As a journalist, he was a Senior Editor for RIP, a heavy metal magazine and his work has appeared in many publications including Rolling Stone.
Nominated for a "Maggy Award", Del has interviewed Keith Richards, Alice Cooper, Ronnie Wood, Kiss, The Cult, Guns N' Roses, and countless others.
Del's short story Without You is credited by hard rock band Guns N' Roses as the inspiration for the song November Rain and its music video.
Life in the fast lane has taken his toll on Mayne: he has hearing issues, is a heavy drinker and drug consumer and, presumably as a result of his girlfriend's suicide, on various kinds of medication.
The story begins as Mayne, after a night of heavy drinking and drug consumption, awakes from a recurring nightmare in which he relives Elizabeth's suicide.
He has co-written songs with groups such as Testament, ("So Many Lies", "Return to Serenity", "The Ritual", "Dog Faced Gods", "Eyes of Wrath", "3 Days in Darkness", "Careful What You Wish For", "Sewn Shut Eyes", and "Dark Roots of Earth"), TNT, Ricky Warwick, Stan Lynch, Rhett Forrester, Dizzy Reed, The Almighty and Guns N' Roses, including "The Garden" and "Yesterdays", from the band's Grammy-nominated Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II albums.
Del James worked for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (Severn v Coleman, UFC 12, on February 7, 1997) as a writer for the live event.