Welcome Trista to Books2Mention Magazine. It is indeed a privilege to interview you. You have made a grand entry into the literary world. Beginning with your first book Going Broke and currently your soon to be released second book entitled Fly On The Wall.
Your writing skills are remarkable with an authentic realistic flair that is completely fascinating. Our readers are surely in for a treat as you allow B2M the opportunity to get a better understanding of the artist behind these intriguing stories.
B2M: Trista when exactly did you discover your ability to write?
TRISTA: Ever since my first heartbreak in the first grade. I realized that I could take the words that I had just learned, and form a sentence, and make it mean whatever I felt. That started me on poems. I started writing stories in middle school and passed them around the school.
B2M: How long did it take you to pen Going Broke and Fly On the Wall?
TRISTA: Every word of Going Broke was written on my laptop in between calls at the call center where I was working at the time. My department was told that we would be laid off in three months and the only way to get your severance was to hang on until the end. With drama, tension, disappointment, and grumpy supervisors all around, I started writing something - anything - just so that I could have a reason to come to a job that no longer needed me for three more months. I wrote Going Broke in two and a half months and Fly on the Wall in nine or ten months.
B2M: What gives you inspiration to write?
TRISTA: I wish I had some tear-jerking answer, but it's simple.I love to write. It's the one thing that I own. Writing brings me to life.
B2M: In Going Broke you incorporated a unique ending. What encouraged you to try this approach?
TRISTA: It was something I saw as a kid. I cannot remember what those types of books are called, but you could change the story by choosing a different route each time. So, every time you read it you can read a totally different story.
B2M: Your stories are portrayed so realistically, can you define what percentage of your books are based on real experiences and to what degree are they strictly fiction?
TRISTA: People find it hard to believe that my plots are fictional. I'm sure that they closely resemble someone's life, but no one that I know personally. Therefore, eighty-five percent of my books are figments of my imagination, ten percent are crazy or funny things that have happened to me, and the other five percent are things I wish would happen to me.
B2M: Fly On The Wall is definitely an interesting story. Especially since the intimate relationship between adults and teenagers, have become prevalent in our world today. Will you share with our readers what inspired you to touch on this subject matter?
TRISTA: Many times we, myself included, hear news stories and before the reporter can cut to a live feed, we already hate everybody involved in it. Well, my imagination created a black high school and within its walls I created a breathtaking, raise eyebrow, good to the last drop love story between a thirty-two-year-old teacher and her eighteen-year-old student.
B2M: Did you feel that this would be a bit of a risk for you to approach a subject that is so controversial?
TRISTA: No, because I truly believe that readers are smarter than a fictional story. Fly on the Wall is an entertainment, not a guide in which people should govern their lives by. And to anyone that doubts that I can pull off such a story with tact, style, and finesse, I say, "Read the book and see for yourself, or go back to the rock you've been living under."
B2M: What is the overall message that you hope readers will get after reading this book?
TRISTA: Let love define itself. Love comes in unexpected forms, and as long as it's not illegal, enjoy it. I also hope that this story will convince readers that any story is worth telling; many risks are worth taking, and to prove that it never pays to be closed-minded and judgmental.
B2M: In your leisure time when you are not writing what do you enjoy doing?
TRISTA: Am I really going to admit this? I enjoy watching reality TV.
B2M: Becoming an accomplished author has brought what kind of satisfaction into your life?
TRISTA: It has brought the satisfaction of knowing that my words bring joy to people. When someone reads my book, for a few days I help them forget, relax, and escape from the norms of life. I also consider each person that purchases a copy of my book a blessing.
B2M: Books2Mention Magazine recently received word that Going Broke has been optioned for production by Triumph Pictures. Congratulations Trista on this awesome accomplishment. Where were you when you received this exciting news?
TRISTA: I was sitting in front of my computer and received an e-mail from a producer expressing that he had read the story and wanted to speak with my agent and me right away. I deleted the e-mail thinking that it was a joke. However, at three in the morning I woke up thinking, what if that was for real? I got up, searched in my deleted mail, found it, and sent it to my agent who days later confirmed that it was the real deal.
B2M: How do you feel having your book become a motion picture, and what actor and actress can you see playing the lead roles?
TRISTA: I feel good about Going Broke becoming a movie. It would truly be a dream come true to see it played out on the big screen. If I could have the actor and actress I wanted, Sarai would be played by Meagan Good and Tremel would be played by Terence Howard.
B2M: What can our readers look forward to reading from you next?
TRISTA: My next book, Chocolate Covered Forbidden Fruit is due out in August of 2006. Chocolate Covered Forbidden Fruit is the story of a twenty-three-year-old wild girl gone good, who moves back to her old neighborhood and manages to catch the attention of the community's middle-aged very sexy, single (widowed), devoted, charismatic pastor. However, Reverend Isaac Flack happens to also be her best friend's father. And though he has a charge to keep and a God to glorify, she captured his heart and sends his soul leaping toward the sky. When the word spreads, heads start turning, eyes are rolling, and the Holy Ghost just won't move in Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church. In Thalia's eyes, Isaac is truly Chocolate Covered Forbidden Fruit, but he believes that she is the gift of love he had been praying for.
Thanks, Trista for giving our readers insight on your thought process in creating books that we can relate to and also providing interesting story lines that spark great conversation.
Books2Mention Magazine thanks you for interviewing with us, and we look forward to hearing more from you in the very near future.
Much Success To You!
The Staff @ Books2Mention Magazine
Trista Russell's books are available online and in bookstores. Please be sure to check out Trista's website at www.tristarussell.com.
Books by Trista include:
Going Broke
Fly On The Wall
