Spokane author Bitty Balducci makes debut with YA dystopian science fiction novel set in future, ‘Nascent’

The Book “Nascent” – a young adult dystopian science fiction novel set in the near future – came to Spokane author Bitty Balducci in a dream.

“I’ll regularly be in the middle of a dream and be like, ‘Oh, this is awesome. I got to remember this idea. Someone should make a movie out of this,’” Balducci said. “When I wake up, I think about the plot essentially, and I’m like, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ But, you know, I had that same thought about the basic premise for ‘The Clockwise Chronicles’ trilogy, and when I woke up, I thought, ‘Wow, I think there’s something there.’”

On Friday, Balducci will launch “Nascent” at Spark Central by reading from the book and answering questions about the Clockwise Chronicles trilogy. Seats are limited, and Spark Central encourages people to register in advance if they’re planning to attend.

When Balducci started writing “Nascent” three years ago, her intent wasn’t to publish; she was just enjoying writing.

“I quickly realized that it was a whole novel, even within the first month of just having fun with it,” Balducci said. “I realized how naturally it came to me, and how much more of the story there was to tell.”

“Nascent” follows the story of Juniper Griffith, in a time where all that’s left of society is contained within 24 Dream Corp units. Dream Corp is the company at the center of the novel that came in amid societal unraveling and revolutionized world order, Balducci explained.

“A team of skilled scientists have found a way to recapture and repurpose the restorative properties of another person’s sleep,” Balducci said. “It follows a young woman coming of age, Juniper Griffith, as she kind of goes from growing up in one of the facilities, Dream Corp Onyx, and uncovers the truth about Dream Corp.”

For her day job, Balducci is an assistant professor of marketing at Washington State University. “I look at how sales people can use the words, the acoustics of how they use them, the what and how to influence persuasion,” Balducci said.

Her background influenced how she wrote “Nascent,” she said.

“As I am writing certain scenes and particularly dialogue, I feel like I try to perspective-take as much as possible, so that that can be as authentic as it possibly can be,” Balducci said.

Balducci said the book can be read on its own if readers are OK with a cliffhanger ending, but there will be two more books in the Clockwise Chronicles.

“Anybody who likes to explore thought-provoking questions will enjoy this book,” Balducci said. “Although it is entertaining, it is very much an adventure, like sci-fi adventure. I feel that it raises important questions about things like inequity and justice.

“My primary message at the heart of the entire trilogy is encouraging people to consider deeply how they’re spending their time.”

Copies of the book can be purchased at the event, or at Auntie’s Bookstore, the Small Biz Shop, FinnBoy Records, the Well-Read Moose, as well as Amazon.