Let's get to know Pat better...
Did you always want to be a writer?
Yes. One of my earliest memories is of regaling a group of my childhood friends with a story I’d created. I believe it featured an excessive number of dragons. My love of story telling continued through my teens. However, my teenage writings were much too angsty and featured characters who whined a lot. I finished my first novel about five years ago, A GIRL, A GUY and a GHOST. That book does not feature any dragons, but does have a somewhat whiny, discrimination-obsessed, vampire.
How has living in Savannah influenced your writing?
For one thing, Savannah is beautiful and has an enormous amount of character. As the 13th colony, it was established in 1733 and therefore has a historic downtown that is architecturally rich and a delight to the conscious senses. But Savannah has strangely wonderful layers underneath the surface that appeal to my love of the unusual. This town is home to a plethora of quirky characters, odd places and weird historic happenings that provide fodder for fictionalization. Even after eleven years here, every day in Savannah feeds my artistic core.
Savannah, for instance, was voted the most haunted city in America by a parapsychology group. Ghosts, as evidenced by orbs, EVPs (electronic voice phenomenon), moving objects and full apparitions, are as plentiful as the Spanish moss here. My sister and I once owned an antique shop built over one of the old burial grounds. We regularly allowed paranormal investigations with fascinating results such as an EVP of a panting ghost dog and a child's voice saying, "he likes you".
But there is more to Savannah than just the hauntings. For example, we have a "magic" square in the historic downtown that reportedly grants wishes to those who visit it and use the correct wish-making technique. Vortexes are also plentiful here, allegedly. One of my friends swears he observed a figure pop up out of the ground in the middle of a square. And since my friend isn't mentally ill, I have to give his personal experience some credence. Another historic oddity is the reported hidden Masonic treasure, which continues to interest hunters. This is just to name a few of the oddities I love around here.
What gave you the idea for Entanglements?
Like many people no doubt, my life has been touched by a moment in time I would give anything to change. For me an ordinary day could have continued in its infinite ordinariness if not for the convergence of some relatively innocuous happenings that conspired to create a tragedy. As a result I've been fascinated by the idea of multiple universes and alternate history. What might have been if but one thread in the tapestry of time had been different? A yellow thread rather than a blue one. A coffee break not taken. A stop sign repaired rather than fallen. So many little things that could have changed what happened.
So when I read about the quantum physics theory of entanglements, I was fascinated. Scientists had discovered that a particle could be tweaked miles away from another and still cause the second particle to react even though there was no discernable connection between them. The scientists theorized that the two were "entangled" in an alternate dimension or universe of which they believed there are at least seven. Interestingly also, in the world of quantum physics, effect does not always follow cause. Sometimes they are reversed. I began to wonder what would happen if people or beings were entangled in alternate universes? What if a tragic fate could be avoided after it had already happened. And from those ideas, ENTANGLEMENTS was born.
How long did it take to write Entanglements?
The first 30 pages were written and re-written about five times. From idea to completion was probably about twelve months. But once I had drafted a first chapter that I knew set the story properly in motion, it took about four months to write.
What was the strangest thing you learned about your hero/heroine from writing their story?
The heroine of Entanglements, Kizzy, started out with brown hair but she didn’t fully form into a real person for me until I decided she had extremely curly red hair, which she straightened when trying to conform to societal expectations. Her personality soon followed and became as fiery as her hair.
What’s next? A sequel or a stand-alone novel?
I have just released a novella entitled FATED HEARTS, which explores the question of predestination. Here's the blurb:
EVE has always played by the rules, afraid to take chances. HOLDEN wants to change that. She's certain they've never met before...or have they? Holden seems so familiar, but who is he? What is he? Yesterday her biggest challenge was trying not to bomb on her SATs. Today, paranormal forces have transformed an ordinary high school dance into a test of fate vs. free will and loving Holden could be Eve's end.
A sequel to Entanglements is also in the works. RESISTANCE takes up the story of a fighter in the human resistance who, along with her alchemist/vampire hero, must defeat an army of soul sucking golems. I expect to release the sequel in March of 2012.
What is your writing day like?
My daily writing routine usually begins in a local coffee shop. If I can get out of the house and away from the temptation to sit and read (or do household chores...although that's more like a nagging impulse rather than a temptation), I find it much easier to concentrate on the story I'm writing. Plus, I have to contend with a couple of demanding feline taskmasters at home. One in particular loves to sit on the computer keyboard and demand treats. So getting out of the house to write is critical.
What are your favorite books on the craft of writing?
The book "The Fire in Fiction" by Donald Maass is amazing. And I love Michael Hague's books. But I think the most helpful book I've ever read on fiction writing is "Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder. Although it's about screenwriting, the principles are just as applicable to novel writing.
Thank you, Demi for having me as a guest on your wonderful blog. I appreciate the opportunity to connect with your readers and let them know a bit about me and about my work.
EntanglementsBy P.R. Mason
Blurb:
Teen KIZZY TAYLOR is just hoping for an evening of fun when she joins her friends in a spelunking expedition through an under-city tunnel. But fun turns bizarre when Kizzy accidentally opens a vortex and her stepsister is swept through to an evil alternate dimension. The only way to rescue her stepsister is to reopen the vortex and go in after her. But is her new boyfriend, ROM CALIXO, going to help Kizzy or try to stop her? And if she can get past Rom, will she be able to get back home?
P.R. Mason writes steamy contemporary and paranormal romance under the name Patricia Mason and young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy as P.R. Mason. She escaped from the snowy Midwest winters of her youth by moving in 2001 to the strange and wonderful city of Savannah, Georgia to pursue her dream of being a novelist. Pat's background is eclectic. She was an Assistant District Attorney and for a number of years was the owner of an antique shop which was home to a number of ghosts. Her home is ruled by two black cats, one of whom was rescued from the most haunted cemetery in the southeast.
Please visit www.prmason.net
You can also follow the author @prmason on Twitter.
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