Q&A

In-Depth Profile with WIW Treasurer, Stillie Mason

By Robert Hill, WIW Member

I had the pleasure of speaking with WIW Treasurer, Stillie Mason, on August 17 for an in-depth profile. Mason, born in Louisville, Ky, is a graduate of Atherton High School class of ’68. Atherton High turned out some very interesting authors, which includes Alanna Nash, author of The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley; Sue Grafton, famous for her alphabet mystery series; and Hunter S. Thompson, author of Hells Angels: a Strange and Terrible Saga.

Atherton High can add one more name to their list of writers, Stillie Mason. “I feel like I have a very good background in English and a love for the arts from Atherton High School,” said Mason. “That’s where it started. I was on the speech team, as was Alanna Nash. She was in prose and I was in humorous interpretation. I was editor of my high school year book. I decided to go to college at Western Kentucky University where I joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity; I was president of the fraternity and held several offices. Because of my love for acting and writing, I wrote and acted in a 15-minute sketch for a competition on campus that won 1st place for 3 years.”

Q: What was your degree in? 

I majored in Communication and minored in Theater. My first job out of college was teaching high school for a year and a half in Dawson Springs, Ky, where I taught English and Journalism and started a school newspaper called the Liberation.

After teaching high school, in 1975, I began a 17-year career in the energy business at Island Creek Corp., where I was in human resources for 7 years, sales and marketing for 5 years, and in export on the metallurgical side of the business for 5 years. After that, I was promoted to director of human resources in Lexington, Ky, where I handled labor arbitration and wrote arbitration briefs for the United Mine Workers of America.

Q: What made you decide to move to Virginia?

In 2000, I met my wife, Dordy, who is a native of McLean, Va. We were married on January 12, 2001, and one of us had to move, so I chose to move. Dordy is an antiques show promoter, and we both love antiques. I am an auctioneer, licensed in Kentucky and Virginia, which I have been doing for 20 years. Dordy had suggested that I do auctioneering. She also said to me, “Why don’t you do what you love to do,” and that is write. The seed was planted, and I allowed myself the time to write with the goal to write full time.

Q: What approach do you take toward your writing?

I take the same approach as I do with soccer. I didn’t know anything about soccer before I started coaching so I bought half a dozen books to learn the game. I had to immerse myself in the game, so I would tell my players, “If you want to learn the game of soccer, you have to be around it. You can’t just come to practice, you have to be around the people that play and know it.” Two years before I left the school, the soccer team was district runner ups. The same is true with writing, which is why I joined WIW. I wanted to be around writers. I wanted to learn what other writers have learned. That would not necessarily help my writing, but it would make me richer in learning and, as they say, help me find my voice for writing.

Q: Can you define what perseverance means to you?

You have to be passionate. I’ve heard someone say: you have to conceive, believe and achieve. If I had to do it all over again, I think that I would be a motivational speaker.

Q: Is it too late?

It depends on one’s focus. My focus and passion is for writing, helping people and helping other writers. The greatest thing about teaching is when you’re standing up in front of a class and you see in a person’s eyes and their face lights up – they get it. Dr. Phil says, “You either get it, or you don’t get it.”  And that’s the joy I get from teaching and learning, which increases the passion. That “ah ha!” moment. Determination, perseverance is all about not giving up, never give up. I have been very blessed to be around people who are successful and focused.

Q: Why did you choose to write fiction?

Imagination to me is the key to life. People think that because I was in the antique business, I’ll write about antiques or I’ll write about coal because I was in the coal business, and the list goes on and on. To me, that is boring, and that is not what interests me. I have a very vivid imagination that never ends. It is going all the time. With fiction, you can take something from nothing and create it to have a positive impact. Someone who is bored, who doesn’t want to be bored, or someone may need some laughter or want to take an adventure. That is why I chose fiction. Joyce Carol Oates once said, “The novel is the affliction for which only the novel is the cure.” 

 Q: What are your final words?

Since I have been in Virginia for the last 7 years, I have had the chance to meet some wonderful people. The opportunity to meet more people is always great.

Life and experience shapes us all, but when you see it working outside of your life and how it shapes people you meet, even if it is for the first time, it gives you a feeling of the “ah ha!” moment. My experiences from when I started writing earlier in my life, during college, grant writing, and now working on my novel have brought me full circle back to where I started, which is a passion to write. Life is like a pinball game, you bounce around.