Hard Fall
Description
Teenager, Jerry Xiàng had always skimped on the safety rules of his family's dirigible farm, high in the skies of Venus. Today, bad luck caught up with Jerry in the form of a meteor. Suddenly, he found himself hurtling toward the scalding, hot surface of Earth's sister planet. What he learned on the way down could prove even more dangerous than his own hard fall.
"Hard Fall" is a 6,700 word short story by Carl Martin, author of novels, "Gods and Dragons," "Tales of Atlantis Lost," "Touch the Stars: Diaspora," and co-author, with John Dalmas, of "Touch the Stars: Emergence." Martin has also authored science fiction anthology, "Entropy's Children" (a collection of 12 stories). In addition, under his pen name, Rod Martin, Jr., he has published nearly two dozen non-fiction books, including #1 Weather Bestseller, "Climate Basics," and with geologist, Dr. Christopher Scotese, full-color picture book, "Pangaea Sister Sites: Jurassic Link to the Modern World."
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Person
Carl Martin is the fiction pen name of Rod Martin, Jr.
Rod Martin, Jr. was born in West Texas, United States. He has been a Hollywood artist, a software engineer with a degree summa cum laude, a writer, web designer and a college professor.
Rod Martin's interests have ranged from astronomy to ancient history, physics to geology, and graphics arts to motion pictures.
He has studied comparative religion, worked as a lay minister and spiritual counselor, and taught ethics in college.
While doing graphic arts in Hollywood, he also studied electronic engineering. In 1983, as Carl Martin, he published his first novel, "Touch the Stars: Emergence," co-authored by John Dalmas (Tor Books, NY).
Later, switching careers to computers and information technology, Mr. Martin worked for Control Data, Ceridian Payroll, Bank of America, Global Database Marketing and IPRO Tech. He also created "Stars in the NeighborHood" 3D astronomy space software.
He currently resides in the Philippines with his wife, Juvy. He has taught information technology, mathematics and professional ethics at Benedicto College, in Cebu. He continues to teach online and to write books and blogs.
