Out at the Plate: The Dot Wilkinson Story
by Lynn Ames
Released: October 17, 2023
Genre: Memoir / Biography
Why this book and why now?
It wasn’t long after I met Dot Wilkinson and started asking questions about her life and softball career that I realized how much history, and particularly women’s sports history, she had lived–and how much of it was about to be lost forever to time. I spent a dozen years interviewing her. In 2018 she formally asked me to write her biography. As so much of what we as women, and particularly lesbians, has been and continues to be erased from history, RIGHT NOW is exactly the time for this book.
Would you and your main character(s) get along?
Dot and I got along famously. We were family. And, like all close family, we always told each other the truth, even when it was hard. I miss her and her out-sized presence every single day.
What TV show would your main character(s) most likely binge watch and why?
Late in life, when she was limited in mobility, Dot binge watched Rizzoli & Isles. I think she would’ve been perfectly happy watching with the sound off, if you get my drift.
What’s your main character(s)’s favorite book and why?
Dot’s favorite book was my novel, Eyes on the Stars, about the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). She re-read that book countless times. She told me she loved it because it reminded her of her friends who flew those planes in World War II.
What song does your character put on to start your book launch party?
Well, there are two main characters in this book: Dot…and me. MY song for this launch would be Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” Dot never made any apologies for who she was or whom she loved. She held her head up high and BOY did she go far! For Dot’s part, she most likely would’ve chosen Patsy Cline’s “Crazy.” It was her song with the love of her life, Estelle “Ricki” Caito. They were together 48 years before Ricki passed away in 2011.
