Nathan Deal has been a state senator, a U.S. representative and a governor. Now, he’s adding another title to his resume: children’s book author.
The Georgia Republican is releasing the book, “Veto, the Governor’s Cat,” on Wednesday.
He said the idea came as a tribute to his late wife, Sandra Deal, who read books to students at more than 1,000 schools across Georgia.
“Literacy was Sandra’s primary project as first lady of Georgia,” Deal said of the former public school teacher who died in 2022. “We estimate that a quarter million children in Georgia heard her read a book to them in their (class) rooms.”
“She said, ‘I’ve read all the children’s books that I have, that I want you to write me a children’s book,’ ” Deal said, explaining the inspiration for the children’s story.
The book focuses on cats, Veto and Bill, who were Deal’s actual pets and pranced around the Governor’s Manison when he served as Georgia’s top official from 2011 to 2019.
“Veto is still my cat,” the Republican joked on “Politically Georgia.”
Credit: Booklogix
Credit: Booklogix
He also said he knows the book is timely, as many parents are navigating how to talk to their kids about this election cycle.
“That is a tough issue because you’re right, it is permeating everything that is coming in the eyes and ears of children as well as all the rest of us,” the former congressman said.
“We can all as adults sort of turn it off and be selective about what we choose to listen to and what we choose to believe. Children don’t have that luxury,” he said. “So my purpose in writing this book is to do things that we can reference.”
Deal also offered a message to his Republican colleagues this election cycle.
“I think the most important thing is to get away from insulting each other,” Deal said.
His reminder comes as former President Donald Trump continues to feud with Gov. Brian Kemp, and Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon seeks to ban former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan from the party.
“That’s what we’re trying to convey in this group that we have is that personal attacks are not beneficial,” Deal said. “And I think Veto the Cat would tell you that just is not the way it’s supposed to be.”
Wednesday on “Politically Georgia”: Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, the first Black woman to serve as mayor of the city, talks about Vice President Kamala Harris rising to the top of the Democratic ticket as a Black and Indian woman. Then Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon offers his take on the state of Georgia’s Republican Party.
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