The 2018 Interview Series with Author Tristan Drue Rogers

This week Author and Blogger Tristan Drue Rogers is featured in my 2018 Author interview series.

Please check out the interview where you can learn about Tristan’s book and what motivates his writing.

Please enjoy meeting and learning about Tristan Drue Rogers.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Originality has always been an out of reach mistress for me. I’ve always chased it, especially in my much younger years, and if those tales ever get released, you’ll know what I mean. Although, I will confess that as I’ve aged, I have learned to write stories that entertain myself. One can get easily bored if their single goal is originality. To what end will you take it? Will it still resonate? Will your story simply be described as quirky? How in the hell does it all work? These are things that will never stop bouncing around and battling each other in your mind. Shall I be a unique snowflake or do I want to make money? Will I ever make money as a writer? The answer to my latter questions are a resounding no.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

I’d tell him to keep reading, put down everything, ignore your friends, don’t go out so much, never listen to anyone, but pay attention, fall in love more, back down a bit more, stand up for yourself, write for the sake of writing, continuously explore new music and go to as many shows as possible, listen to people when they speak, even listen to their silence, dance more, lose yourself, and never forget that the world may be hard, unwavering, and terrible to so many different types of people, that even as you witness it, never be an observer. If you see something wrong, act. Actions, weather this is cliché or not, do speak louder than words. Be creative with interpreting that, too.

What’s your favorite underappreciated novel?

That is not an easy question to answer. Shoot. Black Wings Has My Angel, maybe. That is a significantly tough question. Is Threats by Amelia Gray underappreciated? We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. Another good one is The Love Song of Johnny Valentine by Teddy Wayne.

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

As I have yet to receive a review of any of my stories, let alone my novel, Brothers of Blood, I’m not sure how I’ll react to both good or bad. I can say that I will read any at this point and that good or bad I will likely receive them poorly.

Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Shh. No, I do, but hopefully not in a way that is too distracting. Brothers of Blood has a few names, characters, locations, and situations from my childhood that only a small, unfortunate few will ever discover if they read the book. I have failed as a writer, in my opinion, if the average reader sees those tidbits and becomes stuck. They’re just fun things that if I took them out of the book, they wouldn’t change anything. I think.

Do you Google yourself?

Many times. I’m shameless about it.

What is your favorite childhood book?

Children’s books have a special place in my heart, even today while I reach 30 years old. I love Dr. Seuss immensely. The Hobbit is great. I love the Jungle Books. My favorite anything ever has to be Calvin and Hobbes. But the one kiddie book that sticks with me is Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, which I reference in Brothers of Blood.

If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?

I’d certainly convince my mother to move to Texas sooner, perhaps I would have met my wife earlier, and my muse would have presented me with far more beautiful writing and even had helped me escape my mushy, horrible poetry phase quicker as I would have surely spent an insurmountable amount of time letting her know that her eyes are like the exploding sun, swallowing a far away Galaxy, deep within the eyes of a crying angel, yet unknown to man, but written upon a sheet of basic notebook paper by the one boy inquisitive enough to describe it. Her eye roles would have certainly saved me a to least a few years of that rubbish.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?

So I’ve written one book to completion. I currently have three in the works with no sign of finishing any time soon.

With Brothers of Blood, it took about one year to write my first draft. About a year and a half to finish the second draft with edits. I took a year off for tomfoolery. Later, a few more weeks of edits. And then the next couple of years to have a publisher finally accept it, leading to publication. I know the next book will lead into a completely different journey as will the one after that. Expect the unexpected. Sit down and write. If you don’t or won’t, then you damn well mustn’t ever call yourself a writer again. Save yourself the misery.

About Tristan:

Tristan Drue Rogers continues to spell his middle name wrong in spite of it appearing that way on his birth certificate. He is a husband and an author. A self-described “ever-student,” Tristan prefers to learn as opposed to master, disbelieving in absolutes. His stories, especially his characters, represent this ideology well, with a keen commentary on the lives of people today, he attempts to bridge the old with the new, the fantasy with reality, the anxiety with heroism, and the horror with beauty. Deepening wounds and reevaluating their power is the name of the game, so if you see him in public, be prepared for a smile surrounded by a bashful face. He’ll appreciate you all the same. His recently released novel Brothers of Blood is available anywhere books are sold.

About Tristan’s Book:

Brothers of Blood follows Belle Whynecrow in her final year of highschool. Her best friends Josue, Xavier, and Jesus the hobo welcome the new kid, Chris, with welcome arms. The only catch? To quell their boredom, Belle asks all to create a kill list that they’ll trade, marking off the names as they complete their goal before senior year ends. While struggling to pass their classes with flying colors, this band of merry murderers seems to be on a delightfully bloody roll until Belle’s long imprisoned older brother, Beau, arrives at her doorstep. Now a devout man of God, the brotherhood schemes for his return to his original, and highly exaggerated, bloodlust. That is, if Chris’s jelousy doesn’t destroy Belle’s ranking in the gang first. Not everyone will survive, but those who do will certainly have a year to remember because those that kill together live forever.