A proclivity for writing seems to be locked in Brandon Swarrow's genes. The 30-year-old teacher at Trinity Area High School in North Franklin said he has always been horrific at math but seems to have a bent for things literary.

On the heels of his first short novel, "The Barn," the Houston resident released his second "suspense thriller," a 150-page short novel titled "Hugo Read This!" on May 8.

"I feel the book is packed with elements I'm drawn to: celebrity, how the public becomes infatuated with stars, how the media exploits them and how fame and fortune affect them," he said.

The book's central focus is Hugo Brody, a fictional quarterback with the San Diego Chargers who possesses a cannon for an arm. The media attention showered on Brody after a season of phenomenal successes eventually gets to him, and the new sports hero hires a bodyguard named SWAT to look after him. What happens next is a series of events that eventually leads to his downfall.

"If you read between the lines, there are a lot of encoded messages in the text," said Mr. Swarrow. "For instance, Hugo's most obsessed fan is called Monica Resser, a name that could also be pronounced 'money caresser.' "

Even the book's cover has an embedded pattern. The vertical list of celebrities' names it contains, such as Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, contain certain letters which, when highlighted, spell out the title character's name.

"Like Hugo, they had it all -- talent, looks, money, fame and friends, but they all died at age 27, mostly of drug overdoses," Mr. Swarrow said.

The book's cover was designed by two Trinity High School students, Samantha Thomas and Audrey Adasiak. The author, who teaches 10th and 11th grade English at Trinity, posted announcements at the school looking for students who wanted to do the cover's design.

The author said he formulated the concept for the book about two years ago, and it took him three or four months to get it down in words.

Mr. Swarrow said the best part of getting his books published is the influence they have on his students. Often, he said, they come up to him and ask him to read something they've written.

"I don't write for money or fame, but to fill a literary void by giving my students something I think they'll enjoy reading," he said.

For his next project, the author plans to step out of his niche and work on a book of humorous short stories.