Torie's Glories: Guest Starring Mia Bishop!

There are no strangers in my life. They're simply friends I haven't met yet. I've been blessed to meet some amazing people on my adventures through social networking and the worlds I inhabit there. 

This week I am uber thrilled to have Mia Bishop with me.  So belly up, grab some liquid noms and join me as I pick Le Brain of pure Fab!

So, what inspired you to write your first book?
Waking Up In Bedlam started as a last minute NaNoWriMo project. I'd done NaNo the year before but that novel is such a mess I haven't had the courage to go back to it. I had a different story planned for my NaNo, but it is a story that is too closely tied to my heart and I have to be in the right frame of mind to write it. At the last minute, I had to change gears, didn't know what I was going to write and I was watching some ghost hunters show on TV. I got the idea of writing a book about a paranormal investigator who knew he was a fraud but what he didn't know was that everything he thought was fake was actually real. I hopped on Skype, shared the idea with A.L. Kessler (who I bounce all of my ideas off of) and she thought it sounded promising. I spent no more than two days plotting it out before NaNo started and just went from there. So thanks to the ridiculous ghost hunting shows on TV I found my inspirations for Waking Up In Bedlam.

What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) during it? Did you find yourself daunted at all? 
I was completely overwhelmed, not with writing but with the editing/formatting parts! I love research, so that part was easy but the rest I just floundered around aimlessly. And there is always a constant worry of not being good enough, not getting in enough edits. What if someone finds a typo? What if people hate my book? Fear and stress, they are killers.

Do you ever find yourself torn between what YOU want for the character and what ACTUALLY ends up happening?
All the time. My characters never do what I plan for them to do. Out of the blue I'll hear them saying "Oh no, that's not what I am doing." And it changes everything. A lot of the time it happens when I'm blocked. I have a set plan for the characters but they won't talk, after a couple of days of silence they say "I'm not talking because you aren't telling my story right." When that happens I don't fight them, I just let them tell it how they want and go with the flow.

Do you have a particular style of writing? Organized or do you wing it?
I like to roughly lay out my plot, breakdown what I think should happen chapter by chapter and then jump in head first. Most of the time I use the plot for about five minutes then the characters flip the script on me and I end up winging it. It's always a mish-mash.

What's currently cooking in that amazing gray matter of yours?
Currently I am working on a post-apocalyptic erotica story that will be released as an anthology with Alexandra Webb. I'm also plotting for two separate NaNoWriMo projects this November, one will be a steampunk BDSM. I also have a paranormal erotica book in the works that focuses on Egyptian mythology. And Book Two for my Arcadian Veil series is simmering in the back of my brain. I also have a book, Twisted Revenge (book one of a multi-author series) coming out with Ellora's Cave which is still in the editing process right now.

If you could choose any writer, who would love to have as a mentor?
Sherrilyn Kenyon, without a doubt. Kresley Cole would be a close second. Love them both so much.

Time for the "randoms" as I call them:
Fave food group? Salt. It's not a food group but if something is salty then it goes in my mouth… Which I realize sounds like the start of a dirty joke.
Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne? Either. I'm a Marvel-girl, but I have a huge soft spot for Bruce. If forced to choose I'd have to go with Bruce, just because I love him and Talia.
Celebrity Death Match...name your top two? Miley Cyrus vs. Olivia Munn, in my fantasy they both lose.
Historical, sci-fi or fantasy? Fantasy, with some sci-fi and historical thrown in for good balance and flavor. That wasn't a very helpful answer. LOL

Of all your characters, which one is closest to YOU? 
Sacha, she is my baby.  I hope one day I will be able to write all of her story, but I get so emotional trying to write it that I have to be in the right frame of mind. Needless to say, it's a labor of love and it's taking me a long time.

Care to share an excerpt from any of your works? 

Waking Up In Bedlam:
"What about your injury, have you forgotten that I shot you with some sort of Dragon's snort or something."
"Dragon's Breath. You shot me with Dragon's Breath."
His brow drew together in a hard line. "Dragon's Breath, is that like some sort of ammo?" 
"Dragon's breath is a weapon." She pointed to his belt. "That weapon to be precise, and it's the only one like it in existence. It has its own special ammo, so I guess in a way it is both a weapon and ammo. One can't work without the other." Her hand trailed down to the bandaged wound on her stomach, she groaned. "And no I haven't forgotten that you shot me, first stop we are making is to the corner of 5th and Maple St."
"Our first stop is a pizza parlor because I shot you?"
"For humans it's a pizza parlor. We are going there for what is upstairs, that's where we find Myrtle. She is a healer for my kind and a witch, she will fix me up."
"Fuck me, pizza and magic all in the same place. Convenient I guess." He grabbed his jacket and keys. "Alright, let's get you patched up and then we'll work on saving my ass."


Want to keep up with this talented smexy? Well here ya go!

Blog- http://miabishop.wordpress.com/
Twitter- https://twitter.com/MiaBishop
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mia-Bishop/142010705967424

Thank you so much for stopping by today and chatting a spell with me. I wish you much joy, luck and magic in your ALL your endeavors!