Former Gov. Deal says he fulfilled promise to late wife with publication of new children’s book

ATLANTA — Former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal can now add author to his list of accomplishments. Deal published a children’s book to honor his late wife’s dedication to literacy.

Deal sat down with Channel 2′s Karyn Greer on Tuesday and about his new book, “Veto: The Governor’s Cat.”

Not only is it about his beloved feline, but the book was a labor of love for his late wife, former Georgia first lady Sandra Deal.

“First of all, Veto is a real cat, Deal said. “My wife, as the first lady, had taken on literacy as her primary project. And I think the statistics are overwhelming. She read in every one of 159 counties, every one of the 181 school districts in a thousand different individual classrooms,” Deal said.

“She told me one day. She said, ‘I’ve read all the children’s books that I think are fit for me to read to children. I want you to write me one.’ So, I said, ‘OK, I’ll do that.’ I didn’t have a deadline. I didn’t have a time frame. So I made the promise, but I hadn’t lived up to it. And then a year or so later, we got the diagnosis that her breast cancer had metastasized into brain cancer. So, I got busy,” Deal said.

And Deal fulfilled his promise.

“This is a little different from a lot of children’s books. It is designed to educate the mind, to teach them how to read, recognize words, hopefully, put some emphasis and, personality into the book as they read it,” Deal said.

Deal said his book is full of many colorful characters he created in the book---with all the personality and passion he hopes will be shared with children.

The book is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and everywhere books are sold. It officially went on sale last week.