For WIHM (Women in
Horror Month) I have had the great fortune to interview another fantastic author: Rena Mason.
Rena is an up-and-coming author of dark fiction and is creating lots of ripples
in the horror pond. Definitely an author to watch and without further ado, here
she is:
Rena Mason graduated
from college with a SUNY nursing license, started her career in oncology, did
some home healthcare work for Visiting Nurses, and then went on to work in the
operating room for over twelve years in Denver, Colorado.
A longtime fan of
horror, sci-fi, science, history, historical fiction, mysteries, and thrillers,
she began writing to mash up those genres in stories revolving around everyday
life.
She is a member of the
Horror Writer's Association, Pacific Northwest Writer's Association, and
International Thriller Writers. She writes a column for the HWA Monthly
Newsletter, "Recently Born of Horrific Minds" and writes occasional
articles. She also does volunteer work for the Horror Writer's Association,
KillerCon convention, and The Vegas Valley Book Festival.
An avid SCUBA diver
since 1988, she has traveled the world and enjoys incorporating the experiences
into her stories.
Currently, she resides
in Las Vegas, Nevada with her family.
Interview with Rena Mason
Q: When did you first
know that you wanted to be a writer and how did you go about realizing your
dream?
A: About six years ago,
I read ANGELS & DEMONS by Dan Brown and was completely disappointed the
book had nothing to do with any angels and demons. Then I went on vacation with
an armful of books that had won “awards.” They were some of the most boring
books I’d ever read. I kept waiting for something to happen and it never did.
When
I got back, I turned on my new laptop, opened up Notepad, and started writing.
Ha! Yeah, I still have that original, too. But writing wasn’t enough. I
researched everything. Then when I thought it was ready, I started submitting
it to agents.
The
rejections came one after the other. I bit the bullet and sent it to one of
those “review” places and wasted money for nothing. (Money I later discovered,
could have been put to better use by hiring an editor.)
I
attended a writers’ convention and a friend of a friend who’s a writer
convinced me to pitch my novel. I did. Thought I might have a heart attack and
drop dead after I left the room. It was set up like an American Idol audition,
but there were only two people behind the table—the owner and editor of the
company.
A few
weeks later, I received another rejection, but this time, the editor took the
time to tell me that my dialogue was very stiff. Thank you! Since the story I’d
written was a personal one, I put it on the backburner but knew I’d get back to
it when I felt ready.
I got
to work on something else, focused on creating more natural dialogue, and then
hired an editor after submitting to a couple agents and receiving rejections.
Getting a professional editor made all the difference for me. Not only did it
improve my MS, but the positive feedback built up my confidence, and I learned
that if I really wanted to publish my stories, I was going to have to put
myself out there. So, with the help of my editor, I did just that, by joining
the HWA, “friending” other writers on Facebook, attending more conventions
where I actually introduced myself and talked to people. It was a learning
process, but I made fast friends, and soon my work caught the attention of an
up and coming new publishing company and that’s how my work finally began to
get published.
Q: Your work to date
has mainly been in the Dark Fiction/Horror genre – is this a genre you prefer
to write in and if so, why?
A: Yes. I prefer to
write Dark Fiction/Horror, because that’s what I enjoy reading the most. None
of the other genres give me the roller coaster of emotions I crave the way
darker works do.
Q: Have you always been
a fan of horror literature? Who are some of your favorite authors and why?
A: WHERE THE WILD
THINGS ARE was the first book I’d ever read in Kindergarten. I thought the
little boy was a brat and wished the monsters would eat him. I was sad that the
monsters were sad when the boy left. I’d always hoped that the monsters would
find a way to sail off their island and find the boy. I read that book at least
once a week and was disappointed there was never a sequel about the monsters’
revenge.
When
I was younger I read a lot of Edgar Allan Poe and Shirley Jackson. Their stories
never got old for me. Nowadays, I’m all over the board when I read. There are
so many authors out there, I don’t usually read more than one work by that
author. But as of late, I’ve found a few authors whose works offer a variety.
I’m horribly lazy and the mere sight of a thick book makes me cringe, so I tend
to stay away from those. I’ve read a lot of Lisa’s Morton’s works, Benjamin
Kane Ethridge, and have recently been reading Mercedes Murdock Yardley’s works.
Lisa Mannetti is another author I enjoy reading, but in my heart I prefer
Gothic works, and she’s great at writing them.
Q: What are your
writing goals and where do you see yourself five years from now in terms of
your writing/publishing?
A: If I could write and
publish a novel a year, or five short stories in that same amount of time, I’d
be happy. Like I mentioned earlier, I’m lazy, so my minimal aspirations are
purely my own. But what I do publish, I want to be good and ready. It will have
been edited professionally, proofread, etc. and that’s before submitting. This
would give me five novels in five years, or 25 short stories. I’d be okay with
half and half.
Q: What are your
thoughts on self-publishing? Is it something you hope to do with your own work?
If so/not, why?
A: I have nothing
against self-publishing. I’ll never self-publish my own though, because like I
mentioned above, I’m lazy. Really. That’s the only reason.
Q: As a nurse and
author do you draw upon your experience as fodder for your stories? Do you
catch yourself eying up situations and people in the workplace as potential
candidates for your stories?
A: Absolutely. I’m a
firm believer that truth will always be more horrifying than fiction. Oh, the
stories I could tell! And will. Eventually.
Q: How do you approach
your writing? I.e. do you outline plots and characters? Do you use any set
formula?
A: If I get a story
idea I’ll think about it and try to see it through in my head. If I can do
that, and it doesn’t go away, but stays on my mind, I’ll write down how I’ve
imagined the story plays out. If I keep thinking about it, then I’ll take the
time to write it, because obviously it needs to get out of my head. So far,
more stories get written than die out, which is a good thing.
Q: How do you promote
your work and how important do you think social media is as a platform for
marketing your books and building your profile as an author?
A: I’ve advertised in
magazines, online magazines, do the Goodreads giveaways, Facebook posts, (just
getting into Twitter now,) and word of mouth through friends and at
conventions. I think all the social media is important, but I wish it wasn’t,
because it’s hard to stay on top of everything and try to write. There are too
many places where you can lose yourself for hours, and in the end, I wonder if
it really makes any difference.
Q: What do you hope to
achieve with your writing? Do you have a ‘magnum opus’ in mind or in progress
that you would like to unleash upon the world one day?
A: I just hope to keep
writing. Besides being lazy, I’m one of those people that does a thing, and
when it’s done, I move on and find something else to do. I’m fighting a little
bit of that now, actually, but the new horror family that I’ve gained keeps me
in the train of thought to keep writing. I have so many more stories to tell.
And
yes, remember that first story I’d written on Notepad? Well, that’s become a
series of at least six books. If I dwell on it too much it starts to weigh me
down, but it’s a story that must be told, and it’s personal, so if I write
nothing else, it has to be that.
Q: Which one of your
works stands out as the best example of your style and ability? Do you have any
future projects that you would like to tell the readers about?
A: I wrote a short
story about six months ago that’s in a slush pile that I love. I’m considering
turning it into a novella or novel. It could even be a series. Yikes! Why must
everything be a series? But really, it’s got that potential. And it’s not that
I don’t like series, it’s the thought of writing one that intimidates me.
All
my future projects are secret. I know, I know. Sorry. I’m working on something
with a co-writer and then the other things floating around aren’t quite a done
deal yet, so I shouldn’t say anything. But it does seem I’ve become a committee
girl and am working on promoting the Horror genre in Las Vegas, which I’m proud
of, is fun, but keeps me busy.
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| Rena Mason |
Visit Rena at the following places