them. Sometimes it can take longer to reach a certain goal than once believed. Or the goal can change throughout the journey to get there. The most important thing to do is continue on that journey of ambition and self-discovery, even if it does not go as planned.

“Martin was talking about how he took a year off of work to finish the novel,” Provost said. “I feel like most people would view that as a back slide, but it got him to where he wanted to go. Through the journey he was still able to end up in a place that he’s really happy with.”

It can be easy to view success as a result of a linear process, with strict guidelines for how success is supposed to look. However, the Q&A with Martin proves that this is not the case and success is a very personal accomplishment. Martin inspired students to explore the opportunities life has to offer and their passions even if it seems less traditional than what society typically views as successful.

“I feel like a lot of times [students are] like, ‘Okay, I’m going to go to college. I’m going to major in this thing and then I’m going to get a job and that’s going to be it,” Provost said. “But I feel like Martin is a living example of how there’s more to life than that.”