This West Jordan accountant/author has battled for years between his creative right brain and his logical left in deciding which career path to follow.

Now, with a national book contract in hand, Dashner says he likely will quit his budgeting job with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and choose the right - brain.

"I want to be an author so bad it hurts," he says.

The budding book writer will hopscotch the country this month to commemorate the release of his latest work, The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters.

His colorful tale already has hit bookshelves nationwide, introducing young readers to the riddle-rich adventures of Atticus Higginbottom, an otherwise picked-upon 13-year-old who must prove his courage and intelligence to combat the evil forces that threaten to destroy reality.

The book deal could give Dashner a good reason to abandon his accounting gig forever.

Shadow Mountain Publishing, a Deseret Book subsidiary and printer of fantasy favorites such as Fablehaven and Leven Thumps, is banking on a five-book series from the young author.

"We have high expectations for James," Publishing Director Chris Schoebinger says.

Full-time writing would come as a curious career shift for Dashner, who graduated from Brigham Young University with a master's degree in accounting, landed a job with the international auditing firm KPMG and later earned his certified public accountant license.

Dashner simply smiles.

"I'm a creative person trapped in an accountant's body, not the other way around," he said. "I just knew that accounting would be something where you could always get a job. It's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it's a stable income."

Dashner likely will shed that stable income this fall - a move much more daunting than starting his first book, A Door in the Woods, more than eight years ago.

But after publishing several novels through a smaller Utah publisher, Cedar Fort, and now hitting the shelves of every Barnes & Noble and Borders in the United States, Dashner said he's ready to make the leap.

"I don't want to keep working for five years and look back and think, 'If I would have devoted my full time to it, would I have been a best-selling author?' " he says.

Instead, he has spent nights and weekends at his keyboard, spinning science fiction from bookstore cafes rich with fresh-brewed coffee and in quiet nooks of his West Jordan home after his four small children have fallen asleep.

His latest product - a 95,000-word fantasy - now will lead him on a 10-city book-signing tour that will stretch from California to New Hampshire.

"I've enjoyed the excitement just as much as he has," said his wife, Lynette. "It's a wonderful opportunity for him."

Dashner hopes his national tour will spread a message to youngsters that if they are "smart enough, brave enough" like his character Atticus they can "grow up and change the world."

Dashner plans to do just that, one book at a time.

jstettler@sltrib.com

Book signings:

* Wednesday: Barnes & Noble, 7157 S. Plaza Center Drive, West Jordan. Starts at 7 p.m.

* Thursday: Deseret Book, Valley Fair Mall, 3601 S. 2700 West, West Valley City. Starts at 6:30 p.m.

* March 18: The King's English Bookshop, 1511 S. 1500 East, Salt Lake City. Starts at 7 p.m.

Source: Shadow Mountain Publishing

Other titles by Dashner

A Door in the Woods

Book One of The Jimmy Fincher Saga

May 20, 2003

A Gift of Ice

Book Two of The Jimmy Fincher Saga

Feb 1, 2004

The Tower of Air

Book Three of the Jimmy Fincher Saga

July 2004

War of the Black Curtain

Book Four of The Jimmy Fincher Saga

Aug 1, 2005