Rena Mason
is the author of The Evolutionist and
East End Girls, a two-time Bram
Stoker Award® winner, and a finalist for the 2014 Stage 32/The Blood List
Presents: the Search for New Blood Screenwriting Contest. Her writing crosses
boundaries from horror to weird fiction to science fiction and speculative
fiction, and her work has appeared in a wide variety of magazines and
anthologies.
JG: So, let’s start things off with a
little background. Tells us about yourself and your writing.
RM: I was born in Thailand, moved to
the U.S. at age two with my family, and have lived all over from Oahu to
Plattsburgh, New York. I’m also an R.N. and have worked in Oncology, Home
Healthcare, and the Operating Room. I love to travel and got into extreme
sports for a while like bungee jumping and white water rafting down 5+ rapids.
I’m also a certified Advanced Open Water Diver with experience in ice, wreck,
cave, and deep (130ft+) diving. History, Science, and Psychology were my
favorite subjects in school. When I write stories, I like to incorporate something
from my background into every piece.
JG: Women in Horror Month celebrates
the contributions of women to the world of dark fiction. When did you first
know you wanted to be a writer, and, as part two of that, when did you know you
wanted to write in the dark fiction arena?
RM: Thanks to my English teacher in
high school I hated writing. But after a summer of bad reading, I made the
decision to give it a go. That was in 2009. I set the unrealistic goal of
getting published in one year. But after a slew of rejections, I shelved that
first work and started working on another novel. The Evolutionist was published three years later. I’ve always
preferred reading dark fiction, so it was natural for me to take my own writing
there.
JG: Where does your inspiration for
stories come from? Your own fears? World events? Conversations?
RM: I take inspiration from
everything, whether I’ve actually experienced them or not.
JG: You’re a graduate of the
Borderlands Press Writers Bootcamp. I know those classes made a big difference
in my writing. How was that experience for you, and how has it changed your
approach to writing?
RM: Borderlands was awesome! It’s a
very cool way to get feedback from heavyweights in the field such as Tom
Monteleone, Douglas E. Winter, F. Paul Wilson, and Melissa Singer of TOR. I met
some great writers from all over and got the information I needed to decide
what I should be focusing on, as well as some tools on how to improve my own
editing.
JG: If someone wanted to get
introduced to your work for the first time, what 3 stories would you pick (tell
us where to find them, too!) that you feel best represent you as a writer, and
why?
RM: My first novel, The Evolutionist, because it’s a genre
mashup of things that got me thinking about wanting to write in the first
place. East End Girls, because it’s a
historical work I had a lot of fun writing. “Jaded Winds” from the anthology Library of the Dead, because it’s a cultural
piece that I hold dear to my heart for many reasons. Everything is available
through the publishers, Nightscape Press, JournalStone, and Written Backwards,
as well as Amazon.
JG: You’ve previously attended writers
retreats in haunted houses and hotels. Can you tell us which ones you
participated in, and what they were like?
RM: The Stanley Hotel Writers Retreat
is one of my favorites because it’s a smaller event, and it’s easier getting to
know people that I normally just see in passing. The historical and haunted
aspects of the hotel heighten the experience even though I consider myself more
of a skeptic. The Tucson Book Festival in the haunted Big Blue House was very
low key and a lot of fun because it’s a bed and breakfast. Attending the huge
book festival and sitting at the HWA table selling horror alongside other authors,
like John Mulhall and Linda Addison, as well as editor R.J. Cavender was a
blast. This August, I’ll be attending the Winchester Mystery House Writers
Retreat and can’t wait! I’m also going back to The Stanley Hotel Writers
Retreat for the third year in a row in October.
JG: Who are some of the women writing
horror/dark fiction today that you think should be getting more recognition?
RM: There are too many to list, but
I’ll start with Carole Johnstone. I first read her short story “21 Brooklands:
Next to Old Western, Opposite the Burnt Out Red Lion” in For the Night is Dark from Crystal Lake Publishing and absolutely
loved it. She’s a Scottish writer and lives in the UK. Her collection The Bright Day is Done is one of my
favorites. Tracie Mcbride is another female author whose work I enjoy. She’s
Australian and her collection Ghosts Can
Bleed is fantastic. I’m certain both of these women get a lot of
recognition in their countries, but I don’t often hear many people in the U.S.
horror community discussing their works, and truly, their work is brilliant. I
can’t recommend reading them enough if you haven’t already.
JG: Because this relates to Women in
Horror Month, there has long been an ongoing debate that men and women write
differently. Do find that there’s a difference?
RM: It depends on the author.
Sometimes I can tell if a man is writing a woman, but that’s only if it’s not
done so well. As a reader, I don’t really focus on an author’s gender when I’m
making a purchase. If a story is good I’m going to read it whether it’s written
by a man or a woman, but I do find that more often than not, I can relate more
to stories that are written by female authors.
JG: As a woman writer, and
particularly as a woman writing genre fiction, have you faced any particular
obstacles or issues? What were they?
RM: No one has come right out and said
to me, “I’d rather publish a male
author.” so it’s kind of difficult to say. I’ve never experienced anything
specific I could point out.
JG: What words of advice would you say
to young girls or women who want to become genre fiction writers but haven’t
gotten up the nerve to try their hand at it, or submit what they’ve written?
RM: Set goals. Write, edit, submit,
repeat. Keep going until you meet your goal. Then set another goal. No matter
what happens, keep writing and reading.
JG: Lastly, tell us about some of the
things you’ve got coming out in the near future, and what you’re working on
beyond that.
RM: I have several short stories
coming out this year: “Sky is Falling” in Madhouse
from Dark Regions Press, “Winter’s Dollhouse” in Tales from the Lake Vol. 2 from Crystal Lake Publishing, “Metamorphic
Apotheosis” in The Beauty of Death
from Independent Legions Publishing, “Macular Degeneration” in The Frankenstein Experiment from Rothco
Press, and a few others I can’t talk about yet, possibly a novella. I’m also
working on editing my next novel, rewriting another one, and am supposed to be
working on a screenplay.
###
Rena Mason
won the Bram Stoker Award® for her novel The
Evolutionist and her short story “Ruminations” (in Qualia Nous). Her short stories have appeared in The Library of the Dead, Shadows Over Main Street, Blurring the Line, Tales from the Lake Vol. 2, and the upcoming The Beauty of Death. She is a member of the Horror Writers
Association, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, The
International Screenwriters' Association, Stage 32, and InkTip. She writes a
column for the HWA Monthly Newsletter, "Recently Born of Horrific
Minds" and writes occasional articles. She also does volunteer work and
event planning for the Horror Writers Association. 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 an avid scuba diver and has traveled the world, and enjoys
incorporating the experiences into her stories. Rena currently resides in Reno,
NV with her family.You can follow her at www.renamasonwrites.com or on Twitter.
Her books are available at her Amazon page.
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