Just because Dr. Jim Zarzana, an SMSU English professor, teaches students literature, doesn’t mean that he can’t write his own. The Marsco Dissident, the first book in his four-part saga, has arrived. The novel, centering on the Marsco Corporation, takes place in 2092 in Sac City, formerly known as Sacramento, California.

“I wanted to stress that education is important, and Sacramento State is where I received my master’s degree,” Zarzana said. The novel’s themes are based around power struggles of religious leaders as well as politicians in a world where the system crushes the lower class, while intertwining elements of science fiction.

His passion for literary science fiction novels didn’t stop at the genre choice, though. The main character, Walter, is named after one of his favorite sci-fi authors. Walter Miller’s book, A Canticle for Leibowitz, left quite an impression on him in college.

Zarzana’s character reconnects with his daughter, Tessa, and comes up with an idea to compete against the Marsco Corporation. “I won’t tell you the rest, you’ll have to read the book,” he added.

While Zarzana wrote the novel, many from Southwest aided in the final publication. “Marcy Olson worked with me to design the cover,” Zarzana said. He added that Dana Yost, an SMSU creative writing alumni, helped to format the novel and Dr.  Neil Smith, chair of the English Dept. and published author, encouraged and assisted in the e-publishing.

When asked why science fiction, Zarzana said, “It gives me a blank canvas.”

The Marsco Dissident was self-published through Amazon and may be purchased for the Amazon Kindle for $5.99 or for download to a computer.