An aspiring children's book author wrote about Grizzly 399. He hasn’t lived happily ever after

Matthew Thomas always had a desire to author a children's book, and while working in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he came up with the idea of writing about the local wildlife.

Two animals especially captured Thomas' attention: Hoback the Moose, a majestic bull moose also known as the King of the Tetons, and Grizzly 399, known as Queen of the Tetons. 

This week, Thomas told the Casper Star-Tribune that he had already started his book, titled "Queen of the Tetons: The Legacy of 399," well before the beloved, prolific mother grizzly was fatally struck by a vehicle in October.

Undeterred, Thomas finished his children's tale. It published Dec. 17. 

What Thomas didn't foresee was the online vitriol about his book that came about after the bear's death. Reviews and comments accused Thomas of profiting from her demise and criticized him for using artificial intelligence-generated images to tell his story.

Those reviews included the Daily Mail, some foreign-language news sites, and even some that spilled onto his personal Facebook page.

"Here's the thing," Thomas told the Star-Tribune. "Any book that was ever written about anybody that died, any movie that was made about anybody that died, is profiting off somebody's death."

Thomas said the notion of "profiting" is also a stretch. He said he makes $3.32 per book, and so far has made just $230 in sales.

"It hasn't even paid my costs," he added. "I'm not doing it for that."

He said the misunderstandings are "one of those things where people are just too lazy to pick up the phone, make a phone call, and ask a question rather than just assuming, and then trying to destroy people's reputations in a small community."

Thomas added, "The legacy of 399, most adults know her story around here, but most kids growing up after her passing probably won't, and so that's kind of who the story is to be passed on to, the next generation."

"I never had that vision for anything more than a kids book," said Thomas, who lives near Little Rock, Arkansas. "I love reading books, and I've got 24 nieces and nephews. That's who it's dedicated to."

As for his use of AI-generated images in the 36-page book, Thomas said, "I've never been to art school before. I have no clue how to make images like this, so I found an AI program to help me create it. It opens the door for people like myself who've never done graphic design before to write their own book.

"Supposedly, that makes you less of an author if you use AI, but if you hire a graphic designer to do it for you, that makes you an author. Either way, you didn't do the art." 

Thomas said he was inspired to tell the story partly by his own mother, who he said shared some of 399's traits.

"She loved her kids, but she did it in a strict way and had a strict way of showing it, but it was done out of love, and through that, her kids are living, productive, healthy, awesome lifestyles now," he said.

Thomas' book is for sale on Amazon and at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming.