B. Burgess Junek

B. Burgess Junek

is the author of A Bright One Chronicles.

Because of the matriarchal culture represented in the books, and the emphasis and importance given to names in the story, Bruce chose the pen name B. Burgess Junek for the series, as his middle name is his mother's maiden name.

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Bruce and Tass cycling in the Sahara Desert to make their Mummies and Mosques program in 2005.

Spring break from slide show tour, rock climbing in Red Rocks then out on the town in Las Vegas, 2009.

From the Acknowledgment in The Foundling of Dayr Castle:

I could not have written A Bright One Chronicles without the lifetime of exotic travelling adventures, bicycling expeditions, and spiritual quests that I have shared with my wife, Tass Thacker.

Nor could I have written it without her red pen and brutally honest editorial skills and sharp critiques throughout the entire process to make the story better.

For years, Tass has heroically managed our business and household to give me extra time to write. For all of her humor, strength, inspiration and love, this book is dedicated to my soul mate, Tass Thacker.

Bruce uses his Arabic phrasebook to translate a road sign while crossing the Great Western Desert in Egypt.

Finding daily afternoon shade was critical for survial. We rest on our sleeping pads to get off the scorching hot ground. The temperature is 112 degrees. Out in the sun it is over 120 degrees.

Go to our Mummies and Mosques program for more photos of Egypt, Jordan, Greece and Turkey.

Tass is an amazing photographer who especially loves making portraits of people and patterns.

After our two-year bicycle trip around the world we created Images of the World in 1987 to share our photos and stories of adventure.

We have now traveled and bicycled through 54 countries.

To date nearly two million students have seen our educational school assembly slide presentations, along with many adult audiences at festivals, community and cultural events.

We spend three months cycling up and down the steep terraced hillsides of northern India to immerse ourselves in the culture of the Himalaya Mountains during our World Bicycle trip, 1986.

Bruce the Writer

My first attempt at writing a novel, on the island of Isla Mujeres, Mexico, 1983.

I could never figure out how to finish it. Thirty years later I used some of the plot ideas in Book 2 of A Bright One Chronicles.

Writing in my journal while staying in the home of a Cofan Indian family in the Amazon Basin of Ecudador, 1995.

Writing A Bright One Chronicles on my front patio during the pandemic.

My first book was The Road of Dreams -- A Two-year Hiking and Biking Adventure Around the World.

It took more than twice as long to write the book (five years) as it did to make the journey. The biggest difficulty was editing down my massive journal into a normal size book.

My second book was Andes to the Amazon - Seven Journeys in Mexico, Central and South America.

This book also took five years to write. The biggest difficulty was acurately recalling and writing about earlier journeys that we had made before I began serious journaling.

My third book was a climbing guidebook to a limestone sport climbing in Spearfish Canyon where I live in the Black Hills of western South Dakota.

The biggest difficulty was collecting the information and opinons from the everyone who had worked so hard to establish and bolt the routes. The book is now outdated and out of print.


	My inspiration for writing about climbing in A Bright One Chronicles comes from my experiences as a rock climber. I was terrified of heights when young and did not start climbing until I was 40 years old. I was quickly obsessed. I consider my lead climb of El Matador at Devil's Tower in Wyoming to be my finest accomplishment. Rated 5.10d, I have led harder climbs, but the relentless and sustained nature of the route creates a memorable endurance test as well.

I have a special office helper. He is named Miao, after a unique ethnic group we stayed with while bicycling across China.

Miao helping me work on the maps of Dayr Castle and the Land of Ambra.

We love the stark beauty of desserts. Our experiences have greatly influenced my writing of A Bright One Chronicles. Along with our experiences of learning about other cultures and ways of life!

Camping on the immense and featureless Makgadikgadi Pan while bicycling across Botswana to make our African Safari program in 1999.

Tass greets a new day. We cycle southern Africa during their winter, so the daytime temperatures are mid 80s to low 90s.

The Himba live in northern Namibia. They have chosen to live a mostly traditional lifestyle. To learn more see our African Safari program.

One village we visited the kids had never seen bicycles, so I gave each one a ride.

Cycling in the Gobi Desert of China to make our Land of the Dragon program in 2011.

Riding on the southern Silk Road to Dunhuang Oasis we found signal towers made by Imperial soldiers 2,000 years ago.

Our many pilgrimages to sacred shrines and temples around the world celebrates the universal longing to find meaning in life through personal practice, spiritual beliefs and mystical teachings.