Serena J. Bishop

Serena’s Bio:

Serena J. Bishop writes speculative fiction and sapphic romance stories with humor, heart, and heroines. She is a daydreamer who comes from a long line of storytellers. When she’s not writing fiction she enjoys being a nerd, surprising others with her pop culture knowledge, or finding a new recipe to test. She currently resides in Maryland with her lovely wife and chihuahua. You can sign up for her newsletter on her website or follow her on Facebook, Threads, Instagram, or BlueSky @SerenaJBishop.

Check out Serena’s Website

Instagram, Threads, & BlueSky: @SerenaJBishop

Project Orca Blurb:

Based on her examination of different neurological procedures, Project O.R.C.A. was the most feasible way to control her telepathy.

Kari’s telepathic abilities have made life challenging for her. At eighteen and a recent university graduate, she’s desperate to leave home and work in neuroscience. Will a position at inCog help her explore where her abilities come from and how to better control them? She doesn’t know.

But she’s going to find out.

A new job, a new life, and a fresh start on a cruise ship turned business park await her. It’s a thrilling time. But little does she know the excitement will not stop until the ship’s owner’s goals are met. Henry, a billionaire with an interest in unusual sciences, has unique plans for her. Neuroscientist by day, telepathic spy by night. It’s not all bad, though; her clandestine work allows her to see more of the world, receive funding for ORCA, and expose the injustices committed by the affluent.

But the more she delves into the thoughts of the super wealthy, the more dangerous her new life becomes. Soon she has to ask herself, is the money for ORCA worth the risk?

More about Serena

Q. What publisher are you with?

A. I am an Indie author

Q. What Genres do you write?

A. Romance, Sci-Fi, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Q. What made you join the sapphic lit pop up bookstore?

A. The camaraderie and co-op nature of selling books to excited readers.

Q. What was your first pop-up event?

A. DC/Capital Pride 2021(?). This was the first “pop-up” pride event and it was one of the busiest days of my life. I think we were at least five people deep in front of the books the entire day.

Q. What made you start writing?

A. Lab equipment that was necessary for completing my thesis broke, so I had extra time to get these stories that were living inside my head out. Plus, my wife and I made a bet that whoever wrote a book that turned into a movie won.

Q. Do you use the same creative process for each book? If so, what is it? If not, how does it change?

A. I’m an extreme plotter. However, each book has a slightly different approach due to the nature of the sub-plots or setting. For The Kari Chronicles, timeline and geography are also very important, so I have a map of the world on a cork board along with key players. It looks like a murder board.

Q. What is your latest book? How did you get the idea? When does it come out?

A. Project O.R.C.A. is book 1 of The Kari Chronicles. As I was plotting book 2 and 3 of the Dreams trilogy, I knew Kari had to have her own story. She’s too interesting not too! However, Heroes (book 3) ends when Kari is 11 and I didn’t want to write a middle grade or YA book. I decided to fast forward a bit to when she is 18 to give the themes more maturity.

Q. Describe the area where you do most of your writing.

A. I used to mostly write at the kitchen island and couch, but now I have a desk in the basement with the cork board right in front of me. I’ve added a second monitor to my set-up (very helpful when having to reference all the science or character things) and I have my unit for editing audio on my desk as well. Serena J. Bishop in 2024 has expanded since I started in 2015.

Q. Do you have a newsletter? Why should people subscribe? What is in each newsletter/it’s frequency?

A. Yes! People should subscribe to my newsletter because once a month I provide an update with where I am in my current writing/editing process, news about events, and my Nerd Laughs section. Nerd Laughs is when I write a summary about a scientific concept (usually one that I’ve run into for book research) and present it in an edu-taining way. Social media is great for somethings but for catching up on key news, it isn’t.

Q. What do you wish more readers knew about the writing/publishing process?icon (literary or not)?

A. Being an indie author is expensive.

Q. Who is your favorite sapphic icon (literary or not)?

A. Wonder Woman

Q. You’re in charge of hosting brunch for a dozen people, what is on the menu? (Money is no object, so you can have it catered if you’d like) 

A. I’m stuck between a build your own taco or burrito bar and a potato bar (not necessarily baked, there would be many forms of potatoes). For beverages there would be strong coffee, margaritas, bloody Mary’s, mimosas, and non-alcoholic juicy-fizzy drinks. To finish the meal, I think there should be cinnamon rolls.