a.c. Mason: Contest and Book Release Party

Hello and welcome!

We've got something really exciting for you today. Our very own a.c. Mason's Surrendering to the Right Man releases today and I had the amazingly fun task of interviewing her. All right, Mason, take it away!

Toni, I appreciate you taking the time to interview me.

I have to tell the reader's I'm a little nervous given you know me more than most. Toni and I have been working together since Tue, 7 Jul 2009. I'm interested to see the types of questions you've chosen to ask me.

Q: At this point, you have several books out and many more to come. What inspires you in general?

A: You didn't want to throw me an easy one to start off I see…  Everything.  Movies. TV.  Music. People. My life. My brain then puts it through my creative processor and strange situations come out.

Q: I know you are a panster and yet your books do not lack depth or complexity. How do you keep it straight and do you have any recommendations for other writers out there who may have panster tendencies?

A: STOP BEING SO HARD ON YOURSELVES. Sorry, I had to get that out of the way. I've know many a pansters ,who've been told/chastised by plotters (I'm not picking on plotters) but pansters don't work in the same construct of order as plotters do. And it's okay. Yes, it's okay.  As for how I keep it straight, I don't expect it, to happen all at once.  The story that is. I write in layers. Each book is different. Sometimes the plot layers come first and other times the character/romantic layers. I adjust as I go. I don't feel bad about cutting nor needing to add. It's how I work. I nourish that part of myself, not beat it up. I surround myself with people who respect that part of me.  

Q: Mason, can you tell us how the story for "Surrendering to the Right Man" came to you? What is the work about?         

A: It was the movie Clueless. I know Toni loves movies and talking about plots in relation to them. I used to watch a lot of TV. It was on some weekend movie thing on one of the stations and I started to thinking about Dionne. What would it be like to be Sunsational Malibu Christie? She was the first African American Barbie I got as a child. I made up what her life was like then. Indy's life is way hotter and much more interesting. She's at a crossroad between who she once was and the woman she is becoming. Liam her best friend and his older brother Tim represent a separate path, but which will she choose?

Q: What makes this work different from others you have published? Also, do you have a favorite character in this work and why?

A: It's contemporary. Not paranormal, fantasy, or urban fantasy. 

Indy, my heroine is smart, gusty, loads of fun, makes mistakes and gets back up. I respect that about her even when I'm thinking, what are you doing.

I do like Greg. He's part of the supporting cast. He says the wrong thing at the wrong time and always makes people uncomfortable. Lol. Don't we all know a friend like him?

Q: While you've been working to get Surrendering to the Right Man out, you've also released and/or worked on other works in addition to being a supermom and go-to lady at your day job. How do you handle it all and what advice do you have for those writers out there trying to balance writing, other careers and home life?

A: I treat writing like a second job. So when people call me and say hey Mason wanna do such and such. I'm like no can do, I'm working tonight at my second job. When I have time, I'm spending it with my family, giving back to fellow writers or going to workshops.  It's a struggle. I didn't get where I am at my day job showing up on the days I felt like it or not consistently delivering.  I believe the same goes for writing. The only thing I control is how I spend my time. I made my dream a priority. I think it's the greatest gift I can give my kids. I show them the importance of dedicating yourself to your own dreams. If I don't make me important why should anyone else. 

Q: Lastly, can you share an excerpt from Surrendering To The Right Man with us.

A: I'll start with a blurb first.

Indy Kent's motorcycle accident last New Year's Eve forced her to fight for things she took for granted. This holiday she makes a special request of her best friend, Liam Boyd, the "I want you to deflower me." Desperate to get Liam out of her system, a holiday sexecapade seems like just the cure from her long harbored, unreciprocated feelings.

But there is a complication, and his name is Tim, Liam's older brother. Tim's touch last New Year's Eve ignited an unexpected flame between them. The time they spent together during her recovery only furthered her attachment to him.

Emotions whirl; her secret looms. The hotter the burn between the sheets with Liam, the more Indy's yearning drifts toward Tim.

The incident that caused her accident and changed her life might save her heart.

Can she ultimately surrender her heart to the right man?

Content warning:

This book contains graphic sex including some traditionally considered taboo. A love triangle. Voyeurism. Light to mid-range discipline, dominance, and submission.

And now for the excerpt…

A spasm in Indy's leg forced her to clench her teeth together. She hated not being able to stand on her own two feet. The pain she was in wasn't about to force her to remain seated.

"Are you okay?" Tim's eyes softened with concern.

"I still get the tremors, ghost sensations from muscles I no longer have." To reconstruct her leg, the doctors had used muscles from donors. She felt sewn together by patchwork, like Frankenstein a quilt of mismatched pieces.

"You push yourself too hard, always have. I like that about you, but you need someone who'll help you ease off." He drew up behind her. "Put your weight on me."

"Tim."

"Do it," he ordered.

As he gathered her up, the heat of his hard chest pressed to her back, and he lowered her into the lawn chair. "Bossy."

"Only around you, Miss Independent." The rise and fall of his chest accelerated. Calm, blue eyes warmed to flames.

Heat weaved a path in her insides turning her to mush.

"I'd better go." He tossed his bag on his shoulder.

Pain burned her eyes. Being with Liam meant loosing Tim, and she needed him. "You shouldn't go just because the others have."

Tim lifted her chin, forcing her gaze to his. "Yes, I should. Merry Christmas Eve, Indy, and I hope Santa gets you your heart's desire."

"You, too." She nodded and grabbed his large, warm, kind hand. In April, his hands had stabilized her when she took her first steps since the accident.

"Unfortunately, mine is no longer available. Never really was for that matter." He exhaled. "I shouldn't have said that."

She tightened her hold. "Tim, thank you for everything. I don't know how I would have managed without your help and support."

"It's the least I could do, given—"                     

"Given what?" Liam asked, standing by the open gate to the backyard.

Toni thank you for having me. I'm sweating bullets, but made it through to the end and didn't even have to open the red file. If you want to find my other books or me!

And last but not least, the Contest:  One lucky commenter will win an ecopy of Surrendering to the Right Man. Answer in the comment box with what your favorite Soul Food dish is? The contest ends on Sunday April 24, 2011 at Midnight EST. Contest is worldwide and void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

Filed under: a.c. Mason, Decadent Publishing, Interview, romance, Toni Kelly