Before Isaiah was writing books, he was selling candy to his fellow middle school and elementary school classmates in Aurora, Colorado, the city next to Denver. Every week, the street hustlers would encourage him to continue his legal hustle and task him with improving his business acumen. It was through them that he learned three valuable lessons:

1. Always have multiple products and services to sell.

2. See a dollar in everything.

3. Know what your money is doing.

Those lessons led him to not only increasing his candy sales, but honing his literary craft. He first started writing in school when his friends asked him to help them write rhymes for school projects. Writing their rap verses led to them talking him into getting on stage, being their “MC” and introducing the group. He would eventually go on to perform with them while he continued to write rhymes and poetry on the side. 

These desires, while researching the music industry, led him to wanting to form a record label in which he’d hoped to become the perfect combination of Marion “Suge” Knight and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.

His family would be forced to move to the southeast in hopes to deter possible gang influence on Isaiah’s mind. A few years after being in the southeast, Isaiah would attend school and started turning his poetry and short stories into novels. While in school, he would publish his first novel, a walk in my shoes, under the name  “Jaeyel Imes” in 1998 as a digital publication of his first book. Self-publishing, without the advent of print on demand, was very expensive and Isaiah didn’t have the resources to produce print copies of his book at a young age. Without giving up, Isaiah would produce the book online for free while selling paperbacks in three-ring binders and electronic copies on floppy disks. His classmates remember him “hustling his books” like he continued to sell candy to support the youth organizations he participated in. Isaiah was proud that he had achieved his “greatest accomplishment.” At that time, he was one of the youngest African American authors published in the country

Being a young man, all he had was a dollar, a dream and ambition to make his plan succeed. He would later become a student at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and he’d reprint his debut novel under the name never too much and launch his first entertainment company, RBANWRTR in 2001. This title, and the second novel, the rhyme, the story n me, did not achieve the success he desired. Some of his detractors called for him to give up but Isaiah refused. He knew he had to learn from the mistakes he made and become a better author and businessman.

In 2002, he received two breakthroughs. The first was that he restructured his entertainment company by forming an LLC and teaching a few of his college buddies to do the same for their companies. Next, his best friend would convince him to try his hand at an adult romance geared toward a specialized market. Most people would’ve said no, but Isaiah knew that other writers who participated in this market received the constructive criticism they needed to make their work better and became fans. He created his debut novel in that genre to critical acclaim, winning one of the targeted website’s top awards and he would also receive his first ghostwriting assignment around this time. These two experiences led him to producing his first best-selling title, so many tears/Hold On Be Strong (currently I Get Around). This experience would lead him to try his first hand at being a small publisher, which would not go as planned. He would later fold the company and start a new one. 

After completing his studies at NCA&TSU and earning his bachelor’s degree, Isaiah would start work on one of his most success projects to date–the web drama featuring characters from Hold On Be Strong. Every week, he would create new “episodes” in script format giving an update on how the characters progressed since the release of the book. He would also craft another project for the specialized market and pen his next novel, Worth Fighting 4. Originally an adult novel, the book, which was loosely based on Isaiah David Paul’s sixth grade year, Paul would later be convinced to use the novel to lead a teen series he had crafted with another author. 

With topics including entrepreneurship, gang violence and friendships, Isaiah David Paul would gain connections with some of the top street lit authors, who would introduce their youngest fans to his work. Worth Fighting 4 would become one of his bestselling titles to date and helped catapult his other young adult titles to critical acclaim. With the success of his teen series, Isaiah would gain more ghostwriting work and contribute to a few anthologies. He would also see success as a publisher, releasing best-selling and award winning titles in urban fiction, young adult fiction and faith fiction.

An untimely revelation of his participation in the adult romance market and a miscalculated business venture with devious and scheming business partners caused him to close the doors of his entertainment company in 2011. It would also be the same year he’d get his first masters degree in Entrepreneurship at Western Carolina University. Not to let the setbacks stop him, he’d regroup and form a new company and focus on writing faith fiction as Isaiah David Paul.

The releases of Love Him Like I Do (currently Blessed, Not Stressed), Street Disciples and Broken But I’m Healed would prove to be the perfect introduction to the Isaiah David Paul name and the faith fiction market. Unlike other faith fiction writers of the early 2010s, Isaiah was upfront about being an erotic and street lit writer, which made him relatable to those who were coming to Jesus from the streets. Dubbed “the Gritty Christian Fiction Author”, Isaiah’s ability to convert street characters like drug users, prostitutes and assassins and make them into vessels for the Lord put Isaiah in a unique perspective. A reprinting of his young adult titles as Isaiah David Paul also helped expand his audience and sales and helped gain the attention of a faith fiction imprint of a large, nationally distributed black-owned publishing house.

The release of Try a Little Tenderness would prove to be the perfect capstone for a successful independent career. The book gained notoriety and solidified Isaiah as a great writer.

Tragedy would strike in Isaiah’s personal life a year after the release of this book. He would lose his business, his marriage and many close associates. This would cause Isaiah to make the mistake of crawling into a shell and let depression take over, instead of asking people who were in his corner for help.

It would be fans of the specialized markets he was also known for who would turn into his most loyal supporters. They would continue to purchase his backlist and encourage him to craft new titles and try new subgenres as well. He would also begin the process of rebuilding a new business. His last Isaiah David Paul release Style & Grayce, would not perform well.

Nevertheless, Isaiah would not give up. He moved back closer to his family and started working with children and those with special needs again. He’d pursue and obtain a teaching license with the help of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He’d also work on creating multiple revenue streams for his new business, going back to the lessons the street hustlers taught him years ago.

In 2024, Isaiah David Paul would celebrate twenty-five years as a published author. He would also seek an opportunity to find new and struggling business owners who could use his help in starting businesses and providing products to increase the benefits they offer. He would also start the process of reissuing his back list of fifty titles, most of which will be published under the Isaiah David Paul name. While he’s educating people on social media or dealing with personal clients, Isaiah David Paul continues writing, and he’s looking to drop his first new young adult novel in fifteen years in Summer 2025.

Isaiah lives with his family and friends in the southeast United States, where he continues to support other people in making their dreams come true.