Who is H. James Kay?

H. James Kay has been writing as a hobby since 2012. Over the years he’s read a lot of books and honed his craft the old-fashioned way… by writing, all the time. Kay has always been a storyteller, making little picture books about Godzilla or World War Two as a child. He forgot about that love of storytelling for a long time, before rediscovering it in high school. As with all new authors, his initial work was cringey, immature, and rife with spelling and grammar errors. Thankfully for everyone involved, he greatly improved as a writer before ever even considering trying to write his own book.

Kay attended Oakland University, where he got a Bachelor’s Degree in history. College was difficult for Kay, taking him almost seven years to actually complete his degree. He had to unlearn a lot of bad habits from his days in high school and learn how to be a real student who cared about his work as a reflection of himself. Those years at Oakland taught him the value of research, studying, and doing things the right way, the first time. Learning how to do real, historical research and historiography has proven to be an invaluable skill as he ventures into the world of writing fiction.

This entire journey to writing books actually began with a love of sports. Before Kay even considered trying to turn his writing hobby into a possible career, he started a podcast. The Monday Report with H. James Kay, a weekly sports news and commentary podcast where Kay shares his thoughts and perspective on all manner of sports topics. The H. James Kay moniker was born from that podcast and has carried on into his writing. His great passion for sports, namely Football and Indycar racing, was clear to see whenever people talked to him. It was those people, constantly telling him to start his own podcast that really started this train.

With the weekly podcast, the idea of H. James Kay as a professional began to come into shape in his head. In the summer of 2025, he was finally convinced by the people that love him the most, to give his writing hobby a try as an actual profession. This circuitous path to writing as a career helped shape his writing style. Forging an honest, unflinching dedication to showing the world as it is, even when venturing into the land of the fantastical. The refusal to pull punches or sugar coat harsh truths has served him well in his writing. This has never been truer than in his first novel, The Secret War, where the world of international espionage is depicted as the morally grey, abyss of lies and deceit that it is. Telling such an ugly truth can be difficult, but to shy away from the truth is an even greater sin than writing about uncomfortable subjects.

Going forward, Kay has plans for a series of spy thrillers, while also venturing into other topics along the way. No matter where this journey takes him, he’s going to be honest in every story he tells and every news story he covers on his podcast. If there were any parting words, he’d say to people it would be this… Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t chase your dreams. It’s never too late!