IN Bethel Park Spring 2018 | Page 27

BETHEL PARK AUTHOR DOMINIC BIANCO IS WORKING ON THE THIRD INSTALLMENT OF HIS POPULAR APPARITION SAGA SERIES .

Mary Shelly ’ s “ Frankenstein ,” Stephen King ’ s “ Misery ,” and Bethel Park author Dominic Bianco ’ s “ Apparition Saga ” all have the same thing in common — they started with a dream .

And Bianco ’ s dream has kicked off a series of young adult science fiction that ’ s garnered a lot of attention locally and abroad , something Bianco attributes to the accessibility of the characters in his story .

“ I tried to craft a character who was relatable ,” Bianco says of his main character , Angelo , who gains telekinetic powers after a car accident embeds the powers of an artifact called Trifecta into his chest . The relic is one of three disparate pieces of an ancient power source from a long-dead Atlantis-type island nation called Abluvion . Not only must Angelo cope with finding out who he is in the world , he also must juggle his newfound powers . Along the way , he finds his nemesis , who also is looking for the Trifecta for his own nefarious gain . Within all of this , another character shines — the city of Pittsburgh — which serves as the perfect backdrop to the action .

“ It ’ s for kids and young adults who struggle with growing up and finding out who they are ,” Bianco says . “ Angelo wants to start his own path in life , and feels he ’ s not living up to his full potential . And then he gets these powers and has to struggle with the success of being a superhero .”

For Bianco , getting the chance to write his own superhero series is a dream come true . A lifelong fan of comics and science fiction , his number one hero is Superman . And , since his first book was published in 2013 , he ’ s now seated behind the table signing autographs at the Comicons he once attended as a fan .

“ We sold out at Steel City Con , which I didn ’ t expect ,” Bianco says . “ We reached the top 5,000 authors on Amazon in SciFi and Young Adult . It was picked up for audiobook . Rick Waldmiller read the first book and is working on the second for Audible .”

In his third book , a new character is introduced who will leave readers wondering who ’ s good and who ’ s bad . Bianco promises that the backstory and mythos of Abluvion will be revealed .

At 32 , and with unwavering support from his friends and family , Bianco still feels he ’ s not living up to his full potential . “ I have more ideas I ’ d like to turn into realties . There ’ s never a shortage of people or places from which to get ideas — they ’ re all over . You can find inspiration in anything . And the one thing Apparition has given me is the courage to put my ideas out there without fear .”

The popularity of Bianco ’ s past work continues to have him looking over his shoulder for new challenges . “ There are book signings and vendor shows that always come up on the calendar ,” he says . “ So I ’ ll be talking about this series for a while , which is great . This thing continues to grow and allows me to work on my next project .”

Beyond that , Bianco has also dipped his toe into merchandising with blue t-shirts and bracelets , which represent the color of the Apparition ’ s force field . While movie deals and TV adaptations are pie-in-the-sky for Bianco , he admits he ’ s thought about it . “ I think Logan Lerman from ‘ Percy Jackson & the Olympians ’ would be a good person to play Angelo ,” he says . “ Or Cody Christian from ‘ Teen Wolf .’”

But for now , Bianco is content with the local recognition the Apparition Saga has brought him and hopes his ability to make people smile is a superpower he never loses . “ I was in Five Below the other day and a girl was staring at me and her mother said , ‘ My daughter loves your book .’ I hope when I do a signing or a talk at a school that it ’ s more than just about the characters . I hope kids and young adults will see that an everyday guy from their hometown wrote a book and say , ‘ He wrote a book , I can too .’” ■

Dominic Bianco

BETHEL PARK ❘ SPRING 2018 25