One can scarcely deny author J.K. Rowling hit a chord amonginternational readers with her tales of a young boy who fights evilwith magical powers.

A new Meadville author is hoping his tale of a young boy whofights evil with the powers of the prophets will also find fertileground in the minds of children when it is released to bookstoresnationwide in January.

“It’s a Christian-themed story,” said Tyler Scott. “He deriveshis powers from God. His abilities are all things people in theBible have had.”

Unlike many of today’s popular books, television shows andmovies that blur the lines between good and evil, Scott said theopposing forces in “Vince Profett and the Dead Man’s Bones” areclearly defined. The book targets children ages 9 to 13.

“I’m hoping with this book that kids will see the good in theworld,” he said. “But I’ve really received a good response fromadults as well as kids.”

Profett, an 11-year-old boy, stumbles into a situation andreceives his abilities through the grace of God, Scott said. Theabilities are not constant but only appear as needed.

Shortly afterward, Profett finds a mentor, a retired Baptistminister.

“There were three Baptist ministers I knew growing up that Ibased this character on,” Scott said. “They were just goodmen.”

The mentor is a compilation of traits from the Revs. SamBarfoot, Archie Ezell and Sherrill Lofton, he said.

The main character, Profett, is purely a product of Scott’simagination, but the name Vince was chosen for the son he neverhad, Scott said. He is married to Glenda Scott of Meadville and thecouple has four daughters, Jordan, 13, Regan, 12, Morgan, 10, andLauran, 5.

Family values are the core of the story, Scott said, and serveto propel it forward.

“His parents are his heroes – not Terrell Owens,” Scott said,referring to the troublesome NFL player. “We need to get back tothe family.”

The middle-aged Scott had never considered himself a writer. Hesang with the gospel group Bob, Scott and Sweet Spirit for 15 yearsand tried many times to pen songs with little success.

“I had all these ideas, but I couldn’t get them down on paper,”he said.

A friend suggested that maybe he shouldn’t try to write songs,but should consider trying to write something else.

With the friend’s encouragement, and that of his family, Scottsaid he began writing the Profett story in November 2004.

“I wrote it in six weeks – about a chapter a day,” he said.

Scott said he was lucky to find a company like PublishAmerica soquickly. Many new authors struggle for months, even years, to finda publisher willing to take a risk on a new author.

“‘Vince Profett and the Dead Man’s Bones’ is a well-written andcrafted work of contemporary fiction that fits our specialty like aglove,” said Miranda Prather, executive director of the publishingcompany, in a publicity statement. “PublishAmerica primarilypublishes works by, for or about people who face a challenge inlife, and who overcome it by turning stumbling blocks into steppingstones. We believe that Mr. Scott is a promising talent in thisfield.”

Since his success with PublishAmerica, Scott has already starteda sequel in the Profett series with concepts for two otherunrelated books.

“This is something I never dreamed about,” he said. “I sit backin awe of God. Two years ago if you would’ve told me I would writea book, I would have told you that you were crazy.”

The book will be available around January locally in theChristian book stores and will be marketed to all of the nationalbook chains.