A Story of Stubborn Hope - Part One

Please welcome guest blogger a.c. Mason

Not born to write, but blessed with the heart of a storyteller.

I should start at the beginning. French is my maternal tongue, and I spend most of my youth in Quebec, Canada. No matter how much time and effort I put into writing I struggled to get words on paper. Then the devastating news came. I had learning disability that affected my ability to write. This seemed quite impossible because, I came from a gene pool of strong writers. Why did I get the raw end of the genetics deal?

This isn’t a story about me feeling sorry for myself so read on.

Around the age of thirteen I went from French to English school. I even picked up a nervous stutter when reading in English out load. Seems I had a nice stack of excuses for myself. What you don’t know about me is I’m more stubborn than a herd of raging bulls during a stampede. So I drew comic strips, wrote stories in notebooks, and orally told them to friends and strangers. People really enjoyed them. I was lucky my Dad instilled the belief in me that where there is a will there is a way. The only person that could hold me back was me if I didn’t try.

It would seem fairly simple. If you aren’t born to write, but you have the heart of a storyteller you would find other means to tell stories. And I did. I excelled in art, math, and science. I had an ear for languages. I trained as a camera operator, worked in T.V. Later I went to school and became a Web Designer. Life happened but the storyteller in me never went away. I never stopped writing. These days I get to tell people about history.

In 2007, I decided I would try the impossible mission. I was going to attempt to get published. With the support of my family, I took up my second job, writing where I would put no less than 37.5 hours every week. Now some cool things had happened since I was kid. There weren’t the tools for individuals like me when I was a younger but Word possessors with dictionaries and accessibility applications were a huge help. The word was underlined when misspelled, and I could have the computer read the text back to me.

I joined a critique group and boy did some of those writers slam my work. But there were some writers that were tough yet fair, pointed out what I was doing wrong and told me positive things. I knew at the end of the day that those slamming me represented what I would face with editors and agents. If you remember this is a story about stubborn hope. I haven’t accomplished anything in life that I haven’t earned through blood and sweat. Not so much tears as I’m one to redirect that energy into the bleeding and sweating. Lol.

In 2008, I joined RWA. Why? Because no other organization I’d come across provided the range of access to information to unpublished authors the way RWA does. I went from writing contemporary to fantasy. This would probably be a good time to tell you I like to push the envelope in my storytelling. I decided I would write a short length novella/novel and attempt to get epublished to work with an editor to further my learning. I wrote the first story in the Aequitas trilogy Aequitas I Betrayal, which isn’t a romance. Remember, I’m an envelope pusher. I submitted it a few places. I do something I call staggering my submissions, meaning I send one every three weeks. Why? Gives the places I’ve sent it to lead time to read the submission. Helps me avoid getting a bunch of rejections all at once, because honestly who enjoys that.

I was mentally prepared not to sell my story, but stubbornly hopeful.

Dec 20th 2008 I get an email on my BlackBerry that makes me question my ability to read in English.

So I got up and opened my computer and reread it. I tossed my computer in the air and started to scream. Yes. I really did toss my computer in the air. Needless to say the people I live with thought someone had broken into the house and came running. Here is the part where I cry and I can’t see any more, I had to get someone else to reread the email out load. I was neither going insane, nor still asleep. Aequitas I Betrayal was extended a contract and it was released in June of 2009.

I didn’t rush into writing the next book. I took what I learned from my fabulous editor and applied it to my next story.

I’ve since contracted the sequel Aequitas II Punishment, and novella one and two of the Wolf-Spirit Series Chocolate Damsel and Chocolate Temptation. I’ve also contracted novella one in the Soul Food Diner Series Surrendering To The Right Man.

I love telling stories in written form. I have overcome a lot of the second language barriers, applied myself to the rewrites, and am mindful of my learning disability. I push myself to do better every story. I’m in good company as there are famous author with learning disabilities that affect their writing too and that didn’t stop them either.

My writing path might different than those of other authors wind in strange and thrilling ways, but what you can be sure of is I’ll continue to put one letter next to another and weave tales for others to enjoy.

Don’t give up! Don’t let other people tell you, what you are capable of doing. You are the master of your own destiny. Believe in you, because if you don’t, who will? There are no easy roads or shortcuts.

Love your journey, it’s uniquely your own.

Part one of stubborn hope ends here and part two now begins.

Mason
a.c.Mason
Darkness ♀♂ Desires
www.acmason.com

At the age of nine, a.c.Mason made up a zombie story at summer camp. It scared the other kids so much that the camp counselor called her parents asking them to ensure she never did such a dreadful thing again. From this, she learned the power of storytelling, and the seed of the author was planted.

Born from the union of her Scottish and Belgian mother and an African American and Cherokee father, her youth was filled with dichotomies and moving from place to place. She developed a curiosity to explore through writing the seedy side of our nature and desires. Add to that her fascination with theology, politics, history, horror, and erotica. And voila, her distinct voice surfaced; described as a unique mélange of complex characters, well-crafted suspense, and mesmerizing visceral erotica. Her stories are the place where darkness meets human desire and fairytales endings are not promised but earned.

She wrote on and off since her early teens as a hobby and for friends. She enjoys delving into the realms of the unknown and blurring the caution lines.

Mason is fluent in French and English. She’s an avid traveler, including most of Canada, both of the United States seaboards, England and Europe. Her studies were in the computer field. She advocates the preservation of our natural and cultural riches for future generations.

Take a journey with her characters and come face to face with what lays beneath their illusions. Emerge…on the other side changed.


AEQUITAS II PUNISHMENT

Will the battle for aequitas freedom cost the balance between good and evil?

Aequitas—part angel and demon, fight for their freedom and march to heaven’s doorstep.

Rebel leader Etienne Grant kidnaps his wife and vows to punish her disobedience. Once retribution is paid, Auria will command his army in a most ambitious venture—defeating all the angels in heaven.

Auria can do nothing but surrender for the safety of her sons. Once in Grant’s clutches, she realizes he wields an even greater whip as he fights for her heart and loyalty.

Enemy alliances are forged as they prepare to bring down the Kingdom of God. But the archangels won’t let victory slip from their grasp so easily.

The battle for freedom might cost the balance between good and evil, but will it damn their souls for eternity?