GRPD officer teaches important lessons in children's books
September 7, 2018
Christopher Lomahquahu
Gila River Indian News
A Gila River Police Department officer and Community member from District 1 has a novel idea of sharing life lessons through children’s books.
William Lewis hasn’t hung up his badge for children’s books, but has used the idea to create stories based on things children see in the world and in themselves.
“I think a lot of it was just from my grandkids, telling them stories, that is where it started from,” said Lewis.
Currently, Lewis has two children’s books that can be purchased through Amazon called “Felipe the Fish” and “The Bears Journey”.
He said, “What I was really wanting to do is that I have different stories that you tell a story for kids, but just not to be basic, but to have a lesson involved.”
The major themes of his two books focus on self-perception and how you can be okay with who you are as a person.
“Felipe the Fish” is a story about a fish that wants to be different, but ultimately it is about being comfortable himself and learning something special about him.
Lewis said writing a book can be a straightforward process, with the help of technology can remove the middle man and allow independent writers to use self-publishing services to get their stories out onto the market.
He said when getting his books ready for print, he hired a freelance illustrator to create the imagery for his books.
“With traditional publishing, people will write a manuscript and they will send it to a publisher and you have to wait for a long to hear back from the publisher on whether or not they want to publish your work,” he said.
The traditional process can be time consuming and so with today’s online self-publishing services individuals like Lewis can use these resources to publish their books.
“I found CreateSpace (an online book publishing company), the good thing is that you can actually create your book from start to finish for free, but the bad side is you got to do it all on your own,” said Lewis with a chuckle.
“It’s challenging, once you figure out the formats and everything they require, it’s a matter of making sure everything the way you want it and submitting it.”
He said recently the idea of writing children’s book came to mind, but that the stories begun when his children were young.
Lewis said the story starts in one direction then turns into another direction when he starts writing.
“I’m glad I have my grandchildren there with me…they’re the best critics I have… if I can keep their attention for bit, I’m on to something,” said Lewis with a bit of humor.
Lewis hopes that his children’s books will be entertaining and meaningful to the those who purchase them on Amazon and that are welcome to leave feedback.