Today we’d like to introduce you to Twila Mason
Hi Twila, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey to being an author has been anything but straight. As long as I can remember, I’ve had a deep love for reading and writing. At age nine, I began journaling every day, recording my life and analyzing my feelings. This naturally led to poetry, which I carefully scribed in my floral notebook. I continued on the slippery slope of writing, trying my hand at short stories and even a novella. While I had fanciful dreams of becoming an author, planning to do so never felt realistic. As a promising student from a small town who wanted to spread her wings, I chose a career path led by my more lucrative passion: science.
I followed that path for over a decade, but ultimately found myself unhappy with the trajectory of my life. Though it was terrifying, I decided to take a step back from science and focus on my family for a while. In the end, that shift led me to rediscover my passion for the written word. In fact, writing became therapeutic for me, rescuing me from a dark place. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. My debut novel, Piece by Piece, released four years after I began writing again and was a dream come true.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
From the outside looking in, my road to this point probably looks pretty smooth. As with most things though, things aren’t always what they seem. My journey began because of a very real and very dark struggle. I suffered from postpartum depression and anxiety after the births of both my children. It was during my second round of PPD/PPA that I decided I had to find something that I could do for just me. Something that existed solely for my happiness. All I had readily at my disposal was my phone, so I began writing on my phone. I wrote two entire books on my phone one-handed while my baby ate or slept. When it came time to prepare the manuscripts for submission, I finally carved out some time to work on my laptop. It was a very strange feeling to type with all my fingers again and not just my thumbs.
Once I had my first book ready, I sent it to agents and small presses and crossed my fingers. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, so the manuscript wasn’t as ready as I thought it was. The rejections rolled in, and one particularly harsh three-page rejection almost made me throw in the towel. That person tore apart every single thing about my writing and even threw in some personal hits. After a nice, long pity party, I shelved that book and began working on my second book, which would become Piece by Piece. As much as that horrible rejection stung, it ultimately motivated me to learn everything I could to improve my writing. The biggest struggle I still have is making time for learning and writing.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a writer of romance and poetry. My work explores raw emotions and the complexities of life while finding hope within every obstacle. Piece by Piece is my debut contemporary romance novel and features the friends-to-lovers and marriage of convenience tropes. It is book one in the Desperate Hearts series of interconnected stand alones. That means each story is complete by itself, but you’ll get to see the same places and familiar characters sprinkled in each other’s books. There are heavy themes like addiction, recovery, loss, and some mild violence, but my characters overcome it all through determination and love. Having had some mental health struggles myself, I find it’s important for people to see those types of issues represented in literature. No one should ever feel alone or like no one understands them or what they’re going through. Hearing from a reader that they felt seen after reading my book motivates me to continue what I’m doing. Book two in the series, Step by Step, is scheduled to be published in late 2025, and book three is in development.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I am so grateful for all the positive comments and reviews about Piece by Piece and my writing in general. Without readers, none of this would be possible. Seeing readers enjoy my book and even devour it in one sitting is mind blowing and utterly amazing. Having people love my writing style is an indescribable joy. The topic of addiction is a constant thread throughout Piece by Piece, and I’ve had some readers reach out to me who have had addiction impact their lives in one way or another. Hearing how they loved my book and appreciated my portrayal of the hardships that come along with loving an addict really means a lot to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.twilamason.com
- Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/twilamason_author
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twilamasonauthor/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/twilamasona
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/author/twilamason_author.24
