Winterfest Interview with Trisha Kehoe

Interviews by Fans
Title:	Winterfest Interview with Trisha Kehoe
Interviewer:	Winterfest
Interviewee:	Trisha Kehoe
Date(s):	2006
Medium:	online
Fandom(s):	Beauty and the Beast
External Links:	TRISHA KEHOE, Archived version
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

In 2006, Trisha Kehoe was interviewed for Winterfest.

See Winterfest Interview Series.

Some Excerpts

What first drew me to the show was when I was told that Ron Perlman was going to star in it. I've been a fan of his since his nightclub days. He was still relatively unknown back then, so I was thrilled to hear he'd been given a series, and hoped that it would be a "boost" to his career. Which it certainly was.

[I have] no training, per se. I seem to work strictly on instinct or gut reaction, call it what you will. If a particular subject "grabs" me, I write from that premise. I've always loved books, and devoured them whenever I could scrounge the time. Then I found fandom and fanzines. On that day, a new world lay before me, ready to be explored. Some of the books / stories were very well done, and others left me wanting to change just about everything I'd read! Vincent with a tail, with a...a... retractable penis, and he shed like a great big cat? What?! Catherine was dead? No! No way! Not in my world! So, taking a deep breath and summoning up the courage, I crossed the threshhold. Plunking my fanny down in front of my trusty old typewriter, I began to draft my first Tunnel story. And the rest, as it's said, is history. (smile)

Passion is also a part of life; one of the best parts, imho. I wanted Vincent and Catherine to enjoy a healthy and vigorous sexual relationship - a "normal" relationship. I wanted them to have the same days we all have; days when they'd argue, times of despair, and times of joy - or days when one of them is just plain constipated. I wanted them have a life, with all of the bells and whistles. As a man and woman in love they deserved to have everything I could give them in that regard. Being known for what I write / the way I write / has never bothered me, nor has it affected my work, for the most part. People can read my stories and either fling them across the room, like them, hate them, howl over them, or whatever. Over the years I've received a lot of encouraging mail, and very few 'slaps to the head', so I guess / hope / that people have enjoyed the stories.

Painful developments are also a part of living. Many of us deal with that truth on a day to day basis. Hopefully, most of us get through those times as best we can. Having someone to share that anguish with helps, up to a point. When I share a character's pain with a reader, then they (fingers crossed) understand it, and can sympathize. That's when determination comes into play. If a story is working, the reader looks for the characters to, A: overcome the pain, B: reclaim their lost hope, and/or courage, and C: get their happy ending. But not every happy ending can solve every problem. Somewhere out there, lurking in the shadows, more pain awaits. It always does; it always will. I understand that, and so do many of the readers. Tunnel people seem to have an empathy for one another that goes far beyond words. When someone is in pain and wants/needs to share it, hoping to lessen it, a friend will give them their full attention. But a true friend listens with the heart.