Howard Slaughter fondly remembers the Saturday morning trips to the local library where his daughter, Karin, would get lost in aisles for hours at a time. That was his first inkling that his daughter was on the path to writing, and years later he offered his blessing when Karin said she was going to pursue writing full time. Howard Slaughter’s intuition served him well as Karin Slaughter is now the author of several bestsellers.
Did you read to your daughter when she was a child? What did you read?
I read children’s books to her from the time she was 6 months old.
How old was your daughter when she started reading?
I think about 4 years old, but it was hard to tell because she memorized most of the books I read to her.
Did your daughter have a favorite series/author growing up?
She loved Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew, then later GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell. She read anything she could get her hands on. We didn't let her watch certain movies or television shows, but she could read whatever she wanted.
Did you have any book or reading rituals in your house?
We took her to the library every Saturday and she would stay there for hours looking for books and reading in the back on the floor. She won Reader of the Year several times, and was always writing her own stories. Sometimes she would read them to me when I got home from work.
When did you know your daughter was going to be a writer?
She's always written stories, but I think she was in college when she decided to get serious about it. She was attending Georgia State University and called me and said she thought she was wasting her time taking math and science when she really wanted to be a writer. I told her it was okay to drop out, but that she had to treat trying to get published as seriously as she did going to school, which she did.
Can you remember your daughter writing as a child?
Yes she was always writing. I remember a short story entiled “Rolio With Polio” and a book called “If Katz Had Thumbs,” about a man who lost both his thumbs in a boating accident.
Do you read advance copies of your daughter’s work?
Yes.
Do you have a favorite of your daughter’s books?
They are all my favorites. I think the more she writes, the better she gets.
What kinds of books do you enjoy reading?
Horror short stories and some of Stephen King.
What authors, besides your daughter’s books, do you read?
Why would I read anybody else?
Karin Slaughter is the national bestselling author of several novels including the Grant County series. Her latest in the Grant County series, BROKEN, will be available June 22nd wherever books are sold.
