Dwight
Slaughter graduated from Verbum Dei High School, a school with
one of the top 10 winning basketball teams of all time. While at
Verbum Dei High School Dwight was voted number one player in the
Country in 1972 by different sports magazines. He then went on
to further his education and play basketball at Cal State Los Angeles
from 1972 to 1976—a period that would set a precedent with new laws
changing how colleges accept athletes. During his athletic career,
Slaughter was interviewed by such greats as Howard Cosell, on his
show SportsBeat and in his book, I Never Played the
Game; Morley Safer from 60 Minutes; and John Chancellor
from World Nightly News. He was voted by ESPN and Sports
Illustrated as one of the top 100 basketball players in the
State of California.
Welcome
to BK Walker Books Etc. I'm so happy you could join me today.
BK:
Looking out the nearest window, describe the scene you see.
DS: While
sitting in my room in Marina Del Rey I see beautiful boats in the
water.
BK:
Tell us about your office. Is it a mess like mine, or is everything
in its place?
DS: LOL, yes it’s bit of a mess I must tidy up.
BK:
What is a must-have, such as coffee or a favorite pen that you need
to write?
DS: I must have my coffee first thing, then my George
Washington pen:)
BK:
Do you like to write in silence, or do you need music or background
noise?
DS:Total silence works for me.
BK:
Tell us a bit about your hero/heroine, and their development.
DS: Mohammed Ali, you saw a brash young man grow and become a great
American.
BK:
As a writer myself, I'm always curious how other writers get through
stumble blocks.
DS: When you find a story not flowing, or a character
trying to fight you, how do you correct it? I stop and take a step
back and meditate on my story, and continue after 20 to 30 minutes.
Knowing that I have to understand the character by putting myself in
there shoes.
BK:
Using the letters of your first name as an acronym, describe your
book...
DS: Wow, well I would start off of course with
D-Dynamite
W-Wonderful
I-Inspirational
G-Great
H-Healing
T-Thoughtful.
BK:
How did your writing journey begin?
DS: It began twenty-five years ago as
a mental picture in my mind.
BK:
Using the letters from the word, Summer, how would friends and family
describe you?
DS: S-Successful
U-Understanding
M-Meticulous
M-Mindful
E-Eger
R-reliable
BK:
What is the craziest thing you've ever written about, whether it got
published or not?
DS: I had a story written about significance of people
loving one another, and what it takes to make that journey.
BK:
Tell us one thing you've done in life, that readers would be most
surprised to know.
DS: I accomplished being the number one basketball
player in the Country in 1972 through hard work. And I’ve traveled
many Countries I would not have dreamed of and met many people and
many cultures such as Turkey, Israel, Germany, India, Spain, France,
Amsterdam, London, Canada, Italy, and great life experiences
BK:
What can we expect from you in the future?
DS: Part two of INNER CITY
STRENGTH!
This
or That...
Coke
or Pepsi? Coke
Night
Owl or Early Bird? Early Bird
Fantasy
or Mystery? Fantasy
Pen/Paper
or Computer? Pen
Pizza
or Burger? Burger
Rock
or Country? Rock
Chocolate
or Vanilla? Chocolate
Beach
or Mountains? Beach
Thank
you so much for having us as one of your stops today. It has been
great getting to know more about you and your book, and wish you the
best of success!
BK
Walker
Book Genre:
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Sports
Publisher:
Dwight Slaughter
Release
Date: 2/14/2014
Buy
Link(s): http://outskirtspress.com/slaughter
Book
Description:
Dwight
Slaughter graduated from Verbum Dei High School, a school with one of
the top 10 winning basketball teams of all time. While at Verbum Dei
High School Dwight was voted number one player in the Country in 1972
by different sports magazines. He then went on to further his
education and play basketball at Cal State Los Angeles from 1972 to
1976—a period that would set a precedent with new laws changing how
colleges accept athletes. During his athletic career, Slaughter was
interviewed by such greats as Howard Cosell, on his show SportsBeat
and in his book, I Never Played the Game; Morley Safer from 60
Minutes; and John Chancellor from World Nightly News. He was voted by
ESPN and Sports Illustrated as one of the top 100 basketball players
in the State of California. As a child, Slaughter relied on
basketball to build his self-esteem and relieve the stress of mental
and physical abuse. His gripping memoir follows his public career and
takes the reader inside his personal life as well—into a childhood
of abuse, betrayal…even murder.
Excerpt:
During
his athletic career, Slaughter was interviewed by such greats as
Howard Cosell, on his show SportsBeat and in
his book, I Never Played the Game; Morley Safer
from 60 Minutes; and John Chancellor from World
Nightly News. He was voted by ESPN and Sports
Illustrated as one of the top 100 basketball players in
the State of California.
As a child, Slaughter
relied on basketball to build his self-esteem and relieve the stress
of mental and physical abuse. His gripping memoir follows his public
career and takes the reader inside his personal life of childhood
abuse, betrayal…and murder.
As the author explains, his
prowess with a basketball masked an escape from a tarnished life off
the court.
“I grew up being treated
like nothing, so I was driven to make something of my life. Sport
allowed me to mix with people who cared about me, develop a passion
that got me out of the house and achieve things that would win me the
acceptance I couldn’t get at home,” says Slaughter, who is a
committed mentor to both young and adult men.