What are your greatest challenges in your writing career?
I think finding the time to do everything I want to do is the greatest challenge for me. I write erotica under Erzabet Bishop and under my real name I also write horror and YA. It is a balancing act, especially working everything around a full time job and family.
When did you find out that you wanted to be a writer? What inspired you to put pen to paper?
I have always written. Pretty much since I could thump out stories on my parent’s old typewriter.
Of your published works, do you have a favorite? Why?
Oh…that is hard. I am excited about my new single title short called The Erotic Pagans Series: Beltane Fires coming out on April 15th from Naughty Nights. It is about a girl who has just been through a bad breakup and finds some sexy solace in the arms of a forest god. Smokin hot!
What are your biggest pet peeves for other people's grammar? Are there any mistakes that you find yourself making regularly?
The biggest pet peeve I have and something I have to definitely watch myself for is echoing. Using the same word or phrase over and over again can be a problem. The more I write, the easier this is becoming to fix. I read everything aloud now to make sure the flow sounds right and tweak it mercilessly before it goes anywhere. I also rely on my beta readers to tell me when something is off.
Do you ever want to go back and edit an older story?
Yes. I go back to earlier works and think “Oh wow. I wish I had the writer brain I have now compared to what I knew then.”
How do you decide on character names?
I think about the kind of story I am trying to write and go from there. You never want to have names that are too close together either, so I make sure they are distinct.
Tell me about your first publication. Who was it with? How did you feel when you got that acceptance?
My first publication was for Coming Together: Hungry for Love. It was an anthology of zombie erotica stories to benefit the American Diabetes Association. I remember being over the moon happy and thrilled that my dream of becoming a writer was actually going to come true.
What's the worst thing that ever happened to you that you've incorporated into a story?
Oh wow. I am working on a full length YA that deals with some pretty gritty teen issues of abuse, domestic violence and suicide. It is one of those projects that has to be just right before it gets sent out and I have been polishing it for several years. It is hard to write because of the combination of life experience and getting just the right voice for the different characters involved. If what I went through can help someone, then it will be worth it.
How much of your life and the people you know end up in your work?
You know that shirt that says “Be careful or you’ll end up in my novel” or something to that effect? Well, that is so true. Everything has potential. I am a retail manager and I see some of the craziest things imaginable. One of my most recent anthology calls that I submitted to had a scenario based a little on observations of people at the store.
What projects are you currently working on?
If I didn’t have a million irons in the fire, I wouldn’t be happy I think. I have a short due Friday about nightclubs and mayhem, an edit on my new story “Collared” in the Hell Whore Volume 2 antho coming out in July, several anthology calls coming up for April 1 deadlines (wicked fairy tales, zombies, two bondage stories, gothic horror) and my next installment in the Erotic Pagans series by Naughty Nights. Oh, and I am also working on a f/f story for the Coming Together: For the Girls Anthology that is due by April 15th. That doesn’t count the ongoing YA books (two).
What's your writing routine?
Since I work as a retail manager, my life is not on a set schedule. It changes day by day. I have to be very creative and persistent with my time on the computers. Yes, I have two. One for each of my personalities if you will. The biggest thing is getting the ideas of what I want to write in my head before I even sit down. While I am doing housework and the like, I am plotting. While I count tills or recover the store, I am always thinking of the next scene and jotting down notes to myself so when I get the treasured time in front of the computer, it flows. Some days off (like today) I will have gotten my housework done, laundry under control and hit the social media and blog posts by 10 am so I can then more on to my music reviewer job and begin to write as I listen to my newest assignment. It is a puzzle that fits nicely together. On days that I work, I just have to fit writing in where I can.
Is there a character or story that's stuck in your head and won't leave, from either your work or someone else's?
Yes. Always. Whenever I write a story, the characters become alive and as I find breath for them, I try to walk a little in their shoes to feel what they feel. It makes for a lot of babbling while I fold socks, but it is a lot of fun.
When I review books for my blogs, I also find myself falling into certain characters and wanting to live there. Harry Potter, Dragonriders of Pern…those two were some big ones that I felt very immersed in.
What writers or novels do you consider “must reads”?
Wow. That could take awhile. There are so many. Cari Silverwood, Kally Masters, Red Phoenix, Mari Carr, Tessa Wanton, Jane Austen, The Bronte sisters, Anne Rice, Melissa Marr, Lucy Felthouse, Lisabet Sarai, Lauren DeStefano, Libba Bray, Scott Kenemore, Rachel Kramer Bussell, Alison Tyler, Max Brooks…I could go on for days…Visit me on Goodreads for a longer list or check out my blog for more reviews.
Tell us three things about you that are interesting.
I am a dog mom of nine.
My husband and I love to watch monster movies together.
Crocheting and knitting are a passion-my newest fascinations are the free headband patterns on Ravelry.
Erzabet Bishop has been writing since she could first punch keys on a typewriter. Recently she discovered that writing naughty books was a whole lot more fun. She is the author of Beltane Fires due out on April 15th, 2013 by Naughty Nights Press and has been a contributing author to anthologies from House of Erotica, Coming Together, Horrified Press and Storm Moon Press. Check out her blog for book reviews, giveaways and more.
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| ok, I like this desk better; I've had some astounding neat freaks recently and they're making me nervous |
Thanks for having me on today!
ReplyDeleteHi Erzabet, you sound like a busy lady! Congratulations on all the writing you're doing as you hold down a full time job. When you say you're a dog mom of nine, does that mean you have nine dogs? A very fun interview!
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