Friday, January 13, 2012

Interview with Chris Shella, Author of Reasonable Facsimile


Author Chris Shella is a graduate of Morehouse College and the University of Texas Law School and started his legal career in Long Island, New York at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office. He is admitted to the practice of law in New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina. Shella is also admitted to the federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the Middle District of North Carolina, U.S. District of Columbia, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eastern District of New York, and the Southern District of New York.He is also admitted to the Bar Of The United States Supreme Court. He and his cases have been covered on Court TV, CNN, and in the New York Times, and other media outlets across the globe. He has represented everyone from lawyers to major drug traffickers to a serial killer in Baltimore. His two most famous case are the Vegan Baby Case and his defense of the Duke Lacrosse Case accuser for the alleged murder of her boyfriend.

Chris now resides in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife and son.

His latest book is the legal thriller, Reasonable Facsimile.

You can visit his website at www.reasonablefacs.com.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m a criminal trial lawyer with more than 100 major felony jury trials to my credit and I have handle more than 50 murder cases up and down the east coast. I also do appellate work and I’m admitted to the Bar of The US Supreme Court.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in a small town in North Carolina called Hillsborough.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

When I was in the eighth grade, I got in trouble for fighting in school. Another guy attacked me and I stood my ground and beat him up. My mom came to school when the principal suspended me to take me home. I just knew I was gonna get my butt whooped. But instead, my mom hugged me took me to McDonald’s and told me she was proud of me for standing up for myself.

What is this book about?

Reasonable Facsimile  is about a broken down lawyer named Jasper Davis who has seen better days. The criminal defense work he does has slowly destroyed who he was and left him as a shell of who he used to be earlier in life. The book is a two-week snapshot in his life where he is trying a first degree murder case in Baltimore, Maryland. During the trial he becomes a suspect in the murder of a DEA agent who was preparing to testify against his client.

What inspired you to write it?

I wrote this book when my mom passed away in 2009. I just felt that I had to do all the things I had always wanted to do because tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

The idea or the book comes from all the wild things I have seen in courthouses up and down the east coast. I’ve seen drunk lawyers, belligerent judges and whacked out cops. If I wrote about what I really saw people wouldn’t think it was just fiction they would think it was a fantasy novel.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My wife.

Who is your favorite author?

Walter Mosley. My favorite book by him is Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned.

Do you have an agent or are you looking for one?

I don’t have an agent and I would consider it. I kind of like the work that I do for myself.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, local bookstores and LuLu.

Do you have a video trailer to promote your book? If yes, where can readers find it?

Yes. I actually have a webisode series at http://www.youtube.com/reasonablefacs

What is the best investment you have made in promoting your book?

Pump Up Your Book tours.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors everywhere?

Sit your butt down and write.

What is up next for you?

After 3 or federal trials early this year I will be writing my new book in the Jasper Davis series, Just Shut Up and Pour My Liquor.

Is there anything you would like to add?

BUY MY BOOK!!!!

No comments: