A Perfect Flock

All an Act by Melissa Wardwell

A Perfect Flock

A Perfect Flock by Mike Bogue: Author Interview, Tour, and Giveaway with Celebrate Lit.

About the Book

Book: A Perfect Flock

Author: Mike Bogue

Genre: Christian Science Fiction

Release date: October 26, 2023

Tuck Jameson vows to stop his brother Clay from joining The Body, a religious cult that uses nanotechnology to turn its members into Christian automatons.

But Clay disappears—and in three days, his nanotechnology conversion will be complete. Desperate to find Clay, Tuck enlists the aid of former high school mentor Adam Shimura, now a black ops agent with potentially mixed motives.

Brother Moody, the cult’s Chief Elder, mobilizes his acolytes against Tuck. Worse, a shocking prophecy ups the ante, making Tuck realize the stakes involve not only him and Clay, but all of America—and perhaps, the world.

Click here to get your copy!Author Interview:What makes your main characters tick?

The same needs, desires, hopes, fears, and dreams that make most of us tick. But in each case, my characters struggle with different flaws, both external and internal, that keep them from achieving their goal.

For example, in A Perfect Flock, Tuck Jameson, the protagonist, displays compassion, brotherly love, and resolve. But he also believes he knows what’s best for his friends and family, regardless of what they think. In short, he has control issues that foul the important relationships in his life.

This flaw also impedes him from saving his brother Clay from joining The Body, a religious cult that uses nanotechnology to turn its members into supposedly perfect Christians. He must overcome his flaw to save his brother, or lose him forever.

What was the highlight of writing this book?

Having it all come together in the final draft. I submitted the manuscript to three beta readers and two developmental editors. Using their insights, plus some of my own, I was able to make revisions that strengthened the novel. All the subplots get resolved, and most importantly, the climax becomes the high point of the novel both thematically and action-wise.

So what do readers think? A Perfect Flock sports an Amazon average customer rating of 4.8, and a Goodreads average rating of 4.57. In addition, 2023 and 2024 Realm Award Winner Bryan Timothy Mitchell calls the novel “immersive and compelling.”

Do you write in one genre or several?

I write both fiction and non-fiction. Fiction-wise, A Perfect Flock is my first traditionally published novel, though I have had short stories published in G-FAN, Scary Monsters Magazine, Daikaiju! 3, and Don’t Go In the Water. I have also self-published the novella Atomic Drive-In.

In the non-fiction category, I wrote the critically acclaimed Apocalypse Then: American and Japanese Atomic Cinema: 1951-1967 (McFarland), which received an NPR endorsement. My current McFarland non-fiction book, Watching the World Die: Nuclear Threat Films of the 1980s, boasts a 4.9 customer rating on Amazon. As you’ve noticed, both books concern nuclear apocalypse as portrayed in movies made during the twentieth century’s Cold War period.

What authors would you say influence your writing?

Bill Myers, Jerry Jenkins, David Gregory, Pat Frank, and Steven James.

While I enjoy far-flung speculative fiction, I am partial to near-future thrillers. A good example is Steven James’ excellent Synapse, a thoughtful combination of science fiction and thriller exploring an important spiritual issue—if an AI entity becomes self-aware, does that mean it has a soul? Can it become a Christian?

Other excellent examples of near-future science fiction that have influenced me include Jerry Jenkins’ The Valley of the Dry Bones, Bill Myers’ Saving Alpha, and David Gregory’s The Last Christian. Any reader who enjoys these novels is likely to appreciate my book A Perfect Flock.

Are you working on your next book already? What can you tell us?

Yes. My current novel-in-progress is called Eden Colony. The premise:

After a nuclear war, Caleb Anderson discovers he and certain fellow Christian survivors are immune to radiation. They struggle to rebuild a benevolent post-nuke society, but a clandestine government group schemes to use them to establish a dictatorship. If Caleb doesn’t stop them, thousands of war survivors will die.

About the Author

Why does Mike Bogue write speculative fiction? Because he finds it a perfect genre to explore timeless themes and timely science, as well as the collision between technology and faith. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys watching Godzilla movies, singing 1960s pop tunes, and munching Fiber One brownies. Single and retired, Mike lives with his cat Bendi in Western Arkansas, where he and Bendi regularly hold contests to see who can nap the longest in a single day.

More from Mike

“If brainwashing means losing my free will for God’s sake, so be it.”

Thus says a recruit for the religious cult The Body in my novel A Perfect Flock.

When planning the novel, I wondered—should Christians use technology to enhance their moral lives? What if technology forced us to be good? Should we use it? Should we advocate it? Would it make Christians, and therefore the Gospel, more appealing to non-Christians?

A Perfect Flock explores these issues. In the novel, technology that might have been a blessing becomes a curse in the hands of cult leader Brother Moody. Indeed, becoming Moody’s version of a perfect Christian might just cost you your soul.

In A Perfect Flock, you will confront the well-meaning but dark future into which technology may be taking Christians and society; experience a fast-paced quest in which an older brother is determined to save his younger brother from technological enslavement; and face the tension between free will and enforced will—if we had the technology to force others to become Christians, should we?

If you like near-future Christian science fiction novels such as Steven James’ Synapse, I think you’ll enjoy A Perfect Flock.

A technical note: The book was released last October 23, so it is available now.

Best of hopes and dreams,

Mike

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, October 5

For the Love of Literature, October 6 (Author Interview)

The Book Zone, October 7

Tell Tale Book Reviews, October 8 (Author Interview)

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, October 9

Through the Fire Blogs, October 10 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 11