Leon Powe: Brother in disguise

https://www.si.com/college/cal/basketball/power-publishes-novel




Leon Powe Publishes His First Novel: `Brother in Disguise'
An NBA champion with the Celtics in 2008, the Oakland native has plans to write again.

Personable and tough, Leon Powe boasts an impressive resume that includes being a crowd favorite with Cal basketball fans at Haas Pavilion and an NBA champion with the Boston Celtics in 2008.
Add author to Powe’s list of credits.
The 38-year-old Oakland native has self-published his first novel, “Brother in Disguise.”

Powe began formulating the book during the pandemic, when he found himself doing what most of it did.
“I was watching all these Netflix things and I was thinking I can create some better stories than what I was watching,” he said in a Friday interview. “I tell a lot of stories to people and they say, `You should write them down.’ ”
That finally clicked for Powe, who sought the assistance of editors at the Los Angeles-based Pacific Ghostwriting, which works with fledgling authors.
He developed an outline for his book and recorded portions of the narrative. Then he worked with his editors, who took his words and put them into book form.
“They wrote it down but that’s my story to the T. I love it,” he said. “There’s a plot twist at the end of the story. They were impressed.”
Here’s a synopsis of the book, courtesy of amazon.com:
"Two identical twins separated at birth – one raised in a warm, loving environment, the other in a cruel world of violence and bloodshed. When the latter finds out the truth about his origin and all that he has missed out on, feelings of envy and being lied to all his life fester. Learn how lies, deceit, and a thirst for vengeance tears an already broken family apart once again.”

The book, which became available the start of July, has received limited attention so far. Powe said he has not yet done marketing beyond word of mouth with friends.
There are no reviews yet on the website “Goodreads,” and just one on Amazon. But it’s a good one:


Amazon
The book is not biographical, said Powe, adding, “Some of the experiences I went through but most people went through some of those.”
He has tentative plans to make this the first of a three-book series, and hopes to someday have it made into a movie for Netflix or another platform. “I’ve got a lot of stories,” he said.
Powe was a special player for the Bears and a special guy. He overcome his own tough childhood then battled back from repeated knee injuries, first at Oakland Tech High School, then at Cal, to assemble a productive basketball career.
A classmate of future Cal and NFL star Marshawn Lynch, Power averaged 27.4 points and 14.2 rebounds as a senior at Tech then was an all-Pac-10 player for the Bears. He played parts of six seasons in the NBA, highlighted by the 2008 playoffs, during which he had five double-figure scoring games including a 21-point performance in a Game 2 Finals victory over the Lakers.
Powe said he never imagined while growing up that he’d someday write a novel.
“I never thought about it,” he said. “I never thought I was going to do a lot of things I’ve done.”

He was a speaker at our local American Legion Post a few years back. Quite the story and a super nice guy.

I can wish nothing but the best for Leon. He came here, became a fan favorite, worked his butt off, helped in his own small way to win a title. If not for health, bad knees who knows what could have have become in basketball. That infectious smile he has has endeared him to Boston fans where we saw him walking around the Garden on game nights, working in the same position JoJo White had for years. Best wishes to a terrific Celtic

Some guys come to the Celtics and they fit right in. When he made it with the team I was very happy for him given all that he went through. The great Leon POW as he jabs Phil in the mouth. What's my name?

ALWAYS loved and continue to love Leon Powe. Talk about a brickhouse. He did fit right in. If you come into Boston and overly bust your hump, you're going to be welcomed every time, everywhere.

Sounds like he's doing what he wants and enjoying the American entrepreneurial dream. Good for him!!

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