To give you a quick introduction to Mason and the year he's been having, here's a brief synopsis of The Lighter Side of Life and Death courtesy of Goodreads.
Sixteen-year-old Mason Rice is having the night of his life. He's just delivered an incredible performance in the school play, basked in celebratory afterglow vibes at the party of the year, and lost his virginity to one of his best friends—the gorgeous but previously unobtainable Kat Medina. His dreams are coming true, and the future looks golden.
Unfortunately, Kat sees things very differently. Crossing the friendship line was a big mistake, and all she wants is to forget it and move on, even if that means forgetting Mason altogether. What's a guy to do? Well, if you're Mason, you hang your hopes on the first attractive twenty-three-year-old you cross paths with. At first Mason wonders if he's imagining the chemistry . . . until Colette invites him over to her apartment. Suddenly Mason's living in a whole new world.
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At the outset of The Lighter Side of Life and Death, you are wrapping up a performance from a school play, which leaves you on an incredible high. Can you put into words why you love acting so much?
Acting is like getting the chance to live multiple lives. You feel all the intensity that the character feels and get a chance to try to express that to an audience. It’s a natural high to feel like you did a character justice and it’s addictive. I don’t think I could stop now. I want to put everything I can into acting.
For a long time it was just you and your dad, together. What's the hardest part about adding in a stepbrother and stepsister? The best thing?
Burke is hilarious. The stuff he says kills me. So having a little brother is the best thing about this. But it’s weird having so many people around the house all the time. It feels like there’s no space, no privacy. When something happens (like with me and Colette) it’s not just my dad that finds out about it now – it’s Nina too and that sucks. The absolute hardest part, though, has been dealing with Brianna. It’s like she had it in for me from day one and I didn’t choose this situation anymore than she did.
If things hadn't gone so far south between you and your best friend Kat, do you think you would have ever had the courage to pursue Colette, an older woman?
No. I don’t think it would have occurred to me that it was even possible for anything to happen between us if Kat and I hadn’t been together first (I would’ve felt like too much of a kid for Colette). And part of being with Colette in the beginning was that I really needed a distraction from all the Kat stuff. So I think we would’ve flirted a little in my kitchen the day of the shower and then Colette would’ve given me a ride home from The Java Bean that time and the only other time I would probably even run into her would be at my dad’s wedding.
Do you think the fact that you had to keep your relationship with Colette a secret made it more exciting?
In the beginning, yeah, definitely. But then I started to hate it because I knew Colette would be embarrassed for anyone to know we were together. That’s not a good feeling. So instead of it being this fun little secret it was as though we were in hiding.
What is one thing your friends would be surprised to learn about you?
The ones that don’t know about Colette would be pretty surprised about that! Usually I’m pretty open but I never really talked about how much I hated the modeling stuff my mom got me into as a kid. My friends know that I didn’t like it but they don’t know the extent of it. By the time I stopped I felt like a performing monkey or one of those trained dancing bears. I really don’t think anyone should steer their kids into modeling or even let them do it until they’re older and only then if they’re totally begging to do it. It’s just not good to have so much focus on how you look.
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As part of the tour, I'm also hosting a GIVEAWAY for a signed copy of The Lighter Side of Life and Death and winner's choice of a TLS t-shirt or tote bag. This contest is for US/Canada only and will run through Tuesday, November 30th. Just fill out the form below for a chance to win.
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1 comment:
loved the interview! i haven't reading this one yet (have pre-ordered the paperback though). i loved c k kelly martins first two books :)
x
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