Talking Books with Stephen Martino, author of 'The Hidden Reality'



Stephen Martino is neurologist practicing in New Jersey. Though not separating conjoined twins like Dr. Ben Carson, he is part of an active medical practice and is currently participating in concussion research and inventing new medical products. When he is not working, he can be found with his five children doing homework or cheering them on at a soccer field, basketball court, or dance recital. Martino is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Cub Scout den leader and is an active public speaker, helping to provide stroke education to the local community, EMS squads and healthcare professionals.

His latest book is the science fiction/political thriller, The Hidden Reality.
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About the Book:

In the year 2084, the brilliant inventor, Alex Pella, finds himself at a precarious crossroad between the pursuit of justice and preservation of his own sanity. While attempting to undermine an international New World Order government created by the financial juggernaut known as The New
Reality, he must also face the hidden truths about his own genetic heritage that are slowly destroying him. After receiving an ambiguous message sent from a former New Reality executive who died 2 years prior, Alex learns that the only possible means to confront this New World Order is to defeat a long-forgotten enemy almost 2500 years old.

THE HIDDEN REALITY is the second stand-alone novel in a trilogy starring Alex Pella, created by New Jersey-based neurologist and entrepreneur Stephen Martino. With his fusion of history, politics, and science fiction, Martino joins such masters of the thriller genre as Dan Brown, James Rollins, and Michael Crichton.

Martino’s villain is a corporation run by a cadre of ruthless international bankers known as The New Reality. Directed by the most corrupt and morally unscrupulous of the bunch, Myra Keres, the company has economically seized control of the world’s governments and the population’s personal freedoms in the process. In order to save humanity from this despot ruler and the unwonted atrocities to which she plans to perpetuate on the world, Alex Pella must infiltrate the company and face an enemy that has unknowingly haunted both him and history for almost 2500 years.

Martino says he wrote THE HIDDEN REALITY more than just to entertain the reader. He wanted to create a modern day Orwellian ANIMAL FARM to allegorically forewarn his readers of a possible dystopia future that awaits all of mankind if humanity continues to proceed down its path of self-destruction.

In THE HIDDEN REALITY, Martino has included such hot-button contemporary topics as genetic cloning, unprecedented economic debt, the rise of big government, and the threat of a New World Order run by the economic elite, while bringing the reader back almost 2500 years into the past when the ancient city state nation known as Greece fought the mighty Persian Empire for world domination.

All of these elements, Martino maintains, separate his book from the pack. He calls THE HIDDEN REALITY “issue-oriented fiction. There are real concerns facing society today that threaten both the sovereignty and prosperity of our future generations. Though fictional, my novel addresses some of these issues and predicts the potential consequences we face as a nation and the world if they are not properly addressed today.”

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Can you tell us what your book is about?

The Hidden Reality is about our potential future. It’s a future whereby we have surrendered all of our personal rights to a New World Order government run by an international banking institution. It’s a time when the First Amendment and Second Amendment to the Constitution are but a distant memory.

The main character of the book is a brilliant inventor and neuroscientist by the name of Alex Pella. While attempting to undermine this New World Order, Alex must also face the hidden truths about his own genetic heritage that are slowly destroying him and confront a long-forgotten enemy almost 2500 years old.


Why did you write your book?

I wrote The Hidden Reality more than just to entertain the reader. I really wanted to create a novel with substance like Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code or Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. These books not only tell a fantastic story but they also make the reader think. So what I did in The Hidden Reality was incorporate certain pressing topics that effect our word today such the unprecedented world-wide economic debt, globalism, the clash between East and West, and the rise of big government while combining it with some interesting topics such as Ancient Greek military history, the idea of an Open Society, and futuristic scientific concepts.


Do you tend to base your characters on real people or are they totally from your imagination?

The truth is that life is much more interesting than fiction. I find that there is no reason to create a new character when I’m surrounded by interesting characters every day. Though I may combine 1 or 2 people to forge one person, the basis for my characters originates from people I know or read about at length.

When I finally start creating a character, I make 4 different categories pertaining to him or her: positive characteristics, negative characteristics, quirks/flaws, and history/background. By the time I’m finished, I feel as if I’m starting to get to know this person. Then, when writing, I try to get into the character’s mind and attempt to think what he or she would do or say in a particular circumstance. The further along I am in the book, the better I know the character, and the stronger he or she becomes to me and hopefully the reader.

Are you consciously aware of the plot before you begin a novel or do you discover it as you write?

I find creating a complete outline of a book before writing it creates a better overall writing experience. Before starting The Hidden Reality, I read a multitude of books and articles for well over 2 years in order to research content for my novel. After compiling a massive pile of notes, I sat down and wrote a rather lengthy outline. In fact, the outline took me almost 20 hours to create. Plus, I had been ruminating for months, imagining scenes and different plots for the novel. Finally, when I went actually wrote the book, it flowed almost effortlessly.


Is it hard to promote a fictional book and where do you start?

As most published authors will confirm, writing the novel is the easiest part. Promoting it is the most difficult task. There are hundreds of fictional novels published on a daily basis. Whether they are being pumped out by large press, small press, independent press, or self-published, they are inundating the literature market at staggering pace. The real question to ask is what makes your novel stand out, and why should people read your work over others? That is the question. Once you’ve ascertained that answer, you can begin to effective promote your work.

My niche is that I wrote The Hidden Reality as almost the modern day allegoric Animal Farm to forewarn the readers of the possible future consequences we may face as a result of our current follies of today. As political tensions rise around the globe, the world plunges into economic debt, East clashes with West, Europe delves deeper into chaos, and new scientific and medical achievements astound us by the day, I attempted to combine these high-concept ideas into The Hidden Reality and try to make sense out the pandemonium that surround us on a daily basis.

Plus, in order to promote my book, I had to learn Facebook, Goodreads, Reddit, Twitter, Hootsuite, and how to create a web page. Plus, I needed to reach out to radio stations, newspapers, blog sites, different authors, and even politicians. In the end, no matter how much help you receive promoting your book from your publisher, you are your greatest publicist. The more you do, the better your book will be purchased and hopefully enjoyed.


What do you like to do for fun?

The honest truth is that I never really felt as if I ever grew up. I’ve watched every Marvel and DC-based movie that ever aired in a movie theater. Plus, the kids as I have viewed every SpongeBob and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon episodes ever created.

When I’m not sitting on my rear end, I enjoy playing sports with wife, kids, and whomever wants to join, Geocaching, or doing outdoor activities with the Boy Scouts.

What kind of advice would you give other fiction authors?

First and foremost, write what you love. Follow your passion. The more desire you have for your topic, the easier it is to write and the better the finished product will be. Plus, there is a niche for just about every topic, genre, or idea out there. Find your niche and run with it.

Secondly, in order to write you must read. The better repertoire of books you’ve read under your belt, the more diversified your writing style will be. I enjoy reading thrillers and have read at least 20 different authors of that genre. After reading such a plethora of works, I began to understand certain writing styles and techniques that suit me better than others.

Lastly, have fun. Writing is meant to be exciting. Let your imagination run wild and the words flow onto the page as if they were always meant to be there. Enjoy!