Interview with Author Chris Mason

1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

When my books started to sell and most if not all other employment opportunities were closed to me.

2. How long does it take you to write this book?

Entrepreneur in a Box took me about three months to write.

3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

Since I live on a big rig a few factors come into play. The bumpiness of the road, available power supply, internet availability and my mood are just a few of the obstacles I face when writing.

4. What brought you to write this book?

Due to the fact that all my children went to an online charter school, I had to find ways to save money and found many free resources through the internet. In fact, I still think it is funny when I first asked my daughter’s teachers for resources that could help her when she first entered the world of online schooling, I only received 3 websites. I thought 3 websites from 6 teachers was a sad state of affairs, so Tutor in a Box was born. That was years ago now. My eldest daughter was in sixth grade then, now she is a Junior in college.

My other books were born out of two things that happened at the same time. First, my family had to give up cable to save money but my kids still wanted to see the then popular That’s So Raven. Second, my mother came up with Mason Day to teach my kids that they did not need a lot of money to give someone a nice gift. Mason Day was when a person was assigned a family member and had to make them something, spending only 20 dollars. My thought was “Oh my God”. I had no artistic skills like my daughters’ and could not build things like my son, but I did have impressive research skills. So the “In the Box” series of books was born.

5. How you become a published author? Any inspiration?

I published my books through Smashwords because it was free and easy.

6. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

All the information found in the “In the Box” series of books was found on the internet.

7. When did you write your first book and how old were you?

My first book was written in 2008 but not published till 2013. I was in my mid 30’s.

8. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I like to watch movies, read books, play video games and play Backgammon when not writing.

9. How many books have you written? Which is your favourite?

As of right now I have written eight books.

10. What's next for you? What are you working on now?

I am currently taking a break from writing to focus on marketing the books I have already written.

Video Store in a Box Book Links

ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/video-store-in-box-guide-to/id790348711?mt=11

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/video-store-in-a-box-chris-mason/1117953122?ean=2940045544009

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/video-store-in-a-box-a-guide-to-free-television-and-movies-on-the-internet

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/391633

Arcade in a Box Book Links

ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/arcade-in-box-guide-to-free/id791834888?mt=11

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/arcade-in-a-box-chris-mason/1120033861?ean=2940046070774

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/arcade-in-a-box-a-guide-to-free-video-games-on-the-internet

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/391749

Book Store in   Box Book Links

ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/book-store-in-box-guide-to/id799322759?mt=11

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book-store-in-a-box-chris-mason/1118585487?ean=2940045580786

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/book-store-in-a-box-a-guide-to-reading-and-listening-to-the-best-free-books-on-the-internet

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/398027

App in a Box Book Links

ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/app-store-in-box-guide-to/id1039080339?mt=11

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/app-store-in-a-box-chris-mason/1122643539?ean=2940152345506

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/app-store-in-a-box-a-guide-to-the-best-free-applications-for-mobile-devices-on-the-internet

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/576180

Production Studio a Box Book Link

 

ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/production-studio-in-box-guide/id1053841251?mt=11

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/production-studio-in-a-box-chris-mason/1122861597?ean=2940152428766

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/production-studio-in-a-box-a-guide-to-free-production-tools-on-the-internet

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/587580

 

Entrepreneur in a Box Book Links

ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/entrepreneur-in-box-guide/id1039085739?mt=11

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/entrepreneur-in-a-box-a-guide-to-the-best-ways-to-make-money-on-the-internet-chris-mason/1122643542?ean=2940152345537

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/entrepreneur-in-a-box-a-guide-to-the-best-ways-to-make-money-on-the-internet

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/576188

Interview with Author d. washington-jones

 

Hello everyone... Today we are interviewing Author d. washington-jones for his book "The Runaway Christmas Tree". It's an  Children's Book. This is the link to the YouTube trailer :  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkE5Z0i5tEk. So, we asked d. washington-jones a few question about the book and himself, below are the answers:

1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
   

Oh, this is a great question.  I was in grade school and I loved reading short stories so I wrote one of my own.  Others enjoyed it and they began to write their own stories.  Can you imagine a storm of excitement to write took over our school for a period of time?  It was wonderful!  I had given life to that storm and that is when I knew that I wanted to be a writer because my writing moved people.

2. How long does it take you to write this book?

The Runaway Christmas Tree took about five years to complete.  I started in 2006 and finally finished it in 2011 with illustrations and all!

3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing

When I am writing a story now, I discipline myself to write during the day like a 9 to 5 job.  After all, the difference is, that it is a job that I love.

4. What brought you to write this book?

My youngest son inspired this book when he was only 9 years old.  He wrote a story from a story starter with the same name and I thought it was cute and funny.  It ignited my creative juices and I was determined to tweak it and write the book.

5. How you become a published author? Any inspiration? I am a self-publisher and I enjoy the works of Charles Dickens.  He is my inspiration.  Someday I’d like to write a classic like A Christmas Carol, something that would inspire others to change like his book did and to have a legacy to leave behind that moves people and transcends time.

6. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?  I love Christmas, so many of my books seem to have a Christmas Theme.  “I’m Glad I’m Not a Zombie” (my second book) was written to encourage other writers in our Cane River Writers’ Club to write in their particular genre about things that are trending.  Since I write mainly Children’s books right now, I wanted to combine that genre with the trending “Zombie” theme like The Walking Dead, but I wanted to create something that children would enjoy.

7. When did you write your first book and how old were you?

As stated above, I wrote my first story when I was in the 7^th grade and I was about 12 years old.  It was called, “Color It Love”. One day I plan to reprise it and make it a movie script.

8. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I have a day job.  I’m a teacher, but when I’m not teaching, I like to watch Jeopardy and read inspirational works.

9. How many books have you written? Which is your favourite?

To this day, I have written about 5 books.  The Runaway Christmas Tree is my favorite because it was my first published work.

10. What's next for you? What are you working on now?

I am working on a new children’s book entitled, Sony, the King of Cats.  We are looking for an early spring release.  I am also finishing up the sequel to The Runaway Christmas Tree entitled, The Runaway Christmas Tree goes to London. Aye, Good day, Gov’nor!

I’ve also begun a children’s chapter book series called, The Eddie and Sassy Mysteries.  The first one is entitled, The Great Christmas Lights Caper.  I look forward to sharing these works with the world.