Just in time for the holidays, local author Ken Wilson has put out an illustrated Christmas-themed book for kids.
“Tommy and the Christmas Coal” is about a little boy whose father loses his job a week before Christmas.
When the family discovers they only have enough coal to heat their home until Christmas morning, Tommy takes matters into his own hands.
He tries to get onto Santa’s naughty list so he can get coal to help his family heat their home. There is only one problem. Tommy doesn’t know how to be bad.
This is Wilson's first book. He said he often comes up with original stories to tell his six-year-old daughter, Evelyn, at bedtime — that's how he came up with the plot for “Tommy and the Christmas Coal.”
“It wasn't as sophisticated as the one I wrote, but after I told her the story and put her to bed I said 'You know what, this would make a great little book,' so I decided to write it after that,” Wilson said.
At first, Wilson tried to illustrate the book himself by teaching himself a type of graphic art called vector art, but it wasn't going so well. So he brought in Reisa Salvador, a friend from the Philippines, as the book's illustrator.
Wilson said “Tommy and the Christmas Coal,” which is self published, is only his first effort — he's planning to release another four kids' books in 2019. He said they're a superhero series about a little girl.
If you'd like to pick up a copy of “Tommy and the Christmas Coal,” it's available for purchase for just under $19 at Coles Bookstore, Bay Used Books, and Amazon.ca.
Wilson is also holding a contest, doing draws to give a child of your choice to be featured as a major character in his next book series. Find out more about that contest on Wilson's website.
