Chris Mason is an extraordinary person. For the last 20 years Chris has been a house husband raising three kids with special needs. During this time he received his Bachelors in Psychology and a Master’s in Education. Chris is also the author of ‘In the Box’ book series* which has a very interesting story behind.
- So, how did you decide to pursue a writing career?
“Due to the fact that all my children went to an online charter school, I had to find ways to save money and found many free resources through the internet. In fact I still think it is funny when I first asked my daughter’s teachers for resources that could help her when she first entered the world of online schooling, I only received 3 websites. I thought 3 websites from 6 teachers was a sad state of affairs, so ‘Tutor in a Box’ was born. That was years ago now. My eldest daughter was in sixth grade then, now she is a sophomore in college.
My other books were born out of two things that happened at the same time. First, my family had to give up cable to save money but my kids still wanted to see the then popular That’s so Raven. Second, my mother came up with Mason Day to teach my kids that they did not need a lot of money to give someone a nice gift. Mason Day was when a person was assigned a family member and had to make them something, spending only 20 dollars. My thought was “Oh my God”. I had no artistic skills like my daughters’ and could not build things like my son, but I did have impressive research skills. So the ‘In the Box’ series of books was born. All are reference guides to the best free stuff in a particular area. The series currently includes:
Tutor in a Box – A guide to free educational resources.*
Book Store in a Box – A guide to free print and audio books.*
Arcade in a Box – A guide to free video games.*
Video store in a Box – A guide to free Television and Movies.*
Record Store – A guide to free music*
Production Studio in a Box: The Guide to make DVD, CD Websites and other Media at Low or No Cost*
App Store in a Box: A Guide to the Best Free Applications for Mobile Devices on the Internet*
Entrepreneur in a Box: A Guide to the best Free Websites to Make Money*
I can be contacted at digitalattic95@gmail.com.”
- Was getting published hard?
“Not really. I published through Smashwords. The only hard part was finding someone to help me with the formatting guidelines of Smashwords.”
- What genre are your books?
“My In the Box set of books are nonfiction reference guides.”
- Which of your books is your most favorite?
“My favorite book so far is Tutor in a Box.”
- Do you have a specific writing routine?
“I live on a big rig that goes cross country so my writing routine does not exist at the moment.”
- What are your current projects?
“I am taking a break at this time.”
- What’s next for you?
“My next book will be a trucker survival guide similar to ‘What to Expect When Expecting’ but for new truckers.”
* BUY LINKS
Video Store in a Box Book Links
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/video-store-in-box-guide-to/id790348711?mt=11
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/video-store-in-a-box-chris-mason/1117953122?ean=2940045544009
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/391633
Arcade in a Box Book Links
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/arcade-in-box-guide-to-free/id791834888?mt=11
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/arcade-in-a-box-chris-mason/1120033861?ean=2940046070774
Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/arcade-in-a-box-a-guide-to-free-video-games-on-the-internet
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/391749
Book Store in Box Book Links
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/book-store-in-box-guide-to/id799322759?mt=11
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book-store-in-a-box-chris-mason/1118585487?ean=2940045580786
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/398027
App in a Box Book Links
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/app-store-in-box-guide-to/id1039080339?mt=11
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/app-store-in-a-box-chris-mason/1122643539?ean=2940152345506
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/576180
Production Studio a Box Book Link
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/production-studio-in-box-guide/id1053841251?mt=11
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/production-studio-in-a-box-chris-mason/1122861597?ean=2940152428766
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/587580
Entrepreneur in a Box Book Links
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/entrepreneur-in-box-guide/id1039085739?mt=11
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/entrepreneur-in-a-box-a-guide-to-the-best-ways-to-make-money-on-the-internet-chris-mason/1122643542?ean=2940152345537
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/576188