Interview with Science Fiction Author Joe Vitovec​

 

 

1.      What inspired you to write this book? In 1960, we still believed Mars had canals. That was when SETI was established, and astrophysicist Drake gave us his famous equation, which suggests that as few as 20 and as many as 50 million visible planets/stars contain some form of life. When Hubble launched, it not only confirmed his estimate; it proved it conservative. My thought was: if the Universe contains that much life, then there is a probability that something like Earth exists somewhere else. After all, all bodies in the Universe contain the same combinations of known elements and gases, along with others we identify under the generic term dark matter, so why should Earth be unique? There is constant turnover, and there are an infinite number of stages of development and demise on a scale and in a time we can’t even imagine. Wouldn’t it then be possible that somewhere there is another one of us, another Earth, or an Earth-like planet? And if life processes are universal, given the conditions, couldn’t some planets contain Earth-like life? In various stages of development? Humanoids like us? Not necessarily at the same stage—some more advanced, and some less? Would their likeness extend to societies? Would similar or identical circumstances of existence produce the same social development and structures? Families, bands, clans, towns, cities, states, kingdoms, whatever? Become friends or enemies? In effect, behave like us?  

2.      What exactly is it about, and who is it written for? The story is about a rescue mission that crosses universes and an alien world that destroyed itself. It’s about our Earth-like counterparts in another universe, one called Big Sister, which is very much like our own Earth, and a binary planet, a captured comet, called Little Sister. Both share the same habitable zone, with Big Sister in an ideal orbit that provides seasonal changes resembling those of our Earth, and Little Sister in an oval orbit because it was captured later. Consequently, while habitable, her seasons are extreme. The inhabitants of Big Sister used her as a source of valuable minerals. As on Earth, the population divided into two opposing camps, and each side used robots in subsequent wars. Each side had nuclear weapons. By agreement, they pledged not to use them, but one side miscalculated, and life on Big Sister ended. Few survivors escaped to Little Sister, where they settled in domed habitats. There, they set out to recreate their culture in a domed national park they called Terrarium. This included flora and fauna. Besides the extreme seasons, Little Sister had an unbalanced atmosphere that distorted sound. As part of the Terrarium, the inhabitants constructed an immense sphere over an auditorium-like bowl. There they recreated an Earth-like atmosphere and held concerts. To that end, they kidnapped Earthling musicians and singers. The story is about an expedition mounted to rescue the Earthlings.  

3.      What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? Hopefully, after reading this book, readers will not only enjoy the read, but also think more deeply about the possibilities and risks of what is happening here on Earth. The story of Big Sister could echo right here on Earth, except that the inhabitants of Big Sister had Little Sister to escape to, while we do not have that luxury or option. If we damage or destroy our planet, we have no options to save ourselves. Mars is not an option. 

4.      How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? I chose TERRARIUM because it accurately captures the alien national park's environment, their echoes of home. It also echoes the fate of TERRA, our Earth. Our destinies are joined. The cover is a public-domain NASA photo of the NGS 2313 emission nebula in the Monoceros constellation. I flipped the image to improve the composition. I chose it because it prominently shows two stars, one bluish and the other reddish, which fits the description of the Two Sisters. The diagram shows our Sun's location in the known universe using pulsars. It appears on the instruction panel of the golden disk carried by the Voyager spacecraft and is also in the public domain. 

5.      What advice or words of wisdom do you have for your fellow writers – other than run!? Besides telling a story, I think writing exposes the writer’s inner self. It is very satisfying to immerse oneself in the story, in a different life, and let imagination run its course. First of all, it is a journey shared with the reader, and I hope at least some of it will evoke similar feelings. But above all, it is a personal journey that is best characterized by Tom Clancy, who said, “Success is a finished book, a stack of pages filled with words. If you reach that point, you have won a victory over yourself no less impressive than sailing single-handed around the world.”  

6.      What trends in the book world do you see – and where do you think the publishing industry is heading? More people are writing, and fewer people are reading. Today’s world is saturated with books to the point that unless you are a known entity, have written about something immensely popular or extreme, and are picked up by a known publishing company, which is no longer independent but a part of a conglomerate that uses profit as the only measure of success, your book will not be ‘successful.’  

7.      Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? I was born in 1930 and lived through the betrayal of Czechoslovakia and the Second World War. I was politically active in school when, in 1948, the Communists overthrew the legitimate government. Merciless persecution of the democratic population followed. I was then a student at the Gymnasium, an eight-year school that would lead to university. Because of my activities, I faced expulsion and worse. Thousands of Czechs began to leave the republic when the BBC announced the formation of a Czechoslovak legion in the American Occupational Zone in Germany. Some of my friends and I followed. The Legion didn’t materialize, and I became a refugee. I spent the next two years in various refugee camps in Germany, France, and Italy before emigrating to the USA. Of an estimated 200,000 Czechoslovak escapees, only 2000 were admitted to the USA. I enlisted in the Air Force after being promised I would fly, mostly because I sought to continue working toward liberating my country, but I never flew. 50 years later, when the Cold War ended and I could return, I discovered I was not the same person who left, and my country was not the same country I held in my heart. So my first writing effort was to describe the experiences a refugee undergoes when forced into exile and the price one pays for leaving the comforts of home in Full Circle: A Refugee’s Tale. I wanted to leave a record—a firsthand true account of what happens when one becomes a refugee, essentially a man without a country. I felt a similar urge when writing TERRARIUM. When considering the Earth, our home, the way we treat her, and the way we take for granted that she will be there for us always, we face the same prerogatives as the mirror images of Big Sister and Little Sister. At my age, that is all I can contribute and show my concern, hoping that, by jarring our consciences, we, the human race, will wake up before it is too late.  

8.      How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I regard writing the way I see music. Writing has a rhythm; syllables are like notes, and a well-written narrative or storytelling flows like a song. English is my second language, and I find it rhythmic and ideal for expressing narrative variations. In fact, I am more comfortable with English than with Czech—yet another consequence of my long separation from my native land. As to writing itself, I need a good idea of a story firmly set in my head, and I let it evolve before I dive in and, in my mind, live in it. It is a constant, a nagging thought, a presence. Ideas come unexpectedly. I think of changes of options, and try to jot them down before they evaporate. I am constantly part of it. I research facts and science, and then work on simplifying them for the reader. One of my favorite writers is Michael Crichton, who uses science in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the reader, and I try the same approach in TERRARIUM. At times, it takes over my life. It’s a ‘ride.’  

9.      What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? Mostly time, and occasional mental fatigue after a hard day. I have a dear spouse with medical issues, and my writing time and concentration have been affected. I found it challenging to research the science of sound, instruments, and music, specifically the organ, and then mold them into the story in a believable way so as not to annoy the reader and to describe the effects so the reader can imagine and perhaps experience them as well.  

10.  If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? Besides being a good read, the book will hopefully tug at the reader’s conscience. We all share a speck of dust in the Universe called Earth. The picture Voyager sent back of our ‘home’ is daunting, the loneliness overwhelming. We are, in a real sense, alone. I hope the book, TERRARIUM, in a small way, awakens our conscience as we consider her health. That’s why the book ends with a question mark.  

About The Author: Joe Vitovec came to this country from Czechoslovakia in 1950 after escaping from the communist regime in 1948 and spending two years in various refugee camps in Germany, France, and Italy. He spent the last forty years as an art director and developer of training programs and simulators for the Air Force. He studied history and art at Texas Christian University, urban studies at the University of Texas, and taught political science at Tarrant Community College in Fort Worth, Texas. He lives in Anacortes, Washington. For more information, please see:  https://jvitovec.com/

 

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About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 11 million page views. With over 5,700+ posts over the past 15 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2026, 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2026.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum