Meet Twila Mason

We recently connected with Twila Mason and have shared our conversation below.

Twila, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My family struggled financially for a lot of my childhood. When I was around twelve, we went through a very tough time, and I watched my parents work through it to make a better life for us all. My dad has worked at the same factory for over forty-five years, working his way up from a basic operator to maintenance and then an electrician. He’s done so many things out of his comfort zone and learned so much, doing whatever the job required of him. During the rough patch, my mom decided to go to nursing school to ensure we would never again have to endure such hardships as a family. After my sisters and I were in bed, she would stay up all hours of the night studying in the bathroom so the light wouldn’t disturb us. Many times, she wanted to give up, but she didn’t. She ignored the naysayers and negativity of some family members and forged ahead anyway. Through both of my parents, I saw that if you want something, you put one foot in front of the other and go after it, never giving up.

It was around this time that I started considering my future and what career I might have. At the tender age of twelve, I declared I would get a PhD someday because that was the highest degree one could earn. From that moment on, everything I did was with that goal in mind. Fast forward sixteen years later, I received my PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology from Vanderbilt University. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I felt like giving up, but I didn’t. Every time someone doubted me, it fueled the fire inside me to work that much harder to prove them wrong. When I got married young, many thought I wouldn’t even get my bachelor’s degree, so I got two and kept going. The many, many times I doubted myself, I would allow the feelings for just a bit then get up and prove myself wrong as well.

Now I apply the same determination to my writing. Literature has been a love of mine since I first learned how to read, but I never dreamed I would be able to write my own stories professionally. Despite doubting my decisions and my abilities, I made the switch from science to writing fiction. Piece by Piece is my debut novel, but it’s not the first book I’ve written. The first one received harsh rejections to the point I almost gave up on my dream. Instead, I sought out all the information, tips, and feedback I possibly could. I took in a vast amount of information between that first book and Piece by Piece, and I still learn new things every day. To this day, all my successes can be attributed to learning from a young age that anything is possible if you don’t give up.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a writer of romance, women’s fiction, poetry, and short stories. 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. Book two in the series is scheduled to be published in 2025. I have also published some poetry and short stories in anthologies, and I have a solo poetry book planned in the coming year.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three things that have helped me in my journey are the ability to research, reading the genre I write, and perseverance. No matter what someone wants to do in life, learning is essential. The information needed won’t always be provided, so the ability to research is key. Practice is the best way to develop research skills. If I don’t know something, I search various sources to try to find the information or someone who can help me. I’ve joined dozens of writing groups and organizations that are filled to the brim with knowledge. For a writer, reading the genre you write is one of the most important forms of research and education available. When reading a good book, I make a note of what it is that makes that book so good and then try to apply the same principals to my own writing. Plus, it’s a fun way to get a better feel for the story structure, tone, and language for a given genre. It’s surprising what one can learn even subconsciously. The most important quality in a successful author is perseverance. Publishing is not an easy path to follow, often long and winding. Every time something feels out of reach, I remind myself that if I quit now then I guarantee I’ll never reach my goal, but if I keep going it’s always a possibility.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

It’s ironic to answer this question at a time in my life when I feel extremely overwhelmed. This is an area of my mental health that I am actively trying to improve. What I’ve learned over the years, is one of the best things I can do for myself is to give myself grace. Often, overwhelm comes from trying to do too many things in too many aspects of our lives. I’m learning that it’s okay to drop a few of the balls I’m juggling and to say no to some things. For example, when work is taking up a lot of my mental capacity, I allow myself to let go of doing the laundry for a while and to say no to attending a birthday party.

Another huge help for me when I’m overwhelmed is to reach out to friends or family. Sometimes all it takes is venting to release the tension and provide mental clarity. Other times a friend or family member can offer some insight or assistance to help with whatever is causing the overwhelm. And sometimes we just need someone to validate our feelings because it’s so important as humans to know we are not alone.

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