At 21, many people are juggling last minute assignments and graduation preparations, but Samantha Martin is balancing much more.

Between her work as a peer mentor, extracurricular activities and her studies, the UK college of agriculture senior is making TV appearances, hosting events at schools and regularly talking with publication companies all in celebration of the August 2018 release of her debut novel, “Latium.”

Martin’s book has made a big hit with youth and adults alike by merging two fascinating genres: boarding school mystery and science fiction. The book is a coming of age story that follows a character named Lydia as she seeks to uncover the mysteries surrounding her brother’s death. It is meant to depict and highlight female strength, environmental issues, romance and loss. Her online customers have raved that “Latium” is “refreshing” and “haunting, terrifying, and real.” But the fanfare the young author enjoys now came after a long process, about 300 rejection letters and seven drafts of her published work.

Martin grew up in Novi, Michigan, and wanted to include the diversity she experienced there in her book.

“I started writing the book when I was 13 years old,” Martin said, at which time she said she came up with a special sci-fi reveal for the conclusion of her book and was inspired with the name of the book through a conversation with her friend about fictional worlds.

She said as a child, she and her friend, Sandra, were already writing.

“We had giant notebooks that we just passed back and forth every week in class and we would go over to each other’s houses and read what we’d written,” she said.

Through these encounters, Martin’s love of science fiction writing and the foundation for “Latium” were born.

Some alone-time helped evolve the story, too.

“I was like a really shy kid, so I spent a lot of time just reading and writing,” Martin said of her K-12 years. “I was that kid that ate lunch in the media center working on my book.”

She said she read a lot of science fiction and fantasy books growing up, which were the main inspiration, along with her best friends, for her success now. Though the first of seven drafts of “Latium” was the first book she ever wrote, Martin has since completed seven books.

She got her break in March of 2017 when she pitched her book’s concept in 140 characters on Twitter in a publishing contest. That time, her story got picked up by 50/50 Press, an independent publishing company that Martin said has been a wonderful and intimate experience.

“I really love the small publisher feel,” she said, adding that she’s has been able to maintain ownership of what gets changed and edited in her book.

One of Martin’s friends, Ava Kay, said of Martin, “The first thing I learned about her was how driven she was to be an author. I was fortunate enough to read some of her earlier work back when we met, and I knew from then that she’d be something big. When I got Latium, I was so excited to see the finished product of what she’s worked so hard on for so long and it only exceeded my high expectations.”

The opening line of the book is “You’re still doing it wrong” and is reflective of part of the struggle Martin faced not just from many publishing companies who didn’t want her book but from some adults. Martin said she was told that she would have to give up writing once she got to college, but that never stopped her.

The Oakland Press wrote in September that, “Some adults didn’t take her seriously and questioned her desire to continue writing in college, but Martin kept going. Her advice to other young writers is to never stop. Moreover, she says they shouldn’t worry about their age hindering them from pursuing their own publication dreams.”

Martin is planning on making her story into a trilogy, and the second book will be called “Spectrum.” After graduation, she hopes to see her books become movies and to work as a producer as well as continuing her writing. But for now, she said her goal is “to inspire high schoolers” and she will do just that when she returns to her hometown school, Novi High School, during her 2019 spring break. During her visit, she plans to host writing workshops and give back to her hometown and the youth who now attend her high school.