Next week, a dream more than 25 years in the making will come to fruition as John Arnett releases his first novel “Monarch.”

Arnett, of Powell, said Monday that he realized he wanted to write his upcoming science fiction novel, which will be released by Mascot Books on Oct. 1, in the late 1990s when he began working for a software company.

“I realized one of the things I really loved about my job was when I did technical writing,” Arnett said. “Even though I had no creative writing experience, I decided I would try and write a novel. I thought that would be fun and interesting. I’ve had a lifelong love of science fiction, so it was just a natural genre for me to pick and I took off from there and started writing it back then.”

Arnett said for seven years he began getting up between 4:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. and writing the novel before work until he finished it in 2007, when he began trying to get the book published.

“I actually finished in 2007, and I spent many years off and on trying to go the traditional publishing route and finding an agent to take it on,” Arnett said. “Some were interested … but nobody really bid on it. A few years ago I discovered this concept of ‘hybrid publishing,’ and they reviewed it and liked it and agreed to take it on, so I signed a contract with them just about a year and a half ago. I went through the editing process, and now we’re about to publish it Oct. 1.”

The novel follows tech worker Danny Kerrigan as he is recruited by two intergalactic investigators to stop a powerful amulet from falling into the wrong hands. Arnett said Kerrigan is a reflection of who he was when he was younger.

“(When writing Danny), I pulled from my experiences and the way I was in my 20s, and he’s basically based on me,” Arnett said.

Once he came up with the plot, Arnett said he worked to hit the right tone for the book.

“There’s drama, some things are heartwarming, there’s action and humor,” he said. “I wanted the characters to be likeable and humorous. I wanted it to be fun and entertaining for people to read.”

Arnett said it felt “fantastic” to finally publish the book.

“From the moment I started writing it, my dream was for it to be published,” he said. “So to spend so many years having it look like that might never happen … to now having it be published is very exciting. It feels like the culmination of a lot of work and a long journey.”

Arnett said he envisions the story as a trilogy, and he already has the basic plot for the second book and the “big picture” plot for the third book but hasn’t starting writing yet.

“Once this is out, my plan is to dive into writing the second one,” Arnett said.

His advice to prospective authors is simple: “Write it! Simple as that. I don’t have any magic tricks. If you have the desire, you just have to work at it. … All I’d tell people is, ‘If you have an idea, get to work.’”

The book is available for preorder on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. More information is available on Arnett’s Instagram @john.arnett.author. or on his Facebook page.

Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.