The way things are going, it might seem almost like the end of the world.

Mike Schlossberg wrote a book about it.

“Like many people, I have a fascination with Armageddon. But the concept has been overdone,” says Schlossberg, a state Senator (D-132 Legislative District).

With his new young adult novel, “Almost the End of the World (The Perses Series Book 1)” (292 pages, Roan and Weatherford Publishing, paperback $16.99, eBook $6.99, 2026), Schlossberg not only wonders, “What happens afterwards?,” but “What if it didn’t happen?”

In his first book of the trilogy, the world faces but avoids the fictional Perses, a Texas-sized asteroid that nearly hits the earth. However, universal trauma remains.

Schlossberg’s story shows one outcome through the eyes of 17-year-old Corey, who returns to Augustus Boarding School and finds that he and his friends are facing a group of students called the Refuge.

The Refuge wants to withdraw from society, while looking for and controlling vulnerable people.

“There is a lot of group thinking and disconnection with the world we are living in. Society has become so fractured that we are living in different realities,” says Schlossberg during an interview in a west Allentown coffee shop.

“I started the book in 2019, but I had to stop because of Covid. My real job was insane.” Schlossberg says. Schlossberg is the majority whip in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

“I rethought the book and rewrote it,” he says.

Some of the characters are composites of people he has known.

His publishers asked for only one change in the plot, changing the setting from college to high school to appeal to young adult readers.

“In retrospect, that was better. College kids have more independence,” says Schlossberg. Younger people might be more susceptible to a group like the Refuge.

Schlossberg says that with young adult fiction he can “write something with a strong emotional import at a potential time in young people’s lives,” slthough he notes, “One half of young adult fiction read is by actual adults [those past their teenage years].” That is something of a relief to him, being “43 years old writing about teenagers.”

The second book in the trilogy, “Return to the End of the World” is at his publisher, and he is working on the third book.

He published the first part of another young adult science fiction trilogy called “Redemption” in 2018, but did not continue it because of delays with its publisher. He hopes to complete it.

Where cults are the theme of “Almost the End of the World,” “Redemption” shows concern about mental health. Schlossberg has been open about his past struggles with depression and anxiety.

“The statistical trends are going in the wrong direction. But there are reasons to be hopeful. There are more resources and conversations now about mental health. We just need the political will to address it,” he says.

Schlossberg, who was born and raised in Livingston, N.J., graduated from Muhlenberg College with a BA and Lehigh University with an MA, each in Political Science. He lives in South Whitehall Township with his wife Brenna and their two children Auron and Ayla.

“Writing is the only thing that keeps me sane. It is a passion project, a fun dream that I have of being a writer. But I love my job,” he says.

“Literary Scene” is a column about authors, books and publishing. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com