Published this summer, #JustaChicken is a book for children of all ages, written by USC alumni Preston Thorne and Langston Moore. Through this book, the former football players hope to instill the Gamecock spirit — a spirit of positive self-esteem and belief in oneself no matter the odds — within all those who read it. We caught up with Thorne to ask him a few questions about the book and his history as a Gamecock.
The Daily Gamecock: Please introduce yourself and your coauthor.
Preston Thorne: I am Preston Thorne 2004 graduate and co-captain of the 2004 Gamecocks. He is Langston Moore alum of the HRSM (Hospitality, Retail and Sports Management) school and seven-year NFL veteran. I currently teach at Blythewood High School in Columbia, and Langston is the sideline reporter for the Gamecocks.
TDG: Where did the inspiration for this book come from?
PT: We drew our inspiration for this story from a few different fables that we ... heard growing up. We knew that stories are the greatest teaching tool available to us, and we wanted to spread a message of self-acceptance and positivity.
TDG: You used to be a football player for USC; how did your experiences contribute to the making of the book?
PT: Being proud alumni of the university gave us the motivation to create a story for all of the other proud supporters of the university. As athletes, we were part of the football teams that changed the culture around here. Langston was part of the infamous 0-11 "shame" cocks, and we both were part of the university's turnaround with [back-to-back] Outback Bowls!
TDG: Can you describe the book-writing process?
PT: Being that we live in the age of the smartphone, it’s only right that a majority of this book was written in our notes on our phones. We would have conversations and then try to translate the ideas onto the phones. But when it came down to make revisions, good old fashioned pencil [and] paper were the best tools.
TDG: What message do you want to get across to readers?
PT: Everyone will take from this story what they need, but a few of the major ideas are that we are responsible for our self esteem and we should always be mindful of ... what we believe about ourselves. You will never outgrow your self image. As long as Cocky felt he was "just a chicken" he had no chance of competing, but when he decided to be a GAMECOCK everything changed!
TDG: How did you choose an illustrator?
PT: Again the magic of technology! We found Kev Roche through Twitter. We saw his work with ESPN and made a recruiting pitch for him to work with us. We had to recruit like a five-star athlete ... Thankfully, he chose to work with us.