10 Feet Down (Original Version)

Q+A

Author Q+A (from 2021)

Thanks for sending these questions! I had so much fun answering them.

-What are the actors/actresses used for the characters?

The main cast list is:
Maia Mitchell as Evangeline West
Keith Powers as Trevante Newman
Kat Graham as Samira Wilson
Algee Smith as Latrell Farris
Rose Leslie as Reina Cunningham

I chose Keith Powers as Trevante because he was similar to how I originally pictured Tre. I also had a huge celebrity crush on him (haha). Kieth doesn't look exactly how I mentally pictured Tre, but he's pretty close.

I chose Maia Mitchell as Evangeline because I pictured Eva as a girl who is beautiful by being simple and natural. Maia has this down-to-earth beauty about her that appears so normal and simple, I thought of Eva being that way too.

-What inspired you to write this book? Was it just your own twist on the good girl meets bad boy storyline?

So the inspiration behind this story did come from some of my own experiences while in college. College was where I first experienced meeting people from different races and cultures. I gained a lot of eye-opening lessons while going through college, in regards to dealing with people and becoming an adult.

The Evangeline character was inspired by my upbringing. I grew up in a very strict conservative, pentecostal religious household, so I really identified with Eva immensely in her naivety, innocence, and the trepidation towards her parents.

I have also always loved the cliché good girl/bad boy storyline. So yeah I did want to put my own twist on it and try to make it different than the other cliché stories.

I also was dealing with the stresses of college, so this book definitely became a creative outlet and safe space for me.

-Do any of the people or events in the story mimick anything in your real life? Whether it be location or interests or hobbies and friends?

The only character that kind of mimicked my life was Evangeline. I loosely based her off of myself: My freshman year dorm room number was 212 and one of my best friend's lived in the room right across from mine. I love to read. My favorite poets are Maya Angelou and Edgar Allen Poe. Some of my favorite novels are A Walk to Remember and The Great Gatsby. I've always wanted to travel the world. I hate being in stressful situations and try my best to avoid them. I had a 4.0 throughout most of my high school and college years.

I'm also shy and awkward at first and I'm a super quiet person. I've never made friends that easily and I only have like 3 friends I'm actually really close to. I can be stubborn at times (I'm a Taurus so it makes sense). Eva is basically an exaggeration of myself. Although, I don't think I would've reacted the way that she did in most of the drama situations.