Tears of the Angels received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Jerold Bishop.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Tears of the Angels, published January 2022.
What’s the book’s first line?
“Well past midnight. When looking back at last light or squinting forward to see the dawn are about an equal strain.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch.”
‘Tears…’ is Jackson Ross’s story. Jackson began searching to know what really happened to his family, who was killed in an ‘accident’ when he was fourteen. He starts his search years afterward following his discharge from the army, at a time when he wants to build his own family. Gradually Jackson mires himself neck-deep in a life he never expected. His story is also Joslyn Buford’s story, a younger woman who grew up in a brutally abusive home, something she strives to leave behind and stand on her own. They both pay a steep price to fix their early mistakes, facing severe challenges (demoralizing and life-threatening at times), along with the hidden abuse of Jackson’s two daughters. Leaning on each other, all four of them work to face down the past, deal with present-day threats and build a future worth having. The bottom line is how family, friendship and loyalty can carry us through the worst of times.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
It’s a story I’ve wanted to tell for a long time. It comes from many things I’ve seen and some I’ve experienced. I’m passionate about the basic themes, which start with the strength of families, even when pitted against the worst of problems. And abuse, of a kind which is never discussed and never given any attention, isolating victims who feel forever alone. These are the very best and worst parts in each of us and, when mixed together, can create a titanic battle. While some people may find this story very intense, many people in today’s world would find it business as usual.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Two things, no surprise, considering what I’ve said above. The power of people, family and honest friends. This is underrated in today’s world, where we listen to a load of tripe about how ‘it takes a village.’ And abuse, particularly of children and young teens, is growing and reaching almost mythic proportions. There are victims all around us, yet many people are oblivious and ignorant. Mental health experts acknowledge abuse as a root cause for much of today’s mental illness. The abuse portrayed here is drawn from documented case histories or people I know well. Different viewpoints are used to help the reader see it, like Jackson (blind ignorance at first). Or his two girls, experiencing devastating problems at a young age when there was no one to believe them. How devastating it is when a family betrays someone and creates this. And how strong and powerful it is when a family rescues one of its own.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Jackson is one of those steady, never-give-up people who agrees when he’s wrong but will not back down when he isn’t. Kind of a poor man’s Aragon (Lord of the Rings) with a side of sarcasm and a few scoops of attitude. He is far from being locked in the ‘macho’ mold. Jackson steps back into the lives of his two daughters when they were still older children and support/care for them in ways any women’s empowerment group would approve. He still screws it up from time to time, but he never surrenders to the blindside.
When did you first decide to become an author?
Can’t remember…. Maybe 30 years ago, during a meager time in my life, though I’ve always wanted it, as far as I can recall.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
No. I’ve done a few others, for practice I guess. Did a volume of short stories just to go through the publishing process and sharpen the writing. This is my first real full-length novel, where I’ve used experienced editors and beta readers to take a book all the way to a polished project.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I’m a civil engineer… actually a geotechnical engineer, though very few people know what that is (soils engineer is a less exalted description). Sort of a jack-of-all-trades professional, practicing in a very exclusive and challenging field. I’ve worked around North America, from a few projects in Mexico to the edge of the Bering Sea on the North Slope. A demanding profession and in the construction business, this can mean 9 to 12 hour days, with 5 to 7 day weeks.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
Right now, I’m heavily focused on marketing ‘Tears…’ Not much writing going on, just planning in my head and with some notes and short sketches for the next project. Typically I will spend 20 hours a week when I have a work in progress. Sometimes up to 40 hours a week when I’m pushing hard. The more I can submerge into the project, the more I’m likely to blur the lines between the real world of life and the world I’m writing. When it becomes real like that, I can do a good job of it… or at the least… I’m happier doing it.
For comparison… it took me nearly three years to write Tears of the Angels (160,000 words) while working full time. And no… I’m not married (don’t try this if you are), but I do have one daughter, herself a technical writer, living in another state.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
Nobody telling me… anything.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Several years ago, while taking an online writing class that involved a lot of workshopping of student writing, I had an instructor who was a successful author herself. Her comment to me one day was that almost any would-be author could get published if they stayed at it, worked to improve and never gave up. Since then, the game has changed with the technology being so accessible, but I thought then and now that she had a valid point. So… never… ever… give up.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Maybe. Depends on the offer. Whatever provides the best route for the next few steps to getting where I want to be, I will do it. But, I’m also looking at it from a big-picture view. The whole enchilada. Many things factor into such a view, not just the percentages on the latest book.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Telling the stories I want to tell. Finding the freedom (time and money) to do that. That’s all I care about.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Tough question. A lot of great authors have come and gone. Tolstoy. Harper Lee, Joseph Conrad, Tolkien, Steinbeck, Ishiguro. They all fit into this box. If I were to work at it, probably the best I could come up with would be a list of ten writers, all roughly equal by my own math, weighing up the total sum of strengths and weaknesses.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
To Kill a Mockingbird; Never Let Me Go; Heart of Darkness