By Connor McIntosh @Easymoney_Mac
As he walks into the local Starbucks to get writing, he’s greeted by regular customers and his normal order is already being made.
For Bay Area News Group columnist Marcus Thompson II, that was where he cranked out his debut book, “Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Stephen Curry.”
Thompson’s manifestation of Curry’s rise is a culmination of both historical context of East Bay basketball, the Warriors Franchise, and just how “miraculous” it is that a 6-foot-3, 180 pound guard transformed the Warriors into a national phenomenon.
During a book release event held at Las Positas by the Journalism Club on Wed., April 12, Thompson reflected on the challenges of producing a nationally circulated novel while giving students and faculty the chance to peer into the process itself.
Thompson described the process of writing and editing “Golden,” saying that it took around six months to finish. The journey was also accompanied by several stops with three editing firms and lawyers.
On top of that, the original deadline, set for July of 2016, required two extensions pushing his submission all the way back to September.
The content of the book also presented some issues. During production, he wanted to write the book as, sort of, a dual-feature about Curry and the 73-9 team.
The book’s initial theme was the 2015-16 Warriors becoming exceptionally historic after they won the 2016 NBA title. Unfortunately, the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead in the Finals threw a wrench into those plans.
Thompson said that he originally didn’t know how far the Warriors would go in the book’s conclusion, so he changed things up as certain events unfolded.
Of all the speed bumps along the way, Thompson did say that some things were easier than others. Specifically how certain members of the Curry family were great interviews, including his younger sister Sydell who plays volleyball at Elon University in North Carolina.
Not to mention, many of the details Thompson got about Stephen and Ayesha—Curry’s wife of nearly six years—came from Curry’s mother Sonya.
When asked why he wrote the book, Thompson chose not to give the expected answer of passion and the love of the game but instead responded with, “The money.”
After finishing up with the audience, Thompson signed books for 30 minutes often penning messages for friends of friends and distant relatives of Warriors fans.
LPC student Brandon Byrne thought the event was a success, saying, “It was pretty unique to have one of your professors write a national book like this. Many people who were here don’t even watch basketball but were interested in his overall project.”