Author Interview - Mia Bishop

I'm happy to have Mia Bishop on my blog today for this week's interview!


1. Have you always had a passion for writing?

Always! Even before I could write I was a storyteller. Which usually got me into trouble, but ever since I was little I've told stories either by mouth, or through art, or through words.


2. Does what you read influence what you write and what are some of your favourite authors/books?

I love to read paranormal romance and erotica, anything with a scorching heat rating and lots of paranormal creatures and since that is also what I write I suppose my reading does influence my writing. But with that said I also love Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Fantasy which I think are all pretty much represented in my books. I like my stories to be as eclectic as I am. My favorite authors are Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kresley Cole, and Kelley Armstrong to name a few. I also have a deep seeded love for Neil Gaiman.


3. What are your biggest inspirations?

Music and pictures are my biggest inspirations as far as muses go. But who inspires me to keep going would be my kids and my friends. When I my kids striving so hard for something be it school or sports or anything I tell myself "See that, they never stop trying and you shouldn't either."


4. Do you have a technique in how you choose characters and/or locational settings?

I try to keep locations to places I am familiar with, most of my stories take place where I live in Colorado or in regions nearby, mostly in the Southwestern parts of the United States.


5. Do you listen to music while you are creating your masterpieces?

Most of the time yes, when my kids aren't blasting video games or tv. Music always depends on the story and the characters. It can range from Dubstep, to pop music like Imagine Dragons and Katy Perry, or Eminem, or Rage Against the Machines. But my favorite music to write to are groups like The Civil Wars, Angus and Julia Stone, Sia, and Iwan Rheon. Oh and Lana Del Ray's version of "Once Upon A Dream". Some days I put that song on repeat and it just plays for hours because it's so mellow I can write until my fingers want to fall off just listening to that song.


6. What do you do to stay motivated and avoid writer’s block?

When I ever find a cure for writer's block I'll let you know. I suffer from it constantly. I think it is because my head gets so full of the "I need to do this, this, and this" and I get overwhelmed, then my poor brain just shuts down completely. Motivation is a different story, even when I'm block I just keep telling myself to never give up, ride out this block, de-stress a bit, maybe watch a movie, go out for a night, and then go back to writing the next day and see what happens.


7. How has becoming a published author (independent or traditional) changed your perspective on life and is it everything you expected it to be? (If you are not published yet – what changes do you foresee?)

Being published (both indie and traditional) has been exciting. Not much has changed about my perspective on life, my perspective has and will remain the same, keep writing no matter what. But it has given me a boost of confidence that I didn't have before, with the traditional publishing it let me know that people (other than my friends and family) do enjoy my stories and that helped me immensely.


8. What are your biggest challenges as an author?

Not getting writer's block and finding time to write while taking care of my kids, house, animals, and all of life's little surprises.


9. Do you have any pets?

Yep I do. I have two dogs, Maximus is a 12 year old Chow Chow-German Shepherd mix, and Dory is a 7 year old rez dog (aka, a mutt). We also have 3 albino fancy rats named Basil, Louie, and Fawkes. And lastly we have a tiger salamander name Bait.


10. What hobbies do you have outside of reading and writing?

I am a huge nerd so if I'm not writing I'm usually playing video games or watching Doctor Who or any number of other shows or animes. I also love to make chainmaile jewelry and accessories, and wire jewelry and decorations. As much as I love being a hermit though it is necessary for me to get back to nature as much as possible too, so my kids and I love to go hiking in the mountains that surround us, we also go mountain biking, and all of us have taken up archery this year as well.


11. Where is the most exciting/memorable place you have been in the world?

No where really. I've never been on a plane, never travelled to exciting places. One of these days I will visit all the place I dream of, but for now I suppose my most exciting/memorable place would have to be the shores of Northern California and Oregon. I love cold beaches. I'm not a huge fan of over crowded beaches but my best memories are of me with my sketch book, a big-warm sweater, bare feet in the sand, and a roaring fire on the beach with the cold surf crashing nearby. That is my happy place.


12. Tell us about your latest work in progress or most recent published work…

My latest published work is a book called Twisted Revenge, it was published through Ellora's Cave and is book one in a multi-author series. It's something I'm very proud of seeing as how it is my first contracted book, it happened completely out of the blue, and I was picked to start the series off which was a huge honor and admittedly frightening at the same time.

You can find Mia here!
Twisted Revenge is available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1fFiPkB and on the Ellora's Cave site: http://bit.ly/1nzpLjM