If rewriting is good writing, Jason Schimschal’s debut science-fiction novel, "The Devil’s Utopia ," should register well with readers.

He had wanted to write a book since childhood. In college, Schimschal took the initiative, and the reviews — solely his own — were brutal.

"The first time around was pretty much a nightmare because I didn’t know what I was doing," Schimschal says.

All those years of pent-up literary musings left his brain overcrowded with ideas. So he took a break and started a career as a technical writer for a pharmaceutical company. And when the writing bug returned, Schimschal had a newfound approach to the tale of a post-apocalyptic civilization.

"A lot of the stuff came from the fact that when I was a kid I was pretty much horrified with the whole entire Cold War-type issue, so I used to read about it when I was a kid."

"The Devil’s Utopia " follows a set of characters living 40 to 50 years after nuclear war and the plague have wreaked havoc on civilization. The story focuses on a generation of youth living on the edge of the ruined earth, a place to which younger generations have been exiled as a rite of passage.

The youth, who will be deemed outcasts if they return home before they reach adulthood, set out on adventures in exile, and learn much about themselves along the way.

But that’s not where it ends.

"If you loved the first novel, the sequel will take your breath away," Schimschal writes about the next book in his continuing series on his Web site, www.darkenrealm.com.

Schimschal has already written the second book, although it has yet to be edited.

Though Schimschal has taken the long road to get to this point — he began writing "The Devil’s Utopia " six years ago and completed it in 2002 — he has just begun to market the book. His confidence in the product, though, is much stronger than before.

Valerie Singleton can be reached at 303-684-5319 or by e-mail at vsingleton@times-call.com.