June 24, 2014

South Beach by Angeline M. Bishop #Interview #Giveaway @ambishop1


In South Beach, Laila Sheridan, a successful fashionista who attracts male interest with an effortless strut of her stiletto heels, has ended a rocky relationship with Malcolm Khalid, a captivating lothario with a passion for shirking adult responsibilities. She believes partying in glamorous South Beach with her former college roommates is the prescription for getting her swagger back.

When her vacation becomes a media circus that draws Malcolm back into her life and her handsome Psyche marketing colleague, Gray Ryley, arrives on the scene to tame her antics, Laila is determined make the men play by her rules. Gray finds himself torn between anguish and ecstasy when another Lalia-sitting assignment is placed in his hands; he’s asked to hinder Malcolm’s advances and subdue the paparazzi, while wrestling with his smoldering desire to get Laila in his bed. Will this assignment cause him to disclose feelings that may sever their friendship and jeopardize his career?


Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published by: Soul Mate Publishing
Release Date: February 10, 2014
Length: 238 Pages


Thanks so much for stopping by the Authors' Cafe today, Angeline. I'm very excited to host you and your book, South Beach!

Okay, I see you've got your green smoothie and a whole wheat bagel, so let's get right to the interview.

At what point in your life did you realized that being an author was no longer going to be just a dream but a career you were going to turn into reality? 


That was when I first saw the gallery of ‘NORTH STAR, Book One of the Sheridan Series.’ Something happens when an author reads the final version of their work. It’s similar to waking up after a wedding proposal and seeing the ring on your finger. The realization that your life is going to be different just makes you smile from ear to ear.

Which of your characters is most like you? 

Hmm, I don’t think I’ve written her yet. Part of me is really nervous to put myself into a novel as a major character because either I wouldn’t write a realistic story or I’d put too much of my life on display.

If you were stranded on a desert island, which character from South Beach would you want with you? 

Gray, without a doubt. He’s the most resourceful and not bad on the eyes.

Where do you write? 

In my bedroom and in my office.

Do you have any “rituals” you go through before you write? 

I like to be alone with my laptop, a bottle of water, my smartphone (on mute, but LED flashing light for email notifications), and some soft music or a muted television on. For some reason, I don’t care about tracking the time of my writing when music is playing or different images are flashing on a muted screen beside me.

What was your favorite chapter (or part) of South Beach to write and why? 

Great question. Let me think about that one for a moment. I would say Chapter Ten, because Laila and her friends are forced to think about how a homeless woman let her pride get in the way of restoring her life with her family. It’s also the chapter where Laila believes she has to end her friendship with Sofìa.

What would YOU like your readers to know about this book or you in general? 

South Beach is the story about the turning points in Laila Sheridan's love life and closest friendships. The novel gives various views of different love relationships and how we deal with the challenges of starting again after heartbreak. It was important to me to show how women lean on their closest girlfriends to make wise choices in their love lives and how to stand in their own authenticity. 

What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors? 

Write, write, write. During NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) last November many writers tweeted and emailed about their writing schedules, or the lack thereof. The one thing all of us agree upon is making time to write consistently is the most important thing you can do to complete a novel.

Do you have a favorite author? 

I don’t have a particular favorite author that I go back all the time and re-read their works regularly. I do enjoy reading new novelists in order to have a good idea about what’s going on in my genre.

What is your favorite quote? 

It’s one of my own, “I write about romance and passion to savor love twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” Oh no wait, I also love, ‘When someone shows you who they are believe them.” by Maya Angelou

What genre of books do you read for pleasure? 

Self-help, Inspirational, Romance fiction, and New Adult fiction

What’s the most amusing thing that’s ever happened to you? 

I don’t know if this is the most amusing thing but this memory always makes me laugh. One morning, when my oldest daughter was a college freshmen living at home, I was driving her to her campus for an 8AM class. We were talking as I trailed behind a small truck when we see it drive over something in the road. A dead dog. And because I was only able to swerve a little I went over the dead dog too. We both yelled and had our face crunched up because the jerk in front of us didn’t warn all of the drivers behind him/her.

Since my daughter’s drop off point was only a half a mile away, the moment I stopped the car I asked her to do me a favor and look under the car to make sure there was nothing dragging underneath my car. She looked mortified and instantly refused. “No way, I’ll throw up if I see something,” she said. But I pleaded with her because I didn’t want to be dragging parts of Scooby Doo during the rest of my commute.

So I pulled out the whole, "what about all I’ve done for you?" speech, that most mothers do when they need a little guilt to help sway their child. She finally got out of the car, looked quickly, and yelled back that she didn’t see anything but I wouldn’t believe her. I kept yelling through clinched teeth, trying not to throwing up, “Resa, no! Come here and look! Come here and look.” I didn’t care about the professors walk to their early morning classes. I just had to be sure. She finally did as I asked because she didn’t want her classmates to think her mother was a crazy woman with a wired jaw.


What do you like to do when you’re not writing? 

I spend quality time with my college-aged daughters, attend church, read the works of other authors, and work on other writing related interest. Right now I’m focusing on the AMB Ovation Awards (The Angie).

Who is the Fiction Hero you’d run off with? 

Sorry, but I can’t name one. The funny thing about writing fiction is that it made me love all the nuances of real men SO much more. I don’t fantasize about characters on television or in novels because I know the character’s words are the creation of a literary artist. It’s just visual catfishing at its best.

If all TV shows were real, what show (all time) would you most like to live in? 

I would say the Cosby Show. I wanted to live in the Huxtable household as a teenager and when I watch a rerun as an adult, I want to be their next-door neighbor.

Okay, it's been a great interview so far and now it's time for some . . . 
Party dress or blue jeans? 

I love a great party dress. The right one will always make your figure look great as you mingle around a room.

Plotter or Panster? 

Have you see my character bios on my Website? I love to plot so I can keep multiple characters straight.

Print or e-Book? 

I love e-books for the convenience but signing a print book still makes me feel like a real author.

Coastal walks or extreme sports? 

I love long walks on the beach. Growing up in Gainesville, FL gave me plenty of opportunities to enjoy the beautiful Florida coastlines of Daytona Beach, Orlando, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. And the New Jersey boardwalk is starting to come back after Hurricane Sandy so it’s nice to visit Seaside Heights, NJ too.

Cookies or cupcakes? 

My daughter can verify that I LOVE cupcakes. The La Bonbonniere Bake Shoppe in Edison, NJ is my absolute favorite. One day I hope to host a book signing there.

Super hero or super villain? 

Super hero because I have to be on the same team as all of the X-Men and Black Panther. Now don’t get me started on comic books because I LOVE comic books.

If I had a free afternoon I’d . . . 

Spend it going to the movies with my daughters.

The smell of what takes you back to your childhood? 

My mother’s homemade bread pudding.

You suddenly realize you live in a haunted house. Do you:

  1. Run screaming for the door.
  2. Bravely go to a church, load up on holy water and try to get rid of the ghost.
  3. Set up ghost hunting equipment to capture phenomenon.
  4. Call in the Ghost Adventures crew so that you can ogle the lead guy Zac’s amazingly stiff hair when you’re not ogling his uh, physical attributes.
  5. Deny you have a ghost and just let it scare the bejesus out of your visitors.
I’m doing 1 and 2 because I’m not living in a haunted house and I’ll make sure my pastor and his ministerial staff know my last offering in the collection plate should cover someone coming over to cast a ghost out of my home.

Could you tell us five random facts about yourself?

  1. I’m 5’5 but I like to pretend to be tall so I wear 4 inch heels.
  2. I brush my teeth while I’m in the shower every the morning.
  3. I sang at the John F. Kennedy Center in DC when I was a young child.
  4. I write inspirational New Adult fiction.
  5. And I share positive affirmation on Facebook every workday morning. 


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Inspired by the volunteers of a local community center, Angeline wrote North Star, her debut novel and the first book in her Sheridan series for Soul Mate Publishing. Angeline drew on her ten years of work experience in academics to transport romance readers from their stressful lives by providing contemporary love stories that feature captivating characters with strong family values.

Angeline was born in Washington, D. C., but lived most of her life in New Jersey and considers the “Garden State” her home. Her childhood passion for writing led to a degree in English Literature and a membership in Romance Writers of America. She is the Vice President of the Cultural, Interracial, and Multicultural Special Interest Chapter of Romance Writers of America and enjoys providing aspiring writers with writing resources to help them strengthen their craft. Angeline loves to hear from her readers. You can contact her through her Website.

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