According to the Crystal Ball

After I complete Blind Fool Running, my first literary novel under the pen name Jonco Bugos, I'll be returning to science fiction under my real name for another novel in the Science Fiction for Thinkers series. And then it will be back to literary fiction as Jonco Bugos again.

Incidentally, Jonco Bugos is the Slovak version of the name of my mother's deceased father, John Bugosh. It's pronounced YONK-oh BOO-gosh. The Slovak language, like the Russian language, has more than one "S" in its alphabet and the "S" on Bugos has an "sh" sound). My mother was pleased that I wanted to use her father's Slovak name for my pen name whenever I write literary fiction. Just to clear the air on this matter. It's also an homage to him and an honor for me to write literary fiction under a pen name that matches his.

I plan to alternate back and forth that way, writing one science fiction novel every two years and one literary novel every two years. My current literary work-in-progress is experimental because I'm writing in the first person, present tense, and that's not an easy thing to do. My literary fiction will also have a slight autobiographical slant as well as a hidden sci-fi theme that will not be clearly evident to readers who don't already know me. And that will be an even harder thing to accomplish.

So, why am I doing it? To test my writing skills, for one thing, and to have a little fun in the process. Also, to accept that particular literary challenge. And to keep boredom at bay and my imagination fresh for both genres.

At least that's the plan for now.

Turning Point

Five years ago I said good-bye to the service industry once and for all, after twenty years of slugging it out with spoiled customers and jaded co-workers, and began a new career as a science fiction novelist. That turning point was also the darkest day in my life.

And the brightest.

My New Domain

I just set up a new domain but didn't really give the ax to the old one. michaelcasher.com is now nothing more than another cyber road to sciencefictionforthinkers.com. That means I now have two domains and plan to keep them both.

sciencefictionforthinkers.com

It was simply time for a fresh start, some Internet presence security and for trying on some new hats.

"Blind Fool Running"

I've decided to switch genres for a while now that I completed my six-book Science Fiction for Thinkers collection.

Blind Fool Running is a work-in-progress and it's my first literary novel under the pen name, Jonco Bugos.

I hope to complete this seventh novel sometime in 2008.

"Science Fiction for Thinkers" Collection Complete

With the addition of my sixth sci-fi thriller, Little Green Man from Mars, the Science Fiction for Thinkers collection is now complete. Three books comprise The Evermore Trilogy and three books stand alone.

I'm now writing literary fiction under the pen name Jonco Bugos.

Pennsylvania's Heritage Showcased

All of my science fiction thrillers have Pennsylvania settings, although other states, countries and planets are featured as well. Readers who like rich narrative passages about Pennsylvania's coal and lumber history and its colorful hunting tradition will enjoy the Science Fiction for Thinkers collection.

But the biggest part of this sci-fi collection is the exploration of supernatural phenomenon, the universe itself, and contemporary American mores. Plus the always exciting conflict between good and evil.

Who says sci-fi can't read like mainstream?

Unlikely Heroes Are The Best

Science Fiction for Thinkers is a six-pack of sci-fi thrillers in which the main characters are everyday men and women like you and me.

There are no supermen or superwomen in my novels, just everyday people who are laborers, teachers, housewives, office workers, retirees and regular people who get tapped on the shoulder by their own destiny to become unlikely but formidable heroes.

The exotic creatures in Science Fiction for Thinkers are the enemies with which these everdyay heroes must do battle.

A Blog of a Different Color

I write several other blogs, all hosted at Blogger.com. But they're nothing like this one. One of the newest ones is called Random Retro Reviews of the 20th Century and it's coauthored by Baby Boomer Boy.

It has nothing to do with my books, or writing or publishing, or any of that boring marketing stuff. We simply cast a critical eye back on the last century, pick a topic or an event at random, and let the words flow. You'll get a lot of researched facts at this blog and a lot of social, political and news commentary, as well.

My Next Favorite Readhead

Katie Banks Palmer is another strong-willed female character that I created for my Science Fiction for Thinkers collection of sci-fi thrillers.

In The Dreamer Never Sleeps, my fourth novel, she's the "fortysomething" wife of Russell Palmer, the main character, and a capable hospital administrator who must re-apply for her own job under a new CEO title. But that's just one side of Katie Palmer.

Another side of her is being the wife of a man who is haunted by memories of his past and disturbed by dreams of the present and by the uninvited, flesh-and-blood presence of a visitor from the dreamworld. For Katie, this means an awakening she will never forget.

Authors Note: This outdated front cover is no longer available on my sixth novel "The Dreamer Never Sleeps" because all my books got new covers in 2012. I chose to not update this image here, in order to preserve the integrity of the original blog post. To see what this book looks like, as of 2012, just click on the image. 

Truth in Advertising

My sci-fi thrillers don't have the kind of "Mature" content that would disallow a teenage reader from having access to them. While there is some strong language once in while, it's not enough to make it "Mature". Any "Mature" content in my books would be in the form of the intellectual exercises required as readers ponder the speculative science or the historical and cultural references included in my fiction.

But the Science Fiction for Thinkers collection is not just for "Young Adult" readers, either, as some people erroneously label them. They're actually for "Older Adults" who know a little something about 20th Century history, American culture and the human condition, but who also thirst for 21st Century excitement, especially in the form of speculative science and the classic conflict between "Good" and "Evil".

That typically means Generation Xers and Baby Boomers. And older, but not necessarily. There are some bright and inquisitive young minds out there and my sci-fi-thrillers are most certainly for them, as well.

Where's a black hole when you need one?

I went to bed last night a middle-aged man of 54 and woke up today a senior citizen of 55.

Linear reality kind of sucks.

My Favorite Brunette

My favorite brunette is Verona Petrov, a female character who is Earth's first Ambassador to another planet in Time And Time Again, the second installment of The Evermore Trilogy.

In the third book of that trilogy, Providence, Verona Petrov is a brilliant Russian para-scientist, researching the afterlife and teaching basic para-science courses at a small Pennsylvania university.

In her mid-forties, beautiful and brilliant, she shines as a dynamic protagonist battling a dangerous government-sponsored cover up of the truth about life-after-death. There is a secret reason why this same female character is in two books in The Evermore Trilogy.

But only readers will find out.

Why didn't I make her a typical, redheaded Russian woman from the Republic of Georgia? Because everyone expects a Georgian Russian woman to have red hair and that's why I made hers jet black. To match her "atypical" personality.

Author's Note 1-19-13: I didn't update the front-cover images for the books mentioned in this post and on many other old posts because I didn't want to ruin the look and integrity of the original post. You may also find other old posts on this blog and on my other blogs where I didn't update images to the current versions and that only means that I didn't want to or I just overlooked the opportunity to do so. If you click on the book images you will see the 2012 front covers for these novels at Amazon.com. 

Home Boy Disclaimer

For the record, I don't write about real places or real people in my novels. All the characters in my novels, as well as their names, are fictitious and the towns, townships and counties in which they live are fictional places in Pennsylvania and do not really exist.

In addition, there are no composite characters in my books, no "take-offs" on or "rip-offs" of people I have known, although I occasionally give certain "tics" and eccentricities to older characters for humorous effect and in gratitude for the source of childhood wonder they provided. However, in my novels I never write about Snow Shoe, my hometown, or Centre County, my home county, or any of the people who live there now or who ever lived there before. The only similarity between those places and the places I write about is the coal and lumber history, which is fairly commonplace in much of Pennsylvania's Allegheny Plateau Region.

In my novels, my focus is on a quadrangular, fictional part of Pennsylvania that would lie somewhere between the following real places: Smethport in McKean County and Wellsboro in Tioga County as the northern border and between Clearfield in Clearfield County and Lock Haven in Clinton County as the southern border. This is the fictional vicinity of the Pennsylvania I write about. I picked this part of the state for my fiction because this is the part I know the best and love the most.

The only exception to this rule is in Deeds of Destiny, my 5th novel. The first half of this story takes place in a fictional part of southeastern Pennsylvania that would lie somewhere between York and Philadelphia, if it were real. The second half of this story takes place in a fictional section of the above-mentioned area of Pennsylvania's Allegheny Plateau Region.

So, while my novels are fiction, they also pay homage to the rich history and the beautiful topography of Pennsylvania's Allegheny Plateau Region.

link to same post in Thinck Tank