Scott Hughes – The professor is an author. The author is a professor.

A middle Georgia author showcased his first book Thursday at the Sonny Watson Health and Sciences Building.

Scott Hughes, a Macon native, held a book reading/signing for his horror short story collection, ‘The Last Book You’ll Ever Read.’ Hughes says the book’s title comes from a story within the book that falls under the same name. The main character in the story reads a book titled, ‘The Last Book You’ll Ever Read.’ He said it was his editor who suggested the name so readers felt more invested in the story. “It seemed very spooky and ominous and creepy and intriguing in a way that I really liked.

Hughes is a big fan of the horror genre. When he was 11-years-old, he was introduced to the writing of esteemed novelist Stephen King and immediately became hooked. He saw one of King’s made for T.V. movies and became fascinated with the dynamics of horror. Hughes later checked out ‘The Stand’ from his local library and read it from cover to cover.

He was so enthralled with the writer that he spent every single dime he made cutting grass on Stephen King books. “That kind of made then want to start writing stories like him and doing horror, science fiction fantasy type stories,”

What he likes most about horror is how it tackles social issues. Hughes described it as putting a fantastical spin on real life struggles like racism, depression and misogyny. “Sometimes I think with those issues people are kind of reluctant to hear them, to think about them [or] approach them.” He says incorporating those elements into entertainment gives creative minds the opportunity to reach that audience and get through to them.

Hughes says he covers these kind of issues in his book. He shares traumatic experiences from his own life such as depression, anxiety and divorce. “I’m able to kind of look at those through a lens of, in this case, horror or the supernatural.

Hughes is the head of the English language arts department for Central Georgia Technical College and a professor. He graduated from Mercer University with a degree in English/creative writing and later earned a master’s in creative writing from Georgia College. His book can be purchased everywhere (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible, iTunes, etc.) For more information on Hughes or his book, visit www.writescott.com.