Who would guess that a staff member at the Georgia Institute of Technology could publish a fictional novel? Well, Scott Sergent did just that. Recently, under the pen name Ivan Scott, Sergent published his first novel, titled An Invincible Summer.

Scott manages programming for the campus television station, GTCN. For example, last week when the HBO channel stopped working for a day or so, chances are you were speaking to him.

He attended East Tennessee and is originally from Knoxville. Many of his childhood friends came down to Atlanta after graduation, and he was also looking forward to moving to a large city; therefore, he shifted to Atlanta.

"I started working on the novel in April 1995, then I broke up in June 1995, and also my father passed away. Too many blows at one time," he said.

"I found a way to escape my troubles through writing and I found it therapeutic. And at that point I put most of my effort into this book."

Such was the beginning of An Invincible Summer, a novel written from the heart and quite an entertaining read. It was released earlier this month, and Sergent is currently in the process of getting booksellers around Atlanta to carry copies of the novel.

Much of the setting of the novel is based in Chicago. Upon asking Sergent why he chose this as a setting, he replied, "Chicago: it's fun [and] is my second favorite city-besides Atlanta of course."

There are two main characters in the book, Sam Murdock, "who is convinced his life is over after a broken heart," and Jack, a saint introduced to mend Sam's broken heart. Jack is described as a man "who carries 40 years of pain in his heart," and is to help Sam and himself overcome grief.

When I asked Sergent if there was any character in the book whom he would consider a reflection of himself, he replied, "When I started writing the book I saw myself as Sam, but it took seven and a half years to write and publish, so now I see myself more as Jack."

Jack is the most intriguing character in this novel, his living in the 1930s emphasized by the fact that he always wears a fedora. He is one of those people who acts like a talking encyclopedia and happens to know everything. While reading the book, the reader develops a certain affection for Jack and a longing for his happiness.

The amount of research put into this book was incredibly tedious yet satisfying, according to Sergent. "My minor in college was history, so I spent many days at the library. I had to research the history of 1930s, and I felt like I was in that time period because I was so immersed in the research," he said. "Also, I got to know this stat guy, who has all sorts of baseball info since the late 1800s. So anything I needed I could ask him for."

Reading through the chapters, I had to ask Sergent if he was a baseball fan. His reply was simple: "I still love the game but topics like free agency, side talks, and salary has soured my taste for baseball. But I used to work with the Braves."

Usually, it is impossible for writers to keep up with literary agents and publishing companies. In this case, An Invincible Summer is self-published.

After going through difficulties finding a book deal and literary agent, John Doane recommended his publishing company, Avantine Press, to Sergent. Avantine Press is a company that does the cover work and art for author.

An Invincible Summer is a great read for fiction lovers as well as baseball fans. An important conclusion from reading this novel: it perhaps is a love story and a romance novel, but more importantly it is about living life to the fullest and not regretting the past.