Tuesday 29 July 2014

Author Interview: Angeline M. Bishop

Today I'm happy to welcome Angeline M. Bishop to the blog as part of her South Beach blog tour.

Angeline Bishop writes contemporary romance fiction and has a growing fan base. Angeline’s novels are thought-provoking, refreshingly entertaining, fast paced, and with a strong romantic elements. She was born in Washington, D. C., but lived most of her life in New Jersey and considers the 'Garden State' her home. Her childhood passion for writing led to a degree in English Literature and a membership in Romance Writers of America.

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book South Beach?
South Beach is the story of Laila Sheridan, the youngest sibling of the Sheridan clan. It picks up during her girls’ vacation with her best friends Sofìa and Marina. Laila has just finished celebrating her brother’s marriage and is taking a much needed vacation in sunny Florida. Things get a little hectic when her ex-boyfriend Malcolm decides to win Laila back and Gray is sent to South Beach Miami to keep an eye on everything. 

The readers of NORTH STAR will enjoy a better look at Laila and her life, while readers that haven’t read the first book will appreciate that this story can stand alone. 

Why choose South Beach as the destination for this novel?
South Beach is the place that inspired musicians, fashion icons, and actors so it’s the perfect backdrop for a girls’ vacation. I wanted the reader to feel the luxury of Laila’s world as I pulled back the curtain and showed the realness of her friendship. 

Laila appears to be a feisty character, what would you say were her strong qualities and what are her flaws?
Laila knows fashion and has carved her spot among the top New York fashion editors.  She’s fiercely loyal to her family and when she’s in a relationship, she loves hard, with her heart wide open.  Her sister Janet would say her flaw is that she’s a passive commitment-phobic that dates bad boys in order to sabotaging her relationship.  Her big brother Graham thinks Laila just isn’t capable of given a real man what's required to sustain a relationship and that’s why she dates boys (men without direction and purpose).

I believe readers will begin to understand that Laila’s need to fix things and people around her is her biggest imperfection. And Laila’s vacation is the perfect place for her to learn to curb her desire to manipulate how people perceive things.

South Beach is the second book in The Sheridan series, how many more books are in the pipeline?  
At the moment, there are four foundational books in the series: North Star, South Beach, Wild West, and Big East but I’m getting so much positive feedback about few minor characters that I’m beginning to outline their stories too. 

What are you currently working on? 
I’m currently working on two novels. One is WILD WEST, the third instalment of the Sheridan Series. It takes place in Oklahoma during Laila and Latrell’s birthday week.  This novel reveals why the youngest son of the Sheridan clan moved away from New Jersey. It’s nice to see why Latrell loves Oklahoma and how Laila tries her best to say fashionable on a working ranch.  The other novel is the second book in the JACMUIR series; which is a new contemporary multicultural New Adult series. Book One is under contract so I’m very excited to have a series for my college-aged readers.

What does a typical writing day look like for you?
I work my full-time day job at the university then I come home and write for three or four hours. The biggest chunk of writing time is done on Saturdays after 8AM grocery shopping.

How long does it usually take you to write a first draft? 
That depends. I find the Sheridan series requires some research on the different locales in order to get settings just right. I would say once the research is complete, the writing takes about a month and a half for the first draft with a day job.

Are you a plotter or do you just start writing and see where the writing takes you? 
Have you seen my website? I’m a plotter all the way. (Laughter) I can only write about people that I’ve flushed out. This helps me stay true to my characters and the readers enjoy the back stories too. When you write a series it’s important to make each person distinct so readers can connect to the character that speaks to them. For me plotting is a way of life.

If you were going to look back on your career in the future, what do you hope to have achieved? 
I want a writing career that not only challenged me but entertained and enlightened my readers. I want people to enjoy the literary ride and look forward to the next instalment. I also want to get so good at describing everyday life that people stop and tell me “I never heard anyone describe it like that before.’

Are there any authors who inspired you when you were starting out on your writing career?
Nora Roberts‼! She such a legend…and the lovely Brenda Jackson.  When I read Fire and Desire, I knew I wanted to write a great family series too.

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring author, what would it be?
Don’t become a writer because you want money or fame.  Write because you have stories you want to share, you’ll get so much more out of writing if you do. For me writing is a safe place to play and share insights to my world while entertain others. I think all writers need to look at their intentions for wanted to being a story to the world. For me, I wanted to bring my tagline to life, I wanted to write novels that revealed “Our Love Stories, Our Community, and Our Connections”. Tyler Perry once said how important it is for us to tell our stories and that’s what helped me become clear on the purpose of each of my books.

When you’ve finished writing a book, do you treat yourself to a reward?
First, I call my two daughters that are taking classes at the university and tell them the great news. Then I have a celebratory dinner of whatever I’ve been craving. After I wrote South Beach I think I had sushi.  When Wild West is done, I have to have some lobster and steak (surf and turf) because I haven’t had that in years.

Where would be your idyllic location for a writing retreat? 
After watching Christina Yang’s exit on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. I would say Zurich, Switzerland ranks at the top of my list right now.  This city, with its alpine backdrop, pure air, dazzling lake, and a walkable district full of fine boutiques and restaurants, would be a great place to write and get inspired.

There is a giveaway linked to the blog tour which is for a $100 Amazon Giftcard and either paperback or eBook copies of both books in the Sheridan series, North Star and South Beach.
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2 comments:

  1. Thank you for hosting today Sharon.
    Shaz

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for interviewing me and for promoting my novel, SOUTH BEACH. It was so much fun!

    ReplyDelete