Only in his first year of school at Bryan High, freshman Cameron Liotta has already published his first book at the young age of 15. His children’s book, “A Poor Man’s Spirit”, published in June 2022, details something that is near and dear to his heart.
The 29-page book details the main character, Timothy, who is a homeless man. Every day Timothy is passed on the street by those walking by and although he wants to attend church, he feels he is not welcome due to his lack of nice clothes and cleanliness. One day, Martha comes by and changes just that by helping Timothy overcome obstacles and get him to church.
“The main message I want people to know is that anyone can and should go and feel welcome at church,” Cameron says.
When creating his character, Timothy, Cameron says he looked at those around him to draw inspiration.
“I feel that Timothy encompasses a lot of the people that I know who make excuses for why they do not feel welcome at church,” Cameron says.”The character, Timothy was inspired by my grandfather. He definitely resembles my grandpa.”
Beginning by first writing a draft of the story and editing three or four times, Cameron says he worked with his grandfather, who created the illustrations for the book.
“I divided the story into appropriate pages I thought were good stopping and beginnings for pages,” Cameron says. “My grandfather illustrated the entire thing so that was nice collaborating. I saw him every single day so I was able to change some of the wording to better fit his illustrations.”
Cameron says the idea for writing a book came from his former baseball coach who inspired him by walking a similar path.
“My former baseball coach wrote a book with his daughter, and my mom was a student of his when she was in high school,” Cameron says. “We purchased their book and I thought it was pretty cool and decided I could do that too. I figured I might as well turn it into something for God.”
As for future plans in the book industry, Cameron says he has ideas for both a prequel and sequel but at the current time is not sure which direction he will go first. “That's gonna depend on what the Holy Spirit puts on my heart,” Cameron says.
“As of now, the plan is to continue writing and if we go forward or backwards into a prequel or sequel, we will probably expand back and forth and go the opposite direction of whichever we go first.”
Not only is Cameron a published author, he is also very involved in school with playing both football and baseball as well as participating in choir. He also plays the guitar and piano in his spare time and is very involved with his youth group at First Methodist Church, Bryan.
“A Poor Man’s Spirit” is available for purchase through Cameron who always has some on him in his bag. Copies are also available at Whimsy & Wild Emporium in Downtown Bryan, and online at Barnes & Noble and Amazon. By purchasing through Cameron, he will autograph your book or make it out to someone you love.
