Bryant to appear at AuthorTalk Jan. 30

Date: 1/30/2012

Jan. 25, 2012

By Debbie Gardner

debbieg@thereminder.com

AGAWAM — Adam Bryant admits that he’s been writing “as long as I could put pen to paper.”

On. Jan 30 at 7 p.m., the 21-year old Feeding Hills resident will read excerpts from and sign copies of his first published novel, “The Spartan,” a sci-fi thriller about a masked hero who has taken the law into his own hands, as part of the Agawam Public Library’s AuthorTalk series.

“This is my first book signing. It’s very exciting, “ he told Reminder Publications.

Bryant, who said he started writing full-length novels, when he was “10 or 11 years old” along with poetry and short stories, got the inspiration for the plot of “The Spartan” from a sketch he drew in a class in high school.

“I had no concept to go with it [at the time],” Bryant said, but with the “big fad of superheros coming back” in recent blockbuster movies and a personal fascination with superheros and comic books, he decided to “take the concept of a superhero and alter it” to create a different kind of plot for his novel.

Instead knowing everything about his superhero character from the beginning– as readers do with characters such as Batman or Superman — Bryant chose to craft his story using the points of view of five people whose lives intersect with his vigilante-character The Spartan.

“There’s a kid who thinks The Spartan is the best thing, a detective who wants to arrest him, a Lois Lane-type character who’s trying to get the scoop, and two villains,” Bryant said, adding that the storyline is written with all action taking place in the present time.

“There’s not a lot of dialogue, not a lot of structure, it’s a quick read,” he added.

The novel is self-published, something Bryant said he got advice about from Mike Aloisi, another Western Massachusetts-based author, who taught a writing course at the library.

“I showed up at a couple of his classes and he talked me through the publication process,” Bryant said.

Though his book hasn’t been picked up in any local bookstores yet, Bryant said interested readers con get a copy through BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com as well as from his publisher, AuthorHouse’s website.

Even if “The Spartan” is a success, Bryant said he doesn’t plan to write a sequel, though he does have a concept for a sister sci-fi novel set in the same timeframe.

“I want people to know I can write more than just ‘The Spartan,” he said.