Local author realizes 30-year-old dream

LACONIA — Scott Alward has always enjoyed reading. Since he was a teen, he had his nose in the latest books by Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Michael Crichton. In 1994, he ran out of books he wanted to read. In the pre-Amazon era, he did the only thing he could think of: he wrote a book.

Taking inspiration from his favorite authors and an imagination stoked by years of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, "The God Makers" was born. A science fiction thriller, it’s the story of an amnesiac man and his pregnant wife, on the run from a mysterious man who holds the key to his past.

After finishing the first draft in 1997, he set out to find a literary agent, sending out 250 letters. In the next six months, he received 137 rejections. He resigned himself to the fact his work would never be published, until a letter arrived asking for a copy of his manuscript. A letter from a New York-based literary agent, intrigued by the sample chapters who wanted to read more. Alward printed and packaged a copy of his book, all 535 pages, and sent it off. One month later, another letter arrived, with a contract for representation. He had found an agent; publication couldn’t be far behind. After another year of editing, the novel was ready to submit to publishers.

Unexpectedly, Alward’s agent died in 2000. Unable to find another agent, the agency ended the relationship. Once again, his dream was dead in the water. With a growing family and new responsibilities, writing took a back seat in Alward’s life.

Two years ago, he rediscovered the manuscript and started to retool it, bringing it up to date for the modern world. Working whenever he could, during lunch breaks and late at night after his wife had gone to bed, he completed the updated manuscript. Publishing had evolved over the years, creating more opportunities for new authors to market their books outside of the traditional publishing model, and Alward self-published "The God Makers," adding the book to Amazon’s virtual shelves.

Since publishing "The God Makers" Alward has started work on two new series: The Odd World Society, a supernatural thriller, and The Psi Initiative, a science fiction thriller. He plans to have book one of The Odd World Society, "Copperwood," out in late 2025.