Local author Clayton Martin publishes a children’s book

A Lesson in Love

Author felt inspired to write a children’s book based off a very special friendship

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF CLAYTON MARTIN

Author Clayton Martin with wife McKinley and daughters Norah (3) and Mary Collins (6 months)

BY STEPHANIE GIBSON LEPORE

Springville author Clayton Martin wasn’t necessarily shocked that he wrote and published a children’s book recently, but he was somewhat surprised by the timing. “I never imagined I would do it this early,” he says. “I’ve always had a passion for writing and am so honored to be able to complete a project like this. The opportunity to share this story with anyone and everyone excites me greatly.”

The project to which he is referring is his new children’s book, “I Love You More Than Me,” released early last month. The book was inspired by a beautiful friendship between one of Clayton and wife McKinley’s daughters, Norah, and family friend Levi Adams. Though he has a front-row seat to the special bond between Norah and Levi, the concept for the book came about in an unusual way.

“It’s actually a crazy story,” Clayton says. “I had a physical dream one night that I had written a kid’s book about the friendship of my daughter and one of her friends. As I began to think about it, the message and the title came to me—and the rest is history.”

The history is that, when sitting down to put the words to paper, Clayton remained completely open-minded. “I had an idea, but I didn’t want to cap my creativity,” he explains. “As I started writing, the words began to flow as a rhyme book. So, I kept it going. Once I finished, I had a few people read it to see if it was any good, and the results were an overwhelming yes.”

Next came the task of getting the book published, which came with a choice. “I began the publishing route by deciding between the

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“This book is special in many ways. Levi, the boy character in the book, has Down Syndrome. His story is inspiring, and his life is a miracle. In the story, Levi has an opportunity to show Norah that he loves her more than himself.”

Levi’s friendship with Clayton’s daughter, Norah, inspired the book.

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traditional journey and the self-publishing journey,” Clayton says. “After several discussions with both, I decided to self-publish through IngramSpark.” The Tennessee-based publishing company allows authors to upload their material, and IngramSpark prints on-demand orders through a network of ordering systems that include 40,000 independent and chain bookstores and online retailers. Needing pictures to pair with his words, Clayton then reached out to a former student from his days in student ministry, Zak Tracy. “I partnered with Zak to do the illustrations,” he says. “He’s a high school student in Tampa, Florida, and he did an incredible job.”

More important than all of this, however, is the message Clayton wanted to share through his words. “This book is special in many ways. Levi, the boy character in the book, has Down Syndrome. His story is inspiring, and his life is a miracle. In the story, Levi has an opportunity to show Norah that he loves her more than himself. [The book is written from Levi’s perspective.] The message is deeper than it may appear at first glance. This story is about a friendship that emulates unconditional love, joy, and inclusion— despite the differences. It’s truly a story about loving others more than ourselves,” he says. Levi’s parents wrote a letter to readers that is also printed in the book.

“In the crazy world that we live in, it’s so important to love your neighbor as yourself,” says Clayton of the weight of his book’s message. “A love like that is counter-cultural. The more we can teach and show our kids what this kind of love looks like, the better our world will be.”

This won’t be the last publication from Clayton: “We do have another book in the works, but it is in the preliminary stages,” he says. “We are very excited about it and know that it has the potential of a life-changing message.”

Clayton is working on scheduling a book signing at Nichols Nook Coffee House in Springville (nichols-nook.business.site). Find “I Love You More Than Me” at various online retailers, including Amazon, Target, and Barnes & Noble.