Lisa Mason

Biography

Lisa Mason is the author of eleven novels, including Summer of Love (Bantam), a San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book and Philip K. Dick Award finalist, and The Golden Nineties (Bantam), a New York Times Notable Book and New York Public Library Recommended Book.

Her most recent speculative novel is CHROME.

Mason published her first story, “Arachne,” in Omni and has since published short fiction in magazines and anthologies worldwide, including Omni, Full Spectrum, Universe, Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, Unique, Transcendental Tales, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Immortal Unicorn, Tales of the Impossible, Desire Burn, Fantastic Alice, The Shimmering Door, Hayakawa Science Fiction Magazine, Unter Die Haut, and others. Her thirty-two stories and novelettes have been translated into Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.

Mason’s story, “Tomorrow’s Child,” first published in Omni Magazine, is in active development at Universal Studios.

Lisa Mason lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband, the renowned artist and jeweler Tom Robinson. Visit her on the web at Lisa Mason’s Official Website, follow her Official Blog, follow her on Twitter @lisaSmason, or e-mail her at LisaSMason@aol.com.

Smashwords Interview

How did you get into writing?
Lisa Mason: My mom bought me lots of great books when I was a kid. I loved reading and knew I wanted to be a writer. Stories and fantasies would pop into my head and I wrote my first book at age five. I’ve got it on my desk right now. It is 1¼ inches by 2 inches, hand-sewn, two chapters, lavishly illustrated by the author, and entitled, “Millie the Caterpillar.”

Millie is despondent at being “a fat, green, hairy, little caterpillar.” Then spring comes, she breaks out of her cocoon, and “to her surprize, she found two beautiful red and black wings on her shoulders.” Happiness! The End. I’ve thought ever since “surprise” should be spelled with a z.

So you could say I got bit by the writing bug early on, but my life has taken some twists and turns and writing hasn’t been a straight shot for me.
For readers not already familiar with your work, tell us what kind of books you write and what readers should expect from your stories?
Lisa Mason: I mostly write character-driven science fiction, urban fantasy, and contemporary or historical fantasy (as opposed to epic fantasy), but I’ve also written more mainstream works, passionate historical romantic suspense, and a screenplay or two.

My latest release, Strange Ladies: 7 Stories, is a collection of science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories published in top magazines and anthologies worldwide. I’m gratified to see the response so far has been awesome since I cherry-picked the stories from among my published short fiction.
Read more of this interview.

Books

Chrome
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 95,120. Language: English. Published: July 3, 2019 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Adventure, Fiction » Science fiction » Utopias & dystopias
On CHROME, an artificial planetoid orbiting Earth, genetically-engineered races of half-beast, half-human have built up a technologically sophisticated society. Luna Lightfoot, half woman, half puma, jewel thief, inadvertently witnesses a murder and uncovers a violent scheme to change the lives of Chromians. From Lisa Mason, author of Summer of Love, a Philip K.Dick Finalist.
One Day in the Life of Alexa
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 44,780. Language: English. Published: August 29, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Utopias & dystopias, Fiction » Literature » Literary
From Philip K. Dick Award Finalist Lisa Mason comes the tale of Alexa, a teenager chosen to test a longevity drug. But becoming a Tester has unforeseen consequences and the drug causes devastating side effects. Over the years of disasters and renewals, Alexa must deal with life, love, and death.
Cyberweb
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 78,090. Language: English. Published: January 29, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Cyberpunk, Fiction » Urban
Cyberweb, the sequel to Arachne, Lisa Mason’s classic cyberpunk, continues the story of Carly Quester, an ambitious young telelinker who must master the archetype haunting her telelink. From the author of Summer of Love and The Gilded Age.
Illyria, My Love
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 10,160. Language: English. Published: September 16, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories, Fiction » Science fiction » Utopias & dystopias
From the extinguished HomeWorld, the Settlers traveled across the stars to NewWorld with hopes of starting over again. In war-torn Illyria, Maya just wants to grow vegetables and live in peace. But she has a dark secret she can never reveal, especially to her beloved Yuri. From the author of Summer of Love.
Arachne
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 79,750. Language: English. Published: August 27, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Cyberpunk, Fiction » Science fiction » Cyberpunk
Lisa Mason’s classic cyberpunk about an ambitious young mediator who must confront a terrifying presence haunting her telelink. From the author of Summer of Love (a Philip K. Dick Award Finalist) and The Gilded Age (a New York Times Notable Book).
Eon's Kiss
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 60,450. Language: English. Published: March 21, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Fantasy, Fiction » Erotica » Paranormal
Erotic paranormal romance with sensuality, death, and environmentalism. Jenna Coltrane falls in love with Eon, the god of the Arbor, a magical world. She must save her love for Eon and the habitat his magic supports from industrialists who will stop at nothing to destroy the Arbor.
My Charlotte: Patty's Story
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 23,370. Language: English. Published: March 5, 2014 . Categories: Essay » Author profile, Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories
My Charlotte: Patty’s Story is a short, sweet memoir about a life in a garden and one writer’s first inspiration. Includes Lisa Mason’s first story, “Arachne,” published by Omni Magazine worldwide, by Hayakawa in Japan, and by Replik in Sweden.
U F uh-O
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 22,810. Language: English. Published: August 18, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » General, Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
Knocked Up meets E.T. A novella by Lisa Mason based on her screenplay for a producer looking for another Men in Black or Galaxy Quest. Two very different couples go to a sperm bank and wind up with babies who are similar, but in the strangest ways. How did that happen? Josh and Nikki, Mike and Gretchen need to find out. Five-star review.
Strange Ladies: 7 Stories
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 59,480. Language: English. Published: June 26, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories, Fiction » Fantasy » Short stories
Science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories by New York Times Notable Book author Lisa Mason published in top magazines and anthologies worldwide. "Fantastic collection!" Reader Review “A must-read collection.” San Francisco Review of Books
Celestial Girl: The Omnibus Edition (A Lily Modjeska Mystery)
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 200,250. Language: English. Published: June 14, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Historical » Victorian, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Historical
Passionate historical romantic suspense. In 1896, Lily Modjeska journeys to San Francisco to unravel a web of murder and corruption involving 1890s immigration policy. Her journey becomes one of the heart when she meets Dr. Jackson Tremaine and they begin a stormy affair. Celestial Girl, The Omnibus Edition (A Lily Modjeska Mystery) includes Books 1 through 4.
Tesla
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 52,190. Language: English. Published: May 10, 2013 . Categories: Screenplays » Biographical
Screenplay about Nikola Tesla, The Inventor of the Twentieth Century. Genius. Visionary. Madman? Tesla pioneered AC electricity and countless other inventions we use today. Yet Tesla was a driven, lonely man who, famous at first, died in obscurity. Why did that happen? TESLA blends historical fact with speculative imagination. “Fabulous screenplay” Lewis Shiner, award-winning author of Glimpses
The Sixty-third Anniversary of Hysteria
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 13,820. Language: English. Published: May 5, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Historical, Fiction » Literature » Literary
Literary fantasy inspired by the Surrealist artists Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington in Mexico 1941. Published by Lisa Mason in the acclaimed anthology, Full Spectrum 5 (Bantam, Ed. Jennifer Hershey).
Hummers
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 12,730. Language: English. Published: May 5, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Contemporary
Literary fantasy published in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, chosen for Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 5th Annual Collection (St. Martin’s Press), and nominated for the Nebula Award. Laurel, dying of cancer, receives the gift of a hummingbird feeder and learns magical lessons from the birds who visit her.
Every Mystery Unexplained
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 23,250. Language: English. Published: May 1, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Historical
Literary historical fantasy published in David Copperfield’s Tales of the Impossible (HarperPrism). It is 1895 and Danny Flint is a young man living in the shadow of his controlling father, a stage magician whose fortunes are fading. Danny will face the death of his mother with the help of a mysterious lady.
Daughter of the Tao
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 19,030. Language: English. Published: May 1, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Historical
Literary historical fantasy published in the acclaimed anthology Peter S. Beagle’s Immortal Unicorn (HarperPrism). A young girl, headed for a dreadful fate, learns about Tao Magic and the Chinese unicorn. But can she save herself?
Tomorrow's Child
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 15,260. Language: English. Published: April 23, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » General, Fiction » Coming of age
Tomorrow’s Child, the 3M medical documentary that became a lead story in Omni Magazine and then sold outright to Universal Studios. A high-powered executive is about to lose his estranged teenage daughter to critical burn wounds and only desperate measures may save her life. The ebook includes Lisa Mason's 30-day blog, The Story Behind The Story That Sold To The Movies.
The Gilded Age, A Time Travel
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 136,210. Language: English. Published: April 22, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Utopias & dystopias, Fiction » Historical » Victorian
The classic time travel to 1895. A New York Times Notable Book. A New York Public Library Recommended Book. Zhu Wong, from 600 years in the future, must travel to 1895 to rescue a Chinese slave girl. She falls in love with the troubled heir to a fading fortune and becomes indentured to the most notorious madam in San Francisco. The choices she makes affect the future and her own life or death
Shaken
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 35,800. Language: English. Published: April 22, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Apocalyptic, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Action & suspense
“The Net” meets “Conspiracy Theory” with Earthquakes. Emma J for Joy Pearce is in downtown San Francisco when the dreaded next Big Quake devastates the city. She saves a man from the rubble, and sparks fly between them. But Jason Gibb is not the charming man he pretends to be. Emma discovers dark secrets behind the disaster and must fight for her life.
Summer of Love, A Time Travel
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 111,900. Language: English. Published: April 21, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » General, Fiction » Romance » Time travel
The classic bestselling time travel to 1967 by Lisa Mason. A Philip K Dick Award Finalist. A San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book. Teenager Susan Bell has run away to San Francisco to find her troubled best friend. She meets Chiron, a mysterious young man. With the help of Ruby Maverick, a half-black half-white hip merchant, Susan and Chi battle demons threatening to destroy all space and time
The Garden of Abracadabra
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 134,400. Language: English. Published: April 20, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Urban, Fiction » Fantasy » Paranormal
At her mother's urgent deathbed plea, Abby Teller enrolls at the Berkeley College of Magical Arts and Crafts to learn Real Magic. She signs on as the superintendent of The Garden of Abracadabra, a magical apartment building on campus. On her first day, she stumbles upon a supernatural murder scene. The lessons of Real Magic may spell the difference between her own life or death.

Lisa Mason's tag cloud

1895    1940s    1967    ac electricity    aging    artificial intelligence    backwards in time    cancer    china    chinese magic    comedy    coming of age    conspiracy    contemporary fantasy    cyberpunk    dark romantic suspense    death and dying    disaster fiction    earthquakes    egyptian book of the dead    egyptian magic    erotic paranormal fantasy    erotic urban fantasy romance    families    fantasy    fantasy about a magician    fantasy story    fathers and daughters    fathers and sons    fin de siecle    futuristic    genetic engineering    genius    ghosts    half animal half human    historical fantasy    historical mystery    historical romance    horror    humor    inspiration    inventions    inventors    literary fantasy    literature    longevity    magic apartment building    magic college    magic school    memoir    mothers    movie deal    new adult    new adult urban fantasy    new york public library recommended book    new york times notable book    nikola tesla    omni magazine    omni story    paranormal fantasy    parents and children    passionate historical romantic suspense    passionate romantic suspense    philip k dick award finalist    planetoid orbiting earth    published short stories    radio    robots    rock n roll    romantic suspense    san francisco    san francisco chronicle recommended book    science fiction    science fiction adventure    science fiction civil rights    science fiction murder mystery    science fiction thriller    scientific experiment    screenplay    seances    short stories    space aliens    spaceships    speculative fiction    spiritualists    stage magic    stage magicians    steamy historical suspense    story collection    surrealism    surrealist art    survival    tao magic    teenagers    telespace    tesla coil    thriller    time travel    time travel romance    turn of the century immigration    ufos    unicorns    universal studios    urban fantasy    urban fantasy detective    urban fantasy romance    war    woman detective    women    women artists    womens fiction    writing    writing inspiration    years best fantasy    young adult