Today’s special guest is contemporary romance author Twila Mason and we are chatting about her new novel, Piece by Piece.
Bio:
Twila Mason has been writing her own stories since she learned how to read. She is a writer of romance, women’s fiction, poetry, and short stories. Her work explores raw emotions and the complexities of life while finding hope within every obstacle.
She lives the rural, small-town life in Missouri with her husband, two kids, and menagerie of animals. After obtaining a PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology, she’s switching gears to follow her lifelong dream of putting her fictional stories out into the world. When she’s not reading or writing, Twila can be found crafting, farming, doing home improvement projects, or going on adventures with her kids.
Welcome, Twila. Please tell us about your current release.
Piece by Piece is a friends to lovers and marriage of convenience contemporary romance. It is the first in my Desperate Hearts series of interconnected standalones. 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. Check out the blurb below:
Aria Sutton is determined to be nothing like her drug-addict mother. All Aria needs is a few more years to turn her life around, but when her mom messes up again, Aria’s fragile world comes crashing down around her. Suddenly homeless, she carries the weight of not only her survival but also that of her preteen brother. Her only hope is Luke Hardin, her childhood crush who fled their neighborhood six years ago and never looked back.
The last thing Luke expects is Aria’s desperate call for help. After the way he left things between them, the least he can do is let her and her brother crash at his place. With her sleeping down the hall, the past comes rushing back, ready or not. But for Luke, going down memory lane brings back demons from his past that he’d rather keep buried, and the steady life he’s built for himself is threatened.
The boundaries Aria and Luke set are put to the test when circumstances force them closer than ever. While meticulously planning her future, Aria never considered leaving room for the possibility of love. As they navigate the trials of life, Luke questions whether he’s strong enough to let Aria go again. Maybe they can use the pieces of their broken lives to build a better life. Together.
What inspired you to write this book?
As cliché as it sounds, it all started with a dream. I was fighting my second battle with postpartum depression when I decided I needed something that I could call my own, something just for me. Writing had always been a passion of mine, but I hadn’t written anything for fun in over a decade. It was time to change that. I decided to write down the dream I’d had the night before and see if I could turn it into something someone might read. Before I knew it, I’d written an entire book on my phone. Looking back, I can see how writing about characters overcoming the darkness in their lives was therapeutic for me as I struggled out of my own darkness. That first scene that I ever wrote is now chapter three in my debut novel, Piece by Piece, and will always hold a special place in my heart.
What exciting project are you working on next?
Books two, three, and four in my Desperate Hearts series are at various stages in the editing process. In Piece by Piece, we meet Chrissy, and book two is her well-deserved happily ever after. Her book, tentatively titled Step by Step, is a slow burn workplace and second chance romance. I am also writing books five and six.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I’ve had two very different writing careers, so there are actually two answers to this question. A large part of working in biomedical research is writing, whether it’s writing grants or papers for publication in scientific journals. I became a scientific writer in 2010 when I wrote my first grant. For fiction, even though I’d been writing poems and stories since the age of ten, I didn’t consider myself a writer until I started writing with the intent to publish in 2020.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I wish! I’m currently a stay-at-home mom, which I think is the hardest job I’ve ever done! I love my kids, but they sure do keep me busy. I also volunteer to run our local library’s Facebook page and as a co-leader for our Girl Scout troop. Between mom duties, volunteering, and tending to our hobby farm and menagerie of animals, it can sometimes be a struggle to fit in writing time. Piece by Piece was mostly written on my phone while my son napped. Nowadays, I write mostly at night and on weekends when we aren’t busy with other things.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Most of my stories start out as snippets of a dream I’ve had. I tend to have very vivid dreams, so I can see the characters in a small scene like I’m watching a movie. I always jot it down as soon as I can after waking up, then let it marinate for a while. Usually, I find the story hiding behind the scene. Because of this process, I find it hard to write a full outline of a story beforehand, often going back and adding or changing things as the story takes shape. The final product rarely matches my initial outline, and sometimes even I am surprised at how the story plays out!
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I had big dreams from a young age. Initially, I wanted to be a doctor or a veterinarian, but I was afraid my heart wouldn’t be able to handle inevitably losing a patient. Even though I’d always loved writing and dreamed about being an author, making a career out of it seemed impossible. After watching a St. Jude Children’s Hospital fundraiser campaign, I decided I wanted to pursue my other love, science, and have a career in biomedical research. I never would’ve imagined I would end up doing both science and fiction writing!
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I am so grateful for all the positive comments and reviews about Piece by Piece and my writing in general. It really means the world to me to know someone has enjoyed something I’ve created. Without readers, none of this would be possible.
Links:
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