Exclusive Interview with Sutton Bishop
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Sutton Bishop stopped by for a chat after releasing her romantic adventure romance, Afraid to Hope, the second book in her Ancient Passages series!
HEA Novel Thoughts: What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t wearing your author hat?
Sutton Bishop: Hands down, spend time with any combination of my four kids (two of each) and husband.
HEA: What is the most recent book to make you cry?
SB: It’s been awhile since I cried from reading a book. When I finally decided to read The Notebook, it really got me. I think because my father-in-law, who I was absolutely crazy about, had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The story was just too damned close to real life given my in-laws’ love story.
HEA: What would you choose as your mascot/avatar? Why?
SB: I’ve been told a number of times that my spirit animal is a dragon. She’s fierce, protective mother energy. Ancient and wise, connected to Earth and its rich history by her seven primary chakras. All of this resonates with me deeply. As an anthropologist, this energy is how I filter and perceive people and my surroundings, particularly cultures and ancient sites and structures. It’s not unusual to see me in tears because I become so overcome by reverence for the energy.
HEA: What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
SB: Not making each man the same. Luca is not Bane and Bane is not… Nor are any of them… Oh, I can’t let those cats out of the bag yet, so to speak. Lol. (I have two works in process.)
SB: I model each of my heroes based on a combination of men I know, or I’d like to meet. Aspects of my husband are within each of my heroes—perfectly imperfect with strong moral fiber. Protective, respectful, nurturing, sensitive, and able to be vulnerable while also being unapologetically male. Both Luca Fierro and Bane Rua have these traits. However, they are very different men in size, appearance, movement, language, perception of their world, and in how they approach women and colleagues.
HEA: Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
SB: Oh, yes! It’s been fun when someone finds one or more of them and says something to me.
HEA: How long on average does it take you to write a book?
SB: That’s tough to answer. Without beta reads and edits, I’d say eight months. Ancient Passages is adventure romance with suspense, taking place in cultures I’m passionate about and have spent time in. The underpinnings of the stories are factual, and the setting are themselves characters. Because things continue to evolve and more discoveries about the past are always being made, research is necessary. I want my readers to be there.
Afraid to Fall took its shape as I discussed my son’s country and culture of origin with him and when I reflected on my last trip to Guatemala. Then after it was published, I “sat” with Afraid to Hope for months because I couldn’t figure out who “he” was, how to create the man for Nat. She’s one accomplished badass and so different than Ariana (Ari) Antony, who is equally wonderful but in a different way. Well, Bane popped into my head one morning, along with his name, actually woke me up from a sound sleep, and embedded himself so deeply in my head that he took over. I had to tone him down so I could write her. He was crowding her out. Uh-uh.
Afraid to Love is set to release in early 2021, in Italy. I *think* the series will end there, but there’s a lot of shit going down between the Afraid to Fall and Afraid to Hope and intentionally unresolved threads. Also, my characters tend to be vocal about how they want things to go. They’ve surprised me a number of times.
HEA: If you could go back and give your younger self advice, what would it be?
SB: Pursue what you’re passionate about and trust your intuition. She’s never wrong.
SB: Having a family of six is organized chaos. Work on a timer and take scheduled breaks and do something that grounds you.
HEA: Do you relate more to one of your characters than the others?
SB: I do. At this point, it’s Nat (Dr. Natasha Jordaan). I get her. I didn’t expect to, but I fell in love with her. That realization came out of nowhere one day when I was writing and it made me cry (hm, I guess it was my book that most recently made me cry, lol). Nat’s history is what makes her such a badass and it was so much fun to flesh her out. I don’t know if this is cool, but admittedly I couldn’t stand her for most of Afraid to Fall, but the story needed her just like it needed Eric, Meg, Tata, Carlos, and Joan.
HEA: If a reader discovers your books today, where would you recommend they start reading?
SB: Begin with Afraid to Fall, Ancient Passages Book 1. The Ancient Passages series consists of interrelated stand-alones. These contemporary, hot adventure romance novels are set all over the world, underpinned by the rich cultures and histories in which the stories play out. What ties the series together are the overarching themes of looting and destruction of priceless artifacts and the reappearances of characters.
About Ancient Passages:
Archaeologist and INTERPOL contractor Dr. Natasha Jordaan is on a dangerous mission to recover artifacts looted from Morocco—the home of her past and her heart. Trained, competent, and proven, the last thing she needs is a brash, infuriating babysitter, no matter how sexy he is.
Former Special Forces operator Bane Rua wants this starched-up professor in every way a man can have a woman, and he always gets what he wants. His duty might be to protect the beautiful doctor and recover the relics, but no one ever said he couldn’t have two assignments.
Guatemala—a country rife with civil unrest, human and narco-trafficking, and looters of antiquity is the perfect backdrop for AFRAID TO FALL—a steamy story of romance, adventure, and suspense.
Needing a break from both her personal and professional life, forensic anthropologist Ariana Antony makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to join a research expedition in Guatemala’s Petén jungle.
Haunted by guilt, Dr. Luca Fierro is still healing from a tragic accident. His life revolves around research, teaching, and triathlons.
Until… Ari and Luca first meet. Their attraction is explosive. It is also off-limits.
Can Ari lower her defenses and let Luca in? Can Luca heal his deep wounds and explore new territory with Ari?
What begins as a scientific adventure turns into a life-and-death struggle for survival, forcing them to explore and confront their demons and desires.
