Corner Booth Contests

Certifiably Delicious #1 (Grand Prize)

I now give you the first, and hopefully not last, grand prize winner for the Corner Booth Contest!

We had many wonderful entries and the judges found it difficult to each pick one to send on to the final round, but they did it. In the previous post, we got a look at the three runners-up to the first contest, and now I have the pleasure to give you the grand prize winner.

SallyMason1 (SallyMason1) is our first grand prize winner with her story Living With the Choices We Make which was nominated by thebirdsmelody. Living With the Choices We Make is a well written impactful story about the cycle of abuse sucking you into a tale of one woman's path into discovering the many sides to domestic violence. The characters trap you and take you on a journey that you won't soon forget.

We now have the interview with Sally Mason

1. How did you come up with the idea for your story or poems?

Since college, I have always been an advocate against domestic violence and worked for many years with abused women in the court system and in shelters. I think it is an important social topic that affects women (and also men) across all ages and backgrounds. Unfortunately, it has still not received the recognition it should with the victim often being the one blamed for their stupidity and weakness.

My novel is designed to raise awareness, not only about the cycle of abuse and red flags that could help readers identify abuse but also the reasoning why someone might stay with their abusive partner. Only through awareness and education can we ultimately battle domestic violence. I purposely chose a teenager as the main character since most of the current abuse literature I found on DV often told the story through the eyes of an older protagonist who was married. Yet, teens should be aware that abuse has no age threshold and can surface even in adolescent relationships.

2. Where do you draw your inspiration from while you write?

That all depends on the type of story I write and the mood I am in. For me, writing is an outlet and when I get lost in genres like fantasy or dystopian, I view it more as an escape than anything. It is great to just draw out magical worlds and stories of knights and astronauts and play with ideas zooming around in my head.

Yet, for stories like 'Living With The Choices We Make', my inspiration unfortunately often relates to real life experiences. I am a domestic abuse survivor myself and a glimpse of my own story has been captured in the book. I believe that inspiration has to come from within you - authors have to pour a little of their own heart, dreams and tears into their work to really connect to the reader and drive their message across.

3. Where do you do the majority of your writing?

During the day, I work for a large multinational which limits my ability to write to my spare time and weekends. My computer is on pretty much 24/7 and I peck away whenever I can, often really early in the morning before work or at night when my kids are in bed. I also travel a lot and have discovered that the airplane is a great place to put my thoughts on paper.

For years, I have been carrying a small notebook around in my purse and when I have an idea, I quickly write it down so I won't lose it. It is also a good way of capturing name ideas. Last summer, we went to the Giant's Causeway up in Northern Ireland and the guy who sold us the tickets had a fascinating name which I would never have remembered if I hadn't wrote it down straight away. A writer's mind is in constant motion and you never know when an idea might strike, so better be prepared.

4. Are you a pantser or a planner?

I am little bit of both. When I start out a new project, I just write the first few chapters and allow my impulses to lead the way, but when I get around chapter 4, the whole plot has pretty much been mapped out in my mind. At that time, I always write the very last chapter since I can't plot a story if I don't know where I ultimately want to end up. After that, I make an outline with major milestones to stay focused.