JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Saleem Little, editor of Love and the Game
(Mitanni Enterprises in association with Green Label Publishing Group)
Love and the Game is a story of love, loss and the sacrifices made for love. From the crises that bring families together to the tragedies that threaten to separate them forever. Each of the characters in this novel come to the same realization…that love is stronger than pride.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write Love and the Game?
Saleem Little: MY life experiences and the effects they’ve had on me. This book was some twenty-odd years in the making. I just finally managed to capture my experiences in one manuscript.
From Marquise’s untimely death to being inspired by the murder of my best friend to Chauncy’s horrid upbringing…Love and the Game was inspired by my life.
JP: What sets Love and the Game apart from other books in the same genre?
SL: Only the readers could answer that. I documented my life and threw a twist on it. If they find that unique to another author’s story, it’s a beautiful thing.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to Love and the Game getting out to the public?
SL: Studying the work ethic of the greats. Kobe and Lebron, Nas and Jay, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, Obama, Sinatra… I used to study their formulas for success and incorporate it into my own formula.
All of the people I studied shared two essential things, they had dreams and they had drive and they used that drive to materialize those dreams. You gotta be drivin.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish Love and the Game?
SL: No set process really. However it comes I let it flow naturally. Some books I’ve written straight through and others have been patchwork. As far as Love and the Game‘s production time, a lifetime.
JP: What’s next for Saleem Little?
SL: The release of my next two novels: Crying for Tears and The Hand That Feeds You. After that, movies. Time to bring the words to life!
Thanks for the platform.
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I am puzzled by this short interview because it was not much here telling me about the book, so now I have got to research to see what more the author is saying and with what he is saying it is gonna make me want the book, I truly hope it is on kindle.
It’s interesting that you said that. I think the answers may not have done Love and the Game justice. I will be reviewing this book in the future, so hopefully I will be able dig a little deeper and bring more things to the light in terms of the inner workings of Littles’ book.
Joyce, as always, thank you so much for coming by and leaving a comment. I really appreciate you.
No information dude, the information I did look and found about this book sounds like a rewrite of American Gangster.
The questions in this particular interview seemed to revolve around me. For more information about the novel visit amazon.com, http://www.mitannient.com, facebook/saleem little, and book-club-queen.com
As for the American Gangster comparison. Thank you. We have began working on the film so I pray to acheive that type of success. I can assure you Frank Lucas and Marquise are very different characters.
REVIEW by Suza Lambert (Film Producer)
Rough, raw, and riveting, Saleem Little’s first novel: Love and the Game, is a gritty portrayal of survival in an urban setting, where working the “Game” (or dealing drugs) becomes the only way to escape stifling, racist-driven poverty. To most Americans, the “Game” exists in a fantasy world, a violent world either glamorized by hip hop music or demonized by data and government statistics. Saleem Little illuminates it as a realm inhabited by real families and real children, a world where harsh choices determine outcomes for life or death.
Marquise Jackson inherits the responsibility of caring for his mother and brother when his father is killed in a hail of bullets. As “Mar” navigates the world of drug dealers, street sharks, and other players in the “Game,” he discovers that his intelligence and caution make him an excellent competitor. He is so successful that he lifts his mother, his brother, and his beautiful fiance, Lexi, out of street-level poverty into a world of success that results in education, charity, and social responsibility. Although the rewards are great, this tournament of wits is a dangerous sport, and the stakes are high. Saleem Little creates a surprise ending that twists and turns as Marquise and Lexi discover the fatal price for playing the “Game.”.
Love and the Game is a high-speed train that carries the reader on a non-stop journey filled with sex, drugs, and violence. In that sense, it is dynamic and action-packed. The story, however, becomes more compelling when the reader discovers Marquise Jackson’s deep desire to live a “normal” life: a life where his children can grow up safely, where his little brother can go to college, where his mother can open her own shop and earn a living, where his family can gather for a Thanksgiving dinner like any other family in America.
Saleem Little creates a world where the language of the street reveals an undeniable aspect of American culture, a reality that many Americans try to ignore. The irrefutable fact that a tremendous proportion of young African American men are incarcerated proves Little’s point that playing the “Game” is sometimes the only option to escape street-level poverty.
–
Suza
Suza Lambert Bowser Productions, LLC
suzalambertbowser.com
fleamovie.com
ariverofskulls.com
One of the first five people to comment on Saleem Littles’ author interview will win a free copy of Love and the Game.
Here is the list of people who are in the running for a FREE copy of the book.
1) Joyce Dickerson
2) Rashad Kenton
3) ???
4) ???
5) ???
Leave a comment about your thoughts on the interview. Three of the first ten people to comment will win a FREE copy of this book.
I love reading stories that lend themselves to real life occurrences. Great interview!
One of the first five people to comment on Saleem Littles’ author interview will win a free copy of Love and the Game.
Here is the list of people who are in the running for a FREE copy of the book.
1) Joyce Dickerson
2) Rashad Kenton
3) Kissa Starling
4) ???
5) ???
Leave a comment about your thoughts on the interview. Three of the first ten people to comment will win a FREE copy of this book.
I like the answers to the questions. Much different from the others I’ve read including my own. I especially like the dream and drive answer. In life we have to be driven to succeed in everything we do.
Thanks for introducing us to a new author!
Very interesting interview. If his work is anything like American Gangster, then that’s a compliment. I love the movie. Best wishes on future endeavors.
One of the first five people to comment on Saleem Littles’ author interview will win a free copy of Love and the Game.
Here is the list of people who are in the running for a FREE copy of the book.
1) Joyce Dickerson
2) Rashad Kenton
3) Kissa Starling
4) Jennifer C.
5) LatinTemptress
Leave a comment about your thoughts on the interview. Three of the first ten people to comment will win a FREE copy of this book.
The winner of a FREE copy Love and the Game is LatinTemptress. Thank you all for your comments and thank you for your participation in this book giveaway.
Stay tuned for many more to come in the future.
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