Russell Brooks gets his inspiration from other authors, such as Barry Eisler, Joseph Finder, and Eric Jerome Dickie--whose genres and characters closely resemble his. However, most of his story ideas are inspired by actual events. Some readers describe Brooks's stories as being "ripped from the headlines."

Russell is the author of four books with a an upcoming fifth which will be released later in 2021. An avid Renaissance Man, he learned to play the violin, the piano, the viola, the bassoon, and the electric base guitar while in high school. Today, he prefers to stick with the violin where he performs at concerts and on special occasions.

Brooks developed his talents as a runner in high school to become a national-level sprinter. This landed him a track and field scholarship to Indiana University in Bloomington, where he excelled in the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m relay–winning several races and becoming an All Big Ten.

Russell’s talents even got him on the world athletics stage where he represented Canada at the World University Games in Palma de Mallorca, Spain in the same three events. He also represented Team Quebec at the 1997 Jeux de la Francophonie in Antanarivo, Madagascar and again in Ottawa in 2001.