REGINA - Growing up in Regina, Johnny Slastukin struggled to articulate what he was trying to tell people because of his stuttering.
Instead of talking, Slastukin would write what he wanted to say and how he felt. He decided, in high school, he wouldn’t let stuttering conquer him.
So, in secondary school, Slastukin got "into English and was into, like, acting and plays. And I [Slastukin] was like [the] editor of the yearbook and then [the] newspaper."
While Slastukin was into writing, he felt publishing a book was a "pipe dream." He mentioned that when he was growing up, an author needed a publisher to back them to publish their books.
Later on in his life, Slastukin reconnected with a girl he had trained to write while he was in high school, and they had written a book. Slastukin, at that moment, realized I "taught her how to write. And she already has a book. I'm like, of course, I can write a book, [too]."
Since Amazon was available worldwide to publish books, Slastukin figured he could upload his books on the company’s page, and his books would be seen around the world.
Slastukin's first book is called Trapped Inside: Stuttering & Being Set Free. The book tells the story of Slastukin, including his health problems, the challenges of his stuttering and his heartfelt message to anyone who stutters like Slastukin.
After Slastukin wrote multiple books, he created a series of books based on Regina.
His original idea was to create one large book about the city, but Slastukin felt the book would have been way too long, so he decided he was going to write around 10 books.
So far, Slastukin has written two books around Regina, including Regina: What's Not to Love? And Regina: Blast From the Past.
In Regina: What's Not to Love? Slastukin has sections of buildings or places in Regina, with pictures and a description of the sight, which includes the new Wascana Pool and Hotel Saskatchewan.
There are also a few pages in the book dedicated to the former mayor of Regina, Pat Fiacco. When Slastukin finished high school, he was looking for a job where he could write.
So, Slastukin turned to the former mayor of Regina for help. Fiacco responded to one of Slastukin's emails, telling him he would look around to see if he could find him a job.
After Slastukin didn’t hear from the former mayor for months, one day while he was working, "I saw him [Fiacco] in there, and he said, 'Johnny, I know I haven't been in touch', he said, 'but things are happening.' And he said like,' I want you to know that.' I was like, oh, thank you. So then it was maybe another three months, and he said he had arranged a meeting for me and all the executives at Tourism Regina, and he said like, basically 'you're hiring him."
Slastukin went on to write website copy pamphlets and booklets for five years for Tourism Regina. Slastukin was appreciative for Fiacco giving him a chance to write, calling him an "awesome mayor."
The second book, based on the city Regina: Blast From the Past, centres around the historic sights of the city.
Slastukin got the idea for the book from a Facebook group called 'Nostalgic Regina.' In the group, people post historic photos of sights in Regina. Slastukin found the pictures very interesting and decided he would write a book about it.
Some of the sights in the book include the old GM plant in Regina and an older picture of the legislature, with a description of the photos.
Slastukin said since April, he has sold "over 100 [of the books] anyway. Maybe closer to 200." He mentioned the challenges of getting the books out there. Slastukin added, "It's all on, like [me], and I don't have like [the] money to hire an ad agency."
Even though Slastukin has not earned a lot of money from his books, they are impacting the lives of others.
He recalled a time when he walked into the Real Canadian Superstore located in Regina. Slastukin saw, "there was a clerk, and I [Slastukin] noticed he [was] stuttering quite badly. And I thought. I'll give him a book [Trapped Inside: Stuttering & Being Set Free]. But you know I always have to be like, will it offend him or not? But I don't think I [was] like saying, oh here you need to [have this book]. I just said you have a stutter. And I said, so do I. And I said I actually [have] like written a book about it. I said, would you like it? And he was like, 'you mean I can have it?' I said, yeah. Like I didn't charge him anything, and he was almost, like, overwhelmed with happiness. I'm like, well, that's cool."
The clerk told Slastukin they would not have the courage to write some of the things he said in the book.
Slastukin felt because the clerk read the book, "he's sort of like standing a little taller [now that he knows there’s others out there that deal with the same thing], and he talks more [compared to] like before he was hiding it [his stutter]."
As for Slastukin, he is currently working on a new book called Regina: Hometown Stories. According to Slastukin, the book will focus on "people, businesses that have [been] built here [in Regina] and stayed here and made an impact somehow in the community."
One of those businesses in the book will be Leopold’s Tavern, which started in Regina around 2013. Over 10 years later, the restaurant has expanded to Alberta, Manitoba and B.C.
Slastukin is determined to use his writing to continue expressing his love and passion for Regina.
