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Silver Creek man writes science fiction book

Scott Downey

Scott Downey of Silver Creek is the new author of the science fiction adventure called Project 49. This is his first novel and it is available on Amazon, both in E-book and paperback.

Downey was born and raised in Western New York. Once in sixth grade, he read the book, “Not Quite Human: Batteries not Included” by Seth McEvoy. It was the story about a man that always wanted a son, so he built one.

The story captivated Downey. He wondered what it would be like if he could be like that. Of course, the character changed to a cyborg, even if he didn’t understand the term at the time. It did develop some during the rest of his school years. He did even attempt to write some of it down in long hand. Even if it wasn’t really good, it is unfortunate these early writings didn’t survive the years.

After high school, Downey moved on to different pursuits. Namely girls and demolition derby. In the mist of 15 years of automotive mayhem in drag racing, demolition and circle track, he was blessed with two daughters.

For a good measure of time, Downey forgot about writing, even if he was still an active wintertime reader. Mostly he read books from horror author Steven King and fantasy from Terry Brooks and R.A. Salvatore. Still, he has never read a book on science fiction even if he is a Star Trek fan.

Downey bounced from job to job over the years, trying to find where he fit in. Once he became a commercial tire servicemen for Valley Tire in Dunkirk, N.Y. he found his place. It was at this time the character came back to him. From behind the wheel of his 5500 Chevrolet stakebody, he began to redefine the character.

In August of 2010 he was in the hospital with massive pain in his arm he couldn’t explain. A spine specialist in ECMC told Downey he slipped a disk in his neck and his days of stacking tires was over. The doctor told Downey to go to college.

Downey was already writing at this point and understood that his days of fixing trucks and racing cars was over. His neck wasn’t strong enough. Downey applied to Jamestown Community College and went there for a year before they had nothing to offer him. He transferred to The New York State University at Fredonia. He graduated three years later, Magna Cum Laude with a double bachelor in English and Communication.

The book sat on the back burner due to the demands of college and family. When he did have time to revisit it, it looked bad. His writing improved through college and the more he learned, the worse it looked. Many parts were rewritten multiple times.

Now a year and a half since college, Downey works for The New York State Thruway Authority as a toll collector and the book is finished despite the challenges that came with writing, editing and distribution. He would like to thank Professor Elmer Ploetz for his assistance in the edit.

Once again, the book is available on Amazon at 147,785 words.

A young man’s troubled life tragically comes to an end, only to awaken as a cybernetic assassin. Plagued with memory loss, he must look for clues within to discover who he is, all the while being abused by his handlers and forced to perform under a constant watching eye. And to kill. The only question is can he hold on to his sanity while running through the bush on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean then into the jungles of South America. Can he find peace of mind and the strength to survive the biggest fight of his life?

Downey is already at work on the next book in the series. He hopes to be done in six months this time, instead of the 7 years the first book took. He hopes that he can make a living being a writer and even if he hates snow, plans to stay in Western New York for a long time.

Downey has an interesting way of measuring success. He hopes that one day he can find his book at a yard sale for a quarter, like he sees so many battered copies of other famous author’s works. He will sign it then tell them it is now worth fifty cents.

Downey prides himself on being from Western New York, an author and automotive journalist. He invites you to visit him on Facebook or at www.wnyautomotiveart.org.

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