Interview Q&A with Verity Mason
We offer our first and exclusive Q&A Interview with Verity Mason, a writer whose literary works have been featured on our Spillwords pages as well as being Author of the Month of July 2023.
- What does it mean to be selected as Author of The Month?
I consider it an honour and a privilege to have a captive audience that enjoys the words that I’ve painstakingly written to my level of personal perfection. I’ve reached readers, and that’s very gratifying for me. Thank you.
- How have your friends and/or family influenced your writing?
My mother was a very talented writer, but she hid her work under a bushel as, back in that timeline, the opportunities to expose your writing as a budding author and being recognised was an even greater challenge than today. Every time I write and get published, I think of how excited my parents would be for me.
- What inspires you to write?
My inspiration comes from the people I meet and my life experiences, and as I’ve matured, I’ve learned so much about expression and how to convey one’s thoughts from the challenges that I’ve encountered and overcome. What I will say is that I have read and know a little about a lot of things. Read about the fantastic, the unbelievable, and find out what makes people tick—the good, the bad, and the dastardly. Taking up a range of hobbies, this knowledge of diversity definitely gets me writing. I’m motivated by the desire to write better and better every day. I’m curious to see how far I can take my writing journey.
- What was your writing catalyst?
Experiencing the death of loved ones, I needed an outlet to express my grief and the turmoil of emotions that rocked my world during that tragic time. I started writing a daily diary, pouring into it my emerging feelings. It was also a helpful tool for processing thoughts and for reflective purposes. Some of my greatest writing has come from those words written in loss and joyful moments of love, laughter, and tears.
- Tell us a little bit about your writing process.
My process varies, and for me, this helps me explore the vastness of what’s available for me to create; I don’t box my brain in with a set format. Do think laterally. I open up my mind and let my thoughts and words flow with wild abandon, and when they come together, they are fast and furious. Sometimes, of course, it’s not so easy, but once I’ve written my first few lines and I can resonate with them, that’s when the magic happens. I’ve been known to finish an edit in days through submission.
- What would you say is most fulfilling about writing?
I’m learning to write with great passion. That moment when I can’t type fast enough I write about what I know. Life’s course blended the extraordinary with the diverse struggles of humanity, tinged with the fantastic. I don’t tackle anything by half measures. My Iron Butterfly thrilled me because I built a life message into that short story, and the comments I received were very positive. Locro was published, and Le Dernier Tango plus my Polina I consider to be some of my best works yet to be published.
- Does the addition of imagery help to tell your story?
Imagery sets the scene of the read, so it must convey the uniqueness of Verity Mason, giving the reader a reason to tune into my words and the ever-present mission of mine to blend the unexpected with a resounding story that, once read, sticks in your memory.
- What is your favorite reading genre?
Fiction with artistic value and literary merit.
- What human being has inspired you the most?
In my writing, I follow Stephen King and how he conjures his works and his thought processes to the final stage. Then it’s the great Alfred Hitchcock and his never-to-be-repeated cleverness in plot execution in his movies, from the first frame to the very last word.
- What message would you have for the Spillwords Press community that voted for you?
Thank you very much for loving my writing so much that you voted for me. I’m very grateful to you all. Keep your eyes on Verity Mason; there’s so much more to come, primarily on Spillwords.com.
- What would you like your legacy as a writer to be?
Verity Mason wrote it for a reason. Her words, once read, never leave your mind. There’s a message to her readers in all of her stories: life lessons, a perspective unrealized, emotions soaked in the vibrations of the soul. Remember, however life hits you, keep moving forward, that’s how to live the life you’ve been given. Tough it out and smile.
- Is there anything else you would like to add?
My favourite writing to date is still Reverend Rupert’s Obsession (which won publication of the month in October 2021), which will be made into a movie before I leave this mortal coil. A follow-up chapter to this, titled Reverend Rupert’s Yearning, is yet to be published; watch this space. I’m building a strong portfolio of short stories that will be published in the next few years. My book signing and Gala Dinner will be held in San Francisco near Canary Wharf, my favourite place in the world.
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