Interview with Mason Cross
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I’m back with another interview in the Meet the Men interview series! Today I have my interview with Mason Cross! Mason Cross writes suspense filled stories and you can find his entire collection on Amazon.
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What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t wearing your author hat?
It’s nice to spend more time with my family, but I also like some me time. I particularly like to go and see a movie by myself – I like to go in the middle of the day when it’s quiet. I like to go for walks too, especially around a big city like London or Paris.
What is the first book to make you cry?
I think it was Allan Quartermain, the sequel to King Solomon’s Mines when I was about ten years old, because the hero dies at the end. I literally can’t remember anything else about the book other than there was a movie with Richard Chamberlain which I never saw.
What would you choose as your mascot/avatar?
Tiger – no particular reason, they’re just cool.
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
I haven’t found it particularly difficult so far, although I found it interesting that my wife Laura had a totally different take on one of my female characters in the last book than I did. I thought she was one of the villains of the piece, but my wife was completely on her side.
How do you select the names of your characters?
I tend to just use bits of the names of people I know or have come into contact with in day to day life – I never take a whole name without permission. Another good option for foreign names is to look up Wikipedia and news articles focusing on that country and get ideas for names there.
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Yes – there’s an email address in one of my more recent books that is real – if you email it, you might get a surprise…
How long on average does it take you to write a book?
6 months to get it in okay shape, plus a few rounds of editing. It tends to take up most of a year with some breaks. And of course by the end of the year I’m well into thinking about the next one.
Have you ever participated in Movember?
Not intentionally, but I keep meaning to!
What are you currently reading?
The Deaths of December by Susi Holliday – a brilliant festive-themed murder mystery
If you could go back and give your younger self advice, what would it be?
Start trying to write a book earlier – I spent years waiting around for a perfect idea before I realized you don’t need one, you just need to start writing and that’s how the ideas come.
