Writing ‘Mason’s Run’

by Mellanie Rourke

Writing “Mason’s Run” was the culmination of a life-long desire to publish a novel.  I just had no idea the novel I would publish would end up being a M/M romance!

I grew up in a religious home.  We attended church every week. My sister and I went to a private Christian school, and I would eventually attend a Christian college.   

My parents had a huge influence on me and my writing, but for very different reasons.  My Dad loved science fiction. Star Trek was his jam, and every Saturday at 7 p.m. the whole family would be found sitting around the television eating cheesy popcorn and trying to get the rabbit ears to work so we could watch that week’s episode. So it makes sense that I got my love of science fiction and fantasy from him.

My Mom, on the other hand, avoided church whenever she could. She smoked cigarettes, wore bright red lipstick, and dared to have male friends in addition (and separate from) my father. I love my Dad, don’t get me wrong, but my Mom and I understood each other in a way Dad and I never did. Mom was a rebel, a bad girl, a woman who ended up raising three pretty cool kids. I think she understood the rebel that lived in her “good little girl” better than I did!

Growing up, I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy. I visited the library at least weekly, and it wasn’t unusual for me to go home with ten to fifteen books at a time. As I grew older, I read more and more dark fantasy, eventually falling into the paranormal romance sections. (Thank you, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Laurell K. Hamilton!)

Mom’s influence led me to question authority, to think outside the box, to refuse to accept that normal was anything but a setting on the dryer. She would silently support me, even if publicly she would tell me I was wrong. She’d slip me an extra twenty dollars when I’d head back to school so I could take my rebellious friends out to dinner or to buy extra books from Waldens (there was no Kindle Unlimited then!).

The paranormal romances I purchase introduced me to the forbidden idea that men could love each other, and that M/M sex could be damn hot!  My Mom passed before I began writing M/M romance, but I have this feeling she would have been my biggest cheerleader. 

My father and I have reached a détente over the years.  We have agreed to disagree on a lot of things in life, including religion.  Right after I graduated from college, I decided to take the summer off from God, and see how it felt.  I’ve never gone back. 

My mother passed away several years ago from pancreatic cancer. From the time she was diagnosed, it spread quickly to her bladder and brain, and the woman I had loved so fiercely was gone within a matter of weeks.

My Dad has since remarried, to a wonderful woman named Joy who, literally, brought joy and romance back into his life. Dad is proud of me for having published my book, but he had to make a point to me that he didn’t approve of its content.  Joy, on the other hand, doesn’t wear bright red lipstick and she doesn’t smoke, but she will drink the occasional drink and read my steamy stories. I guess that’s good enough for me.  

About Mason’s Run

Mason:

I’ve escaped a past that would have destroyed most men: used, abused and sold for sex from a young age by those who should have protected me, an unexpected moment of compassion from a stranger gives me a chance at a new life.

Though I’ve started over, my scars run deep; I’m an LGBTQ fantasy graphic novel writer and artist with a huge following, but I’m terrified of the world. When I discover that the stranger who saved me from a life of abuse is the same man who has finally awakened my body to desire, I realize the truth: Can I ever really be free if I’m still afraid of my past and the people who shattered me?

Lee:

Serving as a medic in the Middle East, I felt the life of my fiancée slip away under my hands and was powerless to stop it. Discharged with physical and emotional wounds I can’t heal, I go home to my crazy, geeky family and try to learn to live with the damage.

Pain and grief lead me to some acts I’m not proud of, including paying strangers for sex. I’m determined to keep it strictly business, no emotions involved, but when I discover that Mason Malone isn’t a high-end escort, but a battered young man forced into a life of pain and degradation, I’m frozen in indecision. Then the man with the raven curls and blue-gold eyes whispers “”Please…”” and the barriers I built around my heart shatter.

Years later, fate brings us back together. He has a new name and career, but I could never forget those eyes. Mason, unfortunately, doesn’t recognize me. Every day I find myself more and more drawn to him, but I’m terrified of what will happen when our secrets are discovered.

As both of our pasts threaten our future, can we find a path to redemption? Can love and forgiveness overcome soul-shattering pain? Or will the discovery of our shared past create a chasm too wide to bridge?

Warning:  PTSD, major anxiety issues, and sexual abuse, including rape, the aftermath of child molestation, and human trafficking. 

Available at: Amazon

An Excerpt from Mason’s Run

I couldn’t have found a better person to help get Mason out of his own head. He saw her freeze outside the door to the alcove where his signing table was located. As soon as Mason saw Jeri, he smiled. Jeri was very slim, just starting that gangly phase of adolescence that let you begin to glimpse the person they would become in five or ten years. 

“Hi!” Mason said, sending a small, shy wave her way. 

“…Hey,” she squeaked, her voice breaking, and I could see her hand was shaking where she held a dog-eared copy of Mason’s book.

“I’m Mason,” he said softly.

“Of course, you’re Mason. I mean, you look just like him.” She lifted the graphic novel in her hand, which held a small photo of Mason on the back of it. “Not that you have to look like this, of course, because, who knows how real things are with Photoshop and all, but I did see some pictures in the Comics Guide a few months ago, but I didn’t know when the photos were taken and you could have looked completely different by now. I mean…” she continued, barely pausing for breath. “I change my hair color like, all the time, so why couldn’t you? And I’m really babbling, aren’t I?” She stopped suddenly and clamped her lips together tightly. “I do this. I babble. When I’m nervous. I’m Jeri.”

“Well, you want to know a secret, Jeri?” Mason aske-d, leaning forward on the table. Her eyes were wide, and she nodded jerkily.

“I’m nervous, too.” Her eyes got even wider at the disclosure. “Terrified, actually. I’m not really good around groups of people, so the thought of meeting everyone out there…” Mason gestured at the line of people outside the store. “…makes me kinda sick to my stomach.”

“But…” she looked him up and down, puzzlement in her expression. “But why? They… we… are all here because we like you. Like your work, I mean” she said, her hand jerkily waving at the stacks of books and artwork.

“Good question. I wish I knew the answer to it. I think maybe it’s because I’m afraid I’ll never live up to their idea of me. And the thought of meeting this many people scares me, but…” He glanced over at me as I glared at a couple of agitated and excited teens waiting in line, quelling their exuberant spirits with a look. “…a smart man once told me to take it one step at a time. One person at a time. I figure the only way I’m going to get over being scared of people, is to meet more of them,” Mason replied. “Because once you get to know most people, it’s hard to be scared of them. Take Lee over there…”

He nodded toward me, and Jeri’s eyes flitted over for a moment, her posture relaxing and her lips not quite so tight anymore. We had spent a lot of time working on the store together.

“I was scared to death of him a day ago, but today, I know he’s a pretty nice guy who is obsessed with tiny robots.”

Mason grinned at me and Jeri smiled. She had seen my Transformer collection when I’d moved it from my parents’ house to mine. “Kind of hard to be afraid of a guy who likes tiny robots,” she agreed.

About Mellanie Rourke

Mellanie Rourke lives in Akron, Ohio with her loving (and long-suffering) husband, two snarky children, and furry menagerie.

She has been writing since she was a child but never had the impulse to publish until she was introduced to the world of M/M Romance. Now her husband has to put up with a variety of new ways to describe a penis, and her children aren’t allowed to tell their teachers what she writes.

For more information on Mellanie’s upcoming work, join her Facebook group “Misfits & Malcontents”.

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