Interview with Richard Mason

http://www.theredscarfbook.com

First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.


Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

I actually started writing when I was working in the Sahara Desert in my 20s, but I didn’t get serious until about six years ago, when I started writing the ‘Richard’ series.

Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?

After working on several novels over a four year period, I sent one manuscript to a friend in New York. He had a publisher friend who agreed to read the work. The publisher sent me a rejection letter because the manuscript sounded like an adult speaking and not a young Southern boy. Well, I took his suggestion and The Red Scarf is the result. It has the authentic sound of a young country boy.

Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?

The sequel to The Red Scarf is Lyin’ Like a Dog, which I hope will be released in early 2009. It contains a story that I think is the funniest thing I’ve every written. It has to do with the bully, Homer Ray, being baptized. You’ll laugh out loud—I promise.

What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?

I’m inspired by innocent young boys and girls, and I like to write about how they react to life’s problems in a naive and honest way.

Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!

My wife is a great motivator and critic. She is my first reader, and I don’t dare leave something in a novel if she shakes her head ‘no’. We have two children, Ashley, a former Green Beret, who runs a military training camp, and Lara, an artist who lives in El Dorado, Arkansas.

Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?

Spudnuts! An El Dorado, Arkansas specialty. They’re donuts made with potato flour. When they’re warm, they melt in your mouth.

What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?

Make coffee, read the paper and prepare a bowl of oatmeal. (Working out comes late in the afternoon.)


If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me the most?

I think it might be my collection of arrowheads. When I was a boy between the ages of 10 and 15, I walked the cotton fields of southern Arkansas and hunted arrowheads. I still have them---several hundred.

Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?

Well, red is my color. I drive a red car and sometimes ride a red Vespa to work. When I look out at a parking lot and see hundreds of cars, the red ones always stand out. I guess it’s no surprise the title of my book is The Red Scarf. Red just fits my personality.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Bugs Bunny


Which cartoon character is most like you?

Yosemite Sam


If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history, where and when would it be—and why?

Thebes, Egypt, 1275, B. C. I’ve been to Egypt on vacation, and I have toured the ancient cities. I would like to have seen them at their peak with all the colors and pageantry that went along with the Egyptian civilization.

So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’re writing?

I like a lot of music, especially Norah Jones. Of course Bruce Springsteen comes in pretty high on my list, and sometime I’ll listen to classical and occasionally I’ll go back to some old Elvis songs. However, I don’t listen to music when I write. I find myself listening to the music instead of thinking about the story I’m writing.

Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you saw at the theater?

TV: 60 Minutes, Rick Steve’s Europe, American Idol and, of course, CNN News.

Old movies: Gone with the Wind and Giant.

The last movie I saw was, No Country for Old Men—it should have won the Academy Award for best picture.

You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?

Be yourself! If you hear a different drum—march to it! Lemming and sheep follow the herd, and I don’t think you want to be like them.


One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?

Of course, Lyin’ Like A Dog, the sequel to The Red Scarf, is already in the works, but I have also written most of the ‘Richard’ series, which includes forthcoming titles such as The Mystery of the Canebrake, The Yankee Doctor, and Richard!


Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!