Pat Tillman's brother launches children's book series

The youngest brother of American hero Pat Tillman is making a name for himself far away from the football field.

San Jose native Richard Tillman didn't need to look far for his inspiration for his next career, because being a stay at home dad of two young boys can inspire many emotions.

"My wife came home and I was about to pull my head off. I said this kid is a luna-tike. And she looked at me and said that's a great term," said Richard.

LUNA-TIKES was born that day at his home in Fresno. The 34-year-old former standup comedian, actor and screen writer found an illustrator and turned his idea into an e-book series.

"There's "Harry Hockey," "Sally Soccer," "Phil the Phisherman" and "Francine and Franky Football," said Richard.

Richard wanted to teach his 3-year-old Gus and 1-year-old Jake, empathy, and says the characters impart lessons he's learned throughout his life. Richard's path in life is much different than his two older brothers Kevin and Pat Tillman who both joined the Army after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Pat famously walked away from a successful NFL football career to serve his country. He was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan in 2004.

ABC7's Matt Keller asked Richard what he thought Pat would say about his new endeavor.

"I think he would think it was a natural fit -- it's like a full circle natural fit. I don't think in my 20s he would think, you're going to be a kid book author. I've got a feeling, I've got a hunch. You know, so, I don't know I'd never speak for him in that regard. I know my brother Kevin thinks they're fantastic and is a big fan of them -- which means the world to me because my brother's opinion means a lot to me," said Richard.

The LUNA-TIKES ebooks are available to download. Richard hopes to see these in hard-cover and paperback sometime next year.