Giveaway & Interview with St. Martin's Press Author, J.D.Mason

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (March 16, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312598564
ISBN-13: 978-0312598563
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
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Thirty years ago, three high school friends were closer than sisters, but a dark, emotional secret tore them apart. Now, back together at their high school reunion, each of them are tormented and haunted that their greatest fear will come to light.

Renetta Jones' childhood had been anything but happy. After her mother walked out on them, Renetta was left to live with an unsympathetic father and her own insecurities. She fell for the first man to come along after high school, and spent years in an abusive marriage with a man named Vincent, who used her secret to control and punish her. That is, until he suffered an untimely stroke, under questionable circumstances.

Phyllis Neville sacrificed everything for her career, including her marriage to a man she'll love forever, and a positive relationship with her adult daughter. But when she is passed over for the promotion of a lifetime, it’s just the first thing to go wrong in her once perfect life as the past rears its ugly head.

Freddie Palmer is bored by the routine that her life has become. Married thirty years to her husband, Don, the two of them have become empty-nesters and Freddie is anxious to start the next phase of her life. After meeting successful author, Bianca Hightower, at a local bookstore signing, Freddie decides to take her passion for reading to the next level and signs up for writing classes being taught by her new author friend. But Bianca sees potential in Freddie that transcends simply writing, and introduces her to the kinds of experiences a woman like Freddie never even knew existed. But when the past catches up to her, it becomes one more dark secret she’s not sure she’ll be able to keep.

Tasha Darden has lived her life in foster care, and has finally gathered up the courage to try to find her birth mother. One of the three women holds the answers she seeks and she will stop at nothing until she gets them.

Read excerpt.

Get to know the Author of the Day.

What is the best part of being a writer? What is the worst?

The best part about being a writer is building, or rather, having the power and the desire to build something out of nothing and then to finally see it come to fruition. We are all capable builders, but writers build using words, and I love using words as the bricks and mortar of my stories.


The worst part about being a writer is in having to grin and bear it when it comes to getting negative reviews. I don’t care how thick a writer believes their skin is, the truth is, criticism hurts…always has, and always will. In this business, it’s a necessary evil, but knowing that doesn’t make it any less painful.

Name one eye-opening thing you learned from your book research.

I learned that the dominatrix actually has a great deal of respect for her submissive. On the surface, like most people, I assumed that it was her lack of respect for a sub that sealed the bond between the two of them in that relationship, but boy was I surprised (and happy) to learn that I was wrong.

Do you have a favorite motto?

Since I use it a lot, I think my favorite motto must be “keep it moving”. When life gets you down, “keep it moving”. When disappointment sets in, “keep it moving”. When hope seems like it is nowhere to be found… Well, you get the idea. I just believe that nothing good or bad or in between lasts forever, and the only way to get through any situation, is to “keep it moving”…keep pushing.

Do you have a favorite fictional hero? Favorite fictional heroine?

My favorite fictional hero is Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. Gandalf is just sexy in the ways old, wise men tend to be.

Which fictional character would you hang out with?

I’d hang out with the big “G”! Gandalf baby! And I’d try and make him my boyfriend. I have this thing for older men.

What is one of your favorite book covers, your own or someone else’s?

I really love all of the covers for L.A. Banks’ Vampire Huntress Legend Series. The artwork is beautiful on those covers.

What would readers be surprised to learn about you?

Readers would probably be surprised to learn that when it comes to movies, I absolutely loathe chick flicks. I’m a science fiction/fantasy kind of girl when it comes to films. So, you won’t find me rushing out to see any movie that revolves around romantic relationships of any kind. I might watch them on cable or when they come out on DVD, but only if I’ve checked out all that the science fiction/fantasy has to offer.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever learned by Googling your name?

That there is a 6’4”, white, college football player ( I believe) out there with the same name as me. He must be good because his name comes up quite a bit.

I also learned once that I had won an award in Atlanta, called the Atlanta Choice Award for romance or something like that for one of my books (One Day I Saw A Black King). No one ever contacted me to let me know, but it was still nice to find out.

If you could go backward or forward in time which would you chose? Why?

I’d go forward (see my motto). I know where I’ve been, and I’m much more interested to see where I’m going. I’d like to think that I’m headed where I’d ultimately like to end up, but I’ve learned from experience, that things seldom work out the way you plan them or think they will. I never liked surprises, and if I could have the play book of what’s to come in my life, I’d love it.

J.D., please tell us more about your recent release by St. Martins, “TAKE YOUR PLEASURE WHERE YOU FIND IT"?

Take Your Pleasure Where You Find It is about three friends, who, growing up, were closer than sisters. Renetta, Phyllis and Freddie had each other’s backs, and if one of them had a problem, all of them had a problem and they all took care of it, together. During their senior year in high school, they faced the most horrendous challenge they’d ever encountered, and it took its toll on their friendship. As a result, they each went their separate ways. Thirty years later, they see each other at their high school reunion and are forced to finally come to terms with what happened back then, to each other and, most importantly, to themselves.

If you could compare “Take Your Pleasure Where You Can Find It” to your other books, how would you say it’s different?

Take Your Pleasure Where You Find It is a lighter read than my other books. It was meant to be more along the lines of “chick-lit” and a quick and easy beach read. It’s funnier to me than my other books, and was fun to write.

Which do you find is most important to you as a writer, voice or story? Why?

Voice is most important for me. The story changes depending on how you tell it, rather than what you tell in it. I can change an entire storyline just by changing the perspective from which it’s told.

J.D., please tell us where we can find you out in cyber world. For desperate readers like myself, we just need to know…:)

I spend entirely too much time on Facebook. If you want to “friend” me, I can be found at J.d. Mason and I accept just about everybody :)

I know this is a difficult question with there being so many amazing authors out there to choose from but who are some of the GOT-TO-HAVE authors in your TBR pile?

Paulo Coehlo (The Alchemist) is my favorite author, and if he wrote his name on a sidewalk, I’d read it. I also love Robert McGammon (Swan Song). Very few writers have the patience of Mr. McGammon. I love the way he puts a story together, and his dialog is amazingly real. I also love reading books by Bernice L. McFadden, Carleen Brice, and L. A. Banks.

What’s next in the works for you? When can readers expect to see it out on shelves in their local bookstores?

I’ll be releasing a new book next year called Somebody Pick Up My Pieces, and it’s the fourth and final (really, I mean it this time) book that will feature characters from the Black King series.

I’m also working on a new series beginning with a book called Beautiful, Dirty, Rich. It’ll feature a new cast of characters including the Gatewood family, who are as treacherous as they are wealthy, and there’ll be tons of drama and rivalries and betrayals and all kinds of stuff with that group. I’m also working on a collaborative effort with Bernice L. McFadden and Reshonda Tate Billingsley on a book tentatively titled Amos which will be out in 2012 from Simon &Schuster.


I’d like to thank J.D. Mason for stopping by and spending time with us, it’s been a blast getting to know more about you and your books. I wish you all the best and much success in everything you do. :)


*GIVEAWAY RULES*
It is my great pleasure to introduce you to a writer whom will take you on a lyrical journey of passion, pain and renewal. Author J.D. Mason is chatting and giving one lucky commenter the chance to win a copy of her pulse pounding release,"TAKE YOUR PLEASURE WHERE YOU FIND IT". I just have a few simple rules.

* +2 Leave a comment for J.D. Mason including email.
* +2 Spread the Word! { this means go out into cyber world and post it on any netwok sites that your are a member of, or on your blog or website. +2 Then come back and leave a link so I can verify the post.}
* Become a follower of Over the Edge! {+3 Already a follower--You ROCK! +2 Become a follower.}

The giveaway is open to all and will be running until May 23, 2010. I'll be picking and contacting the winner directly on May 24, 2010. Please make sure to include your email with your comment. Happy Reading!