Interview with Anne Bishop

Anne Bishop is a fantasy author most known for her award-winning Black Jewels trilogy. Most recently she has released Sebastian, the first in the Ephemera Duology with the final book, Belladonna, scheduled for release March 2007.

1) First, I must ask: what inspired the people and the world of the Blood? In particular, what inspired you to reverse the gender roles? I thought that was quite an interesting concept to explore.

World-building begins with a lot of “What if…?” questions. With the Blood, some of the questions were: What if a culture was shaped by the imagery of the dark side of fantasy and folklore? What kind of morals and code of honor would they have? What if the alpha males, with all their sensuality and power, were the gender that served rather than ruled? How would sex be used in that kind of society? Some “What if…?” questions were discarded because they didn’t fit the whole world as it was coming together. Other things became a cornerstone of the Blood’s attitude about their world and each other.

2) One of my favorite characters in the trilogy was Daemon Sadi (the Sadist"). He was just an amazing character; very complex and so tortured yet still seeking redemption and love. To me, Daemon was an ultimate as far as alpha heroes go. What inspired the character of "the Sadist"?

Sometimes characters come to a writer as a gift. Daemon Sadi was one such
character.

3) One major problem with alpha heroes in fiction is that some heroes tend to cross the line from being an alpha into simply being obnoxious. I didn't get this feeling from your male characters (Lucivar, Daemon, Saetan, etc) who I saw as alpha heroes. Was this conscious on your part? When you shaped your heroes, was this something you kept in mind and tried to avoid doing? Or did you simply let the characters take shape on their own?

Alpha heroes are more interesting when they’re not perfect. These three especially have a lot of baggage--mistakes in their pasts, regrets, errors in judgment. I don’t feel like I shaped them so much as I revealed who they are. And I’m still uncovering layers of who they are and what they are--and have been--to each other.

4) Why do you think alpha heroes are so appealing to readers?

They’re so snarly. *g* They are strong, intelligent men who don't quite fit in their society. They are the Warriors who are tempered (not tamed) by finding partners they can truly love. And there is something very fun in watching strength stumble over love.

5) Why do you think romance in a fantasy setting is so appealing to readers?

The lure of the romance genre is that the stories are about people, about relationships, about the fun and frustration of finding common ground with a gender that doesn’t quite think the way you do. (And that’s true no matter which side of the gender line you stand on.) The lure of the fantasy genre is that it is Otherworldly. Magic is literal, animals can talk, dreams can become reality. It is our place of wonder. Being able to blend the best elements of both genres intrigues me both as a writer and a reader.

6) I really loved how the women of your world were strong characters while at the same time, they avoided the common pitfalls that these types of characters often fall into--such as being overly aggressive to the point of stupidity. Your women were intelligent and had strengths that matched the men. Their strengths may not have been exactly the same as the men, but were just as strong in their own way. Was this conscious on your part? Did you set out to write women who would break the bounds that are often placed upon them in fiction?

I never set out to do anything except write stories about characters who interest me. For me, character development is a lot more intuitive than conscious.

7) Your worlds take on such amazing depth and history. Do you use actual mythology as an inspiration and/or basis for your own worlds? Do you do a lot of research on myths and legends before you began writing?

There is bound to be echoes of myths and legends in what I do because I’ve read those kinds of stories. But I don’t do much research at the time when I begin a story because I don’t want to be chained by facts at the point of development. So I bring together lots of snippets of remembered information and bits of imagery and sounds, and then I weave them into something new that fits into the world I’m creating.

8) Your characters, in the Black Jewels trilogy, really came alive for me, whether they felt anger, humor, happiness, etc. Many writers say it's their characters who appear to them; who speak to them and tell them their stories. Would you say this is true for you?

Definitely. My job is to record the characters’ stories as they are revealed to
me.

9) In Sebastian--the first in your Ephemera Duology--your main character is an incubus. What made you explore these creatures of myth?

It wasn’t really exploring the incubus as it is known so much as taking the surface idea of a sex demon and asking what such a being would be like in a place like Ephemera--especially when that side of the character’s heritage would come into conflict with other aspects and desires of his personality.

10) Have you always wanted to be a writer?

I’ve been shaping stories for as long as I can remember--even before I began writing them down. So, yes, I guess I have always been a writer, and then later dreamed of being a published writer.

11) Can you ever see yourself writing a series in a genre beyond fantasy?

I don’t know. The genre offers so much scope for exploration, especially now that there are a lot of cross-genre stories being written.

12) Do you have any authors you would say inspire you?

Every story, song, and picture provides inspiration of one kind or another. I can’t single out any particular ones at this time.

Thank you! Belladonna, the final book in the Ephemera Duology, will be available March 2007. You can pre-order from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.