Robert Blevins was just a fifth-grader when he first got the notion to write.

According to Blevins, 55, it was author Jules Verne who first put the spark to tinder, igniting what would become a lifelong passion for words for the Auburn author and publisher.

“The first science fiction book I read was “1984 (by George Orwell),” Blevins said. “Jules Verne was a big influence as a kid. As soon as I read “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” I started copying him. I was in fifth grade.”

Now, more than four decades later, Blevins is an established author, with his own publishing company, Adventure Books of Seattle, and a twice-yearly magazine, Escape Velocity, that caters to fans of realistic science fiction.

According to Blevins, his first book, “Say Goodbye to the Sun” was written in 1978.

“I kept getting rejected though, so I tossed out the manuscript,” Blevins said.

Fate intervened 20 years later, however, when residents at a house formerly occupied by Blevins found the manuscript in the attic and sent it to him.

“Geoff Nelder reedited for me and I published it,” he said. “Most of the publishers at the time said it was too farfetched, but a lot of the stuff came true between 1978 and 1998.”

In 2001, Blevins and his girlfriend, Gayla Prociv – with whom he also runs a local house cleaning business – started Adventure Books, publishing books available in electronic form only.

In 2004, Blevins enlisted his English friend and fellow science fiction author, Geoff Nelder, to help as a content editor and Adventure Books began its foray into the print market.

In 2007, the company took another step and acquired its own ISBN (International Standard Book Number) prefix and entered the realm of mainstream book marketing.

In addition to his work with his own novels and sifting through submitted material for the Escape Velocity magazine, Blevins also re-edits established books, condensing them to make them more palatable to readers.

One such book is “Pilot Down, Presumed Dead” originally published in 1963 by Marjorie Phleger.

“We got the rights to this book, and I asked if I could do really light editing and add images, one to each chapter, that has to do with the story,” he said.

According to Blevins he obtained the rights from the children of the author.

“I bought a used copy from an Amazon shopper,” he said. “When I did a little research on the Web I found out it hadn’t been printed since 1991. And I wondered why. So I tracked down the author’s son and daughter.”

Blevins asked if anyone had any rights, and when he found out it was available he bought them.

“It’s a good crossover book,” he said. “The author was aiming for kids. This book is a lot different because Steve Farris is interacting with nature.

On lots of recommended reading lists across the country. I thought what a shame it’s not being printed,” he said.

In addition to “Pilot Down, Presumed Dead,” Blevins has also edited a book he calls “Robinson Crusoe: Special Redux Edition” that condenses Daniel Dafoe’s 1719 novel from 160,000 words to 40,000. He also said he has plans to redo a trio of Jules Verne novels – “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “The Mysterious Island” and “From the Earth to the Moon.”

Although not science fiction, the books adhere to the adventure genre that Blevins said he favors.

“I lean towards the adventure stuff with the science fiction,” he said. “I don’t do the ‘alternate reality’ stuff like ‘Star Wars.’ I try to extrapolate tomorrow based on what is happening today. Space travel is a big one for me.”

Although Blevins works in fiction, he also blogs for MSNBC’s Newsvine blogging community, sharing his views on the current state of affairs.

“I think NASA is underfunded and does a lot with the little money they do have,” he said. “I don’t think (space exploration) will necessarily save humanity, but I think it’s where we’re going. I think we’re in the stone age of space travel. I compare it with two ants, sitting on hill in the middle of the Sahara Desert talking about what the rest of the world might be like. They really don’t know. I think it’s like that with people.”

Information on Adventure Books of Seattle is available at www.adventurebooksofseattle.com. Information on Escape Velocity magazine is available at www.escapevelocitymagazine.com. Blevins’ blogs for Newsvine can be viewed at www.adventurebooks.newsvine.com.www.adventurebooks.newsvine.com.