Mason wins award for new book
HR Mason
HR Mason was born and raised in Coshocton County, a 1994 graduate of Ridgewood High School. As a child she loved reading so much that when her mom grounded her, she grounded her from reading. Her love of reading developed into a love of writing as a teenager. During her junior high and high school years she spent her time writing poems, stories, song lyrics, and essays. Then, with no experience whatsoever, she was hired as a writer for The Coshocton County Advertiser right out of high school.
“Working for the newspaper was my first taste of seeing my words in print, and I knew I wanted more,” Mason said.
Mason worked for The Advertiser for a couple years until she started her family. As a stay at home mother of three, she found it difficult to form sentences some days, nonetheless think about writing. However, in 2015, once her children were older, she told her husband, just out of the blue, she was going to write a book. “He probably thought I was crazy and looking back I think I must have been. But I felt something tugging at me. It was the part of me that remembered the dream I’d always had,” Mason said as she remembered, how, as a little girl she wanted to be a writer.
Not knowing if she could do it or not, she said she set out to prove to herself that she “had what it took to create and complete an entire book.”
Mason began writing her first novel in February 2015, and by June of 2015 she had finished it and was searching for a publisher. According to Mason, she sent her manuscript to several publishers expecting to be rejected by each and every one of them, but to her surprise, she received a contract instead of rejection. Thus, began her career as a Romance novelist under the pen name, Heidi Renee Mason.
With six romance novels published, Mason had established herself as a romance writer before she began working on a novel in a completely different genre.
“One day about three years ago, I was looking online, and I came across a story about a house in Warsaw that is referred to as Murder Ridge. I was surprised, because I had grown up in the area and had never heard about it before. I started researching and reading about it, and I kind of became obsessed with the house itself. I began to wonder what it might be like to inherit a house in a small town where you’d never been—a house that no one wants for a very good reason” Mason said. Once the main character popped into her head and a back story developed, Mason said the “story took off and basically took on a life of its own.”
Mason explained, “Generally, in publishing, once a writer is established in a certain genre, it is difficult to go in another direction. I really felt like I had to write the book, though.”
Mason shared how she thought about writing the book for two years before she finally sat down and wrote it, established the second pen name of HR Mason, and found a publisher interested in the Gothic Suspense novel, and she is glad she did.
It was while on vacation in August 2020 that Mason found out via email that her novel, “Nothing Hidden Ever Stays,” won the American Fiction Award in the mystery/suspense genre.
“I was shocked at first when I heard I had won. I’m still a little bit shocked, to be honest. To have something you’ve created receive any type of honor is a very validating experience,” Mason said. “I started out with a small press for my first three books. Once my contract ran out, I searched out a larger publisher, and submitted my work. I’ve been so grateful for the amazing publishing professionals I’ve been fortunate enough to work with.”
Mason shared that although the original inspiration for the book was the story about the house in Warsaw, the final product is very different. “Nothing Hidden Ever Stays” is about a woman, Aubrey Ross, who, abandoned at a hospital when she was 3-years-old, endured years of abuse and neglect as she grew up a ward of the state being passed around from one foster family to the next. However, when she is handed an envelope to the deed to a house in Ohio, her ancestral home, her life begins to change. After arriving in Rossdale, she hears voices, sees apparitions, and has vivid visions of tragedies that happened to those who came before her.
Sheryl Scarborough, author of “To Catch A Killer and To Right the Wrongs,” says “Nothing Hidden Ever Stays” is “a gothic mystery that seeps under your skin and consumes you from the inside out. The surprise ending doesn’t disappoint.”
“The journey toward forgiveness, acceptance, and redemption resonate with readers because we’ve all experienced them at one point or another,” Mason said. “I believe readers will identify and empathize with Aubrey Ross, the main character, and the fact that we understand her is the very reason her story will resonate.”
Mason’s award winning novel, “Nothing Hidden Ever Stays,” can be found on Amazon or through her website, www.heidireneemason.com. Mason has a new suspense book coming out in May of 2021, “Daughters of the Sea,” which will be written under her H.R. Mason pen name. And, she is currently working on a women’s fiction/romance novel under her Heidi Renee Mason pen name. Mason’s previous romance novels can also be found on her website.
Category: Arts & Entertainment
