Gold Dust Publishing Signs Debut Author Dan Desai Martin
On December 10, 2024, Gold Dust Publishing announced they signed debut author Dan Desai Martin to a book deal. The North Carolina-based agency will publish Desai Martin’s fantasy novel, tentatively titled In the Shadow of the Sanctum.
The novel combines the religious dystopia of Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale with the coming-of-age elements of Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes series. As the truth and lies about the One God blur, Ehla must overcome anxiety from her past, distrust of those around her, and a growing desire for vengeance directed at the all-powerful and corrupt holy Sanctum.
“Dan’s fresh take on the fantasy genre is just what readers need at this moment,” Jason Roach, editor-in-chief of Gold Dust Publishing, said. “This book combines lush worldbuilding, memorable characters, page-turning adventures, and a voice that readers will soon come to love as much as I do.”
Gold Dust Publishing offers fiction and nonfiction books with an intentional focus on works featuring LGBTQIA+ characters or written by LGBTQIA+ authors.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of the Gold Dust publishing family,” Desai Martin said about the announcement. “I couldn’t imagine a better partner to bring these characters and their story into the world.”
Desai Martin is an active member of the Maryland Writers’ Association (MWA), where he was an editor of Emerging Voices: Poetry and Prose, Volume 9, a collection of short stories, novel excerpts, and poems by members of teen writers’ clubs sponsored by the MWA.
Growing up in Statesboro, Georgia, Desai Martin devoured fantasy novels like J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. After graduating from Berry College with a degree in Religious Studies, he spent the past few decades trying to make the world a more just and equitable place, with jobs ranging from policy advocate to journalist to communications consultant. Along the way, he never lost his love for reading, and now writing, fantasy novels.
Desai Martin lives with his spouse in Silver Spring, Maryland.
