Update: January 4, 2004
My newest ebook, "Write, Create & Promote a Best Seller" has been named a finalist in the Non-Fiction Category of the Epic Book Awards (or the EPPIES, as they are more commonly known. Fingers crossed that the judges will be kind to me when the winners are announced in March 2004!
p.s. March 2004 - One of the judges won his own award. Reassuring, huh?

More details about the book can be found by clicking here.

Update: November 2004
We've officially launched our newest ebook "Write Here, Write Now" You can learn more about the book by clicking here


Meet Lee Masterson
April 22, 2001

1. What first inspired you to write or who inspired you?
My first recollection of writing comes from when I was about five or six years old. The school teacher told the class to "write a book". Dutifully I penned a little story about a cat who wanted to be human, drew the appropriate pictures and asked my mom to help bind it into a nice cover. The teacher placed it on display in the school library, and from that point, I was determined to see more of my work on those shelves!

2. At what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I've always known that it's what I wanted. I begged my mother to teach me to write when I was about four, and have been writing little stories that just got longer and more involved as I got older.

3. Do you take notes when reading or watching a good movie?
No. If a particular book or movie inspires me, I will make the effort to watch it - or read it - again and again until I can pinpoint the exact piece (or compilation of pieces) that affected me so much. I like to understand how a writer has used effects, emotions and situations to bring about a prescribed response, and of course, I try to emulate that style where I can in my own work.

4. Has writing always been a passion for you or did you discover it years later?
Um.... passion?? More like an obsession, actually. A life-long obsession that I can't ever see ending...

5. Have you ever been published before? If so, E-published or published in the traditional manner? Explain.
Yes. In several different formats, I guess. I've had articles published in such places as People Magazine, Women's Weekly, New Idea, That's Life magazine, Take 5, Picture Mag, and a few other magazines besides! I've written for the Southern Times Messenger in Adelaide, and the Advertiser Newspaper.

I've had short fiction stories featured in several magazines also, again including That's Life, People Magazine, Women's Weekly, Picture Mag and more besides these, too.

I currently have a science fiction novel awaiting yet another editorial alteration in a publishing house in Sydney, Australia.

I'm only relatively new to the online world, but my non-fiction work can be found online in places like Fiction Factor , Writing-World.com, Author Network, Writers Manual, When You Write, and a few more besides these, too.

6. What are you currently working on?
I am constantly working on new non-fiction material for Fiction Factor, but I'm currently working simultaneously on two novel-length fiction ideas. My second novel, tentatively titled "Oasis" is in the final edit phase, and my third novel "Haven" is being slowly created in whatever spare time I can find.

7. If you write, do you also have a day job? If so what do you do?
Yeah, I have a "day" job. I work in finance, but I still freelance on the side. I write fiction in my spare time, and I am working hard towards making my writing pay me a full-time wage. I'll get there one day.

8. Name three writing tips to pass on to other writers.
1. - READ. Read a LOT! Read work that you love, and read really bad work. Read outside of your preferred genre, and read the junk on the backs of cereal boxes. You will begin to learn what makes a good book great, and you will learn to spot what makes a bad book a lemon at 500 paces.

2. - LEARN!!! Learn everything you can about the usage and effect of the language you write in. Take the time to refresh anything you learned about grammar and spelling. Learn to edit properly. The biggest thing new writers overlook is the need to edit. There is an odd belief getting around that, just because the words are on paper (or on disk), they are somehow permanent. The best works are always heavily edited and re-written, and then edited again. Never be afraid to cut words or scenes, or even entire chapters, that are redundant. Learn what makes you laugh or cry, or react in any way. Learn to put that knowledge to good use.

3. - PERSIST. Never give up on your dreams and goals. Never allow anyone to denigrate those ideals. Never tell yourself you can't do it. Be positive, believe in yourself and your vision of where you want your career to go, and then persist. (I would love to add patience and perseverance here, but they both fall under the "persistence" banner, too, don't they?)

9. Do you let unimportant things get in the way of your writing?
Never. It took me a long time to train family and friends to realize that when I'm writing, I'm working, and if they get in my way, the snarl they receive is more fierce than if they were staring down my German shepherd dog in a bad mood!

10. Have you ever written a query letter?
Of course! I even wrote an article on how I deal with query letters. You can view it in Fiction Factor

11. Has your work ever been accepted through a query letter?
Yes. Most of everything I've sold was originally generated from a query letter to a specifically targeted publication or publisher, as the case may be. There have been instances where editors have approached me directly, but only after they have had some time to get to know me and my work.

12. What hours do you write best?
Whenever I have free time. Because I still work full-time, finding free time to write fiction is becoming more difficult. Generally I work around things and try to compromise with those around me. For example: I will sit in the living room beside my husband in the evenings. He will watch television, while I scribble madly into a notepad. Quality time, huh??

Or I will go to bed early and sit up with a notepad instead of a book. I talk to a mini-recorder in the car on the way to wherever I'm going. I will happily sit beside a tree with a notepad and pen while the guys go water-skiing. I take my laptop on longer trips.

So there is no "best" time, only whatever time I can create for myself around a marriage, a social life and a busy work schedule.

13. How often do you write?
Every day. Without excuse - even if it's only a few paragraphs. When I have a day where I don't feel like it, I ask myself, "How much do you want this". That's usually enough to get me motivated.

14. Are you an avid reader?
Yes. I always have been. I read anything and everything. My particular favorites are science fiction or supernatural horror, but that doesn't stop me from reading fantasy or espionage stories or adventure tales, or whatever else is available.

15. What are you reading now?
I finished Tom Clancy's "Rainbox Six" last night - I'll begin Julian May's "Sagittarius Whorl" tonight, I guess. I have four or five others sitting on the bedstand waiting for some attention, though, including Stephen King's "Dreamcatcher", and Greg Bear's "Darwin's Radio".

16. Are your family or friends supportive of your writing?
They have no choice.

17. Has writing always been a passion for you or did you discover it years later?
I think I answered this one earlier. Yes, it's always been a passion/compulsion/obsession.


Well, that's it - I hope I didn't bore you too much with that insight into me and my writing life, but it was a fun challenge to respond to. Thanks again Brenda.