James publishes 1st book fresh out of high school

Vestavia Hills High School graduate Slay James always knew he wanted to write a book. So in his junior year of high school, he began to do just that. Shortly after graduation, his book, “Hero,” hit the shelves of Books-A-Million stores.

James said that as soon as the book was finished, he wanted to see it in print and reached out to Books-A-Million to discuss publishing specifics. Before he knew it, the book was in front of an editor and being printed following revisions.

“The book is about a boy named Sal,” said James. “He lives in Fairline, Alabama, a made-up town, and feels like his existence is not really that significant.”

That is until Sal, a senior in high school, suddenly has supernatural abilities.

“The abilities give him a sense of entitlement,” said James. “He wants to use them for good, but he realizes being a superhero is about more than stopping bad guys. There’s a lot more responsibility involved.”

Now a student at Troy University, where he is studying accounting — not writing — James said he knows his studies come first but always tries to find time to write.

“Hero” is, after all, the first in a planned trilogy, said James.

“Writing is something I’ve always done in my spare time,” he said. “I write whenever I can. I look for bits of time when I can get 1,000 words or so out.”

He’s studying accounting, said James, because he has “always been good at numbers.”

James said he’d like to make the second book “bigger, longer and much more detailed,” but plans to cut his turnaround time significantly.

“There was a lot of procrastination with the first book,” he said. “I’d like to do away with that now that I know what the process is like.”

Asked what his favorite book is, James paused.

“There’s so many it’s hard to choose just one,” he said. “But I’ve always liked the ‘Inheritance Cycle’ books by Christopher Paolini.”

James said he has always admired authors who started young, like Paolini, who was only 15 when he wrote the first draft of his first book, or started from nowhere and created legacies, like J.K. Rowling.

James said the English departments at the Vestavia Hills schools he attended all prepared him to publish a book at a young age.

“The education I received in Vestavia added to my writing ability,” he said. “Mr. Lombardo, Mr. Davis and my other English teachers were all great.”

For those hoping to one day write a book of their own, James had a piece of advice.

“Even though it may be one of the hardest things you’ll ever do, because it’s so easy to quit, you can’t give up,” he said. “If you have that desire to get a story out, you have to keep at it every day.”

Vestavia Voice periodically will feature alumni from schools in the Vestavia Hills area, catching up with them to see what they’re doing now. To recommend someone for this feature, contact Ana Good at agood@starnespublishing.com.