SALISBURY — Levi McCombs, 11, is considering becoming an author for a career, and he already has one book to his credit.

Levi is the son of Pierre McCombs and Genia Charisse Woods. At a young age, Levi and his mom co-authored the book “The Land of Jy’erre,” which all came about from a story she made up and told him every day.

“As a baby, I would keep telling the story over and over again, but I wanted to give him something to remember,” Woods said.

When he was 1, Levi began reciting the story to himself, and when he turned eight, the pair worked to write it down. His great-great uncle, Gordon Patterson, who at the time was battling cancer, provided the illustrations, and in time, their work was published.

Woods said the only thing Levi’s uncle wanted in return for illustrating the book, which was his final project, was to see it when it was completed. And this came about as he was able to see it before he passed away, she said. Thus, he was able to leave his legacy along with theirs.

While the story is one that Woods made up, the lessons it teaches can be real-life ones, and the name in the title is a real one — it’s Levi’s middle name.

Wanting to inspire other people, the mother-son writing duo shares about learning from others in this book and, as Levi mentioned, “what you learn from others you can use to enhance yourself and become greater, and learn from others and not reject it,” he continued, learning instead of thinking you are smarter than others, all things they hope people will take from the book.

Seeing the finished product in print, Levi said he was happy, and he thought, “Yes, this can inspire others to do great things.”

Since the book was published, several book signings have been held, with the first being at Cornerstone Church, where they sold out of books.

Another was held in Huntersville at Birkdale Village, when Levi addressed a crowd of about 300 people and did a read-aloud, noted Woods. There were copies of the book available for purchase there as well, which he signed.

The most recent signing was at Essie Academy on West Innes Street, where Levi is a sixth-grade student. He noted with a chuckle that there was a big crowd from the school that attended the event.

“It was like every grade, I think,” he said.

Now that he is a published author, Levi said that his fellow students and teachers are telling him that they are very proud.

“It’s great,” they told him, and “I think you should do more books,” he added.

Woods expressed pride in her son as she shared about the book they worked on together.

“I’m proud of him,” Woods said. “I just know that Levi has a lot to offer. I just wanted to be a mom that gave him something to pass on. Reading literacy is important, and a lot of kids don’t read, and especially our Black children; they have to be encouraged to read even more. So that was the idea.

“So now, we are writing books for other parents. We are helping other parents write their children a book.”

While this is the first book he has been a part of, Levi doesn’t anticipate it will be his last as he already has another idea in mind — one he wants to write centering around not being embarrassed if certain situations happen to you, as he mentioned that some get embarrassed at school when they fall down, for example.

If, by chance, being an author is not the career path he chooses, Levi did say he had some backup plans in mind, like playing in the NBA, which he said with a big smile, “would be hard. I know that,” and he mentioned perhaps a voice actor.

And if writing is not his chosen career, he did agree he might just write for fun with Jy’erre, having more adventures and teaching some lessons along the way.

For those wanting to purchase a copy of The Land of Jy’erre, it is available on Amazon.