Wantage writer completes first novel, begins second

WANTAGE — Martin Novak, 28, is one person in a big family made up of his father Larry, mother Cheryl, brothers Michael and Dale, and his sisters Christina, Lee-Anne and Sue. His is a typical family unit with one exception — Martin, like a few of his siblings, was adopted.
“Michael was the first to be adopted,” he explains, “and then it was me at age 4. I was followed by Christina and Dale.”
For her commitment to children, Novak’s mother recently received an award from Foster and Adoptive Family Services (N.J.) for Outstanding Service, having fostered over 200 kids over a period of almost 40 years.
In October of 2015, Novak completed his first novel, "The Chocolate Chip in the Vanilla Cake", which can be found online at Amazon.com in paperback. Novak is listed as a contributor, having received assistance in writing the book from his longtime friend, Zachary Richard Dean Billings.
The book discusses Novak’s experiences growing up as an African-American in Sussex County after living in the foster system and being adopted into a Caucasian household.
To date, Novak’s book has sold about 1,500 copies, but it wasn’t easy at first. Novak explains that it was a massive effort.
“Colleges and universities called my book too controversial,” he said.
The book’s profits continue to benefit a number of charities.
Novak graduated from William Paterson University in May of 2015 with a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Public Relations. Both Cheryl and Larry Novak are alumni of the very same institution
“My mom became a speech teacher at Hardyston Township Elementary School and later a group home supervisor for the developmentally-delayed," he said. "My dad went to school to become an elementary teacher (he was told he’d never make it because he is a male and too tall). He ended up as a junior high school teacher at Schuyler-Colfax Middle School in Wayne.”
“Zach was brought in for the first book because he was an outside voice and I knew he wouldn’t fluff it up,” says Novak. “I could appreciate his honesty.”
Novak took a trip to Arizona where Billings lives and stayed with him for a few months to finish the book.
“We wanted to make it sound like my voice when people read it, like you were having a conversation with me,” he said.
“Believe it or not,” Novak continues, “Zach and I met online while I was doing a live-stream broadcast for a show I had on what was formerly referred to as blogTV.com. I have a lot of comic books and liked talking about them, and when he came into my chat room, I found out he was a writer and that we had a lot in common.”
Novak says a passion of his is reading about super-heroes.
“I think it gives people this idea of something bigger than themselves. My favorite is Luke Cage, or Power Man. He’s the first one I ever saw that looked like me.”
While living in Arizona for eight months, Novak endeavored to publicize his novel, speaking at Comic-Con and public library events.
“At one location, people were telling me that they didn’t know much at all about adoption or the foster system. I think there is this misconception that fostering is taking a kid and dumping them someplace or taking away someone else’s kid. The foster care system isn’t perfect, but so many kids have benefited from it.”
Growing up, Novak explains that he felt disconnected from his peers: “I fixed it by trying to be the ‘funny guy.’ I found it to be a relief, where I could focus less on people liking me — or disliking me.”
The first book talks about Novak’s experience overcoming many obstacles, one of which includes racism from his schoolmates.
“Eventually, I think people gave me a shot and had just never really interacted with an African-American much before,” he said. “There are not a lot of people in my situation that feel comfortable talking about this topic, so it’s an obligation for me. I want people to say, ‘that Martin guy is a friend.’”
In August, Novak started work on his second novel which he plans to title, "Please Excuse My Insincerity". He explains that it will be more opinionated, offering a new perspective about the concept of family and sharing insight into Novak’s college career and service in student government.
His goal is to complete the second novel by March of next year. This time, he’s getting no help— “this is all me.”
“I want to talk about why I think it’s important for people to reach out and get motivated to volunteer and get involved with their communities,” he says. “I want to make people aware of their surroundings, to realize that daily interactions with people can make a big difference.”