An Interview With Edward Sylvan
The book was just released, so as of now, it is difficult to judge its impact. However, my hope is that it will have a significant impact on how we look at our justice system at the national level, and maybe implement some changes.
As part of my series about “authors who are making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Elliot Mason who grew up in Southern California. He graduated from USC in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in history and went on to complete his master’s degree at Azusa Pacific University. Featured on radio interviews, podcasts and television shows, Mason’s work struck a chord with the public as it touched upon many of today’s hot button topics, making him one of the most in-demand new authors.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
I was born and raised in Southern California. I am really a child of the ’80s, having many of my formative years encompassing that time period. I grew up in what can probably be best described as a typical middle-class neighborhood. In school, my favorite subject had always been history and I majored in that subject in college. My fascination with history stemmed from my desire to try and understand how we arrived at where we were currently. My father also had a strong interest in history, and we discussed it often.
In college, I also found myself gravitating towards writing and started to consume literature at a greater rate. I was heavily involved in various writing projects. After I graduated, I began working in event management and some of my responsibilities included writing promotional materials. I also began writing small articles for various trade magazines.
Later, I expanded my writing to include blogs, online magazines, and websites. My family for years had tried to persuade me to take on the task of writing a book. However, I was hesitant to do so and did not make an attempt until 2012. That effort resulted in my first book, “The Arlington Orders” which was released at the end of 2019.
When you were younger, was there a book that you read that inspired you to take action or changed your life? Can you share a story about that?
I distinctly remember two books that had a great impact on me when I was in high school. One was a classic, “Huckleberry Finn” and the other was a political non-fiction work, “All the President’s Men”.
I remember how the pace of Mark Twain’s writing and how he brilliantly embedded his political philosophy, social awareness, humor, and realism into his characters that left such an indelible mark on me. But most of all, I loved the humanity that he imbued into his characters, all their dignity, good qualities as well as their flaws.
“All the President’s Men” knocked me on my ass with its unrelenting detail and intricacy. Even though it was non-fiction, that book was what drove me to want to write suspense thrillers and what encourages me now to make create my works, which are mainly suspense thriller, to be research ladened. It also influenced me to take on difficult topics.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?
I would have to say the funniest mistake I made, although it was not very funny at the time, occurred when I was writing The Arlington Orders. When I began writing the book, I knew exactly how I wanted it to end. I had spent years researching and had what I thought was a perfect way to arrive at its big conclusion. However, just as I was nearing its completion, I realized I had made a mistake in my research and that my ending would not make historical sense.
When you write a fictional suspense thriller that has its basis in real historical events, it is vital that you are accurate in your assessments and depictions of that time period. For instance, you wouldn’t describe George Washington using a walkie-talkie during the American Revolution as that technology did not exist during that time. And although my mistake was not as glaring as that example, it did render the culmination of the story implausible.
I was distraught and literally stopped writing for a month because I thought there was no way to fix this problem. I even contemplated abandoning the entire project altogether. Eventually, I went back to my research and found what turned out to be a better way to end the story. Yet I remember sitting up nights thinking what a fool I was for even believing I could be an author.
The lesson I learned was to never give up on a project. No matter the problems or difficulties you run into, even if they seem insurmountable, there are always ways to get past mistakes. Keep writing. Put every idea in your drafts, even if you think that it is absolute drivel. There is no mistake during the writing process that cannot be overcome. You can always adjust a sentence, paragraph, chapter, or even restructure major parts of a story. Oftentimes, you will find that during that process, you will come up with a better piece of work than your original idea.
Can you describe how you aim to make a significant social impact with your book?
My strategy is always to make sure that the reader never gets comfortable, either with the subject matter or the questions that arise from bringing up that subject matter. My stories rarely finish in a nice, neat bow and that is done purposefully. The subjects that I take on are too complex and controversial for them to conclude with only simple answers or without the reader thinking that maybe my characters could handle a situation in a different way.
For instance, the Legal Killer takes on our federal justice system. My goal is to get people to start asking themselves how we allowed this entity to be one of the only parts of our government to be left unchecked by any other entity. If I can make people see the unjustified power that the Department of Justice holds, and how there are systemic problems not only in their philosophy but by the rules or lack thereof in which they operate, then I have accomplished my goal.
I realize that even though there are some very fine academic works about the Department of Justice and the extremely troublesome way it functions, most people do not read those type of books. They want to be entertained. It is my hope that through my story, they can learn about this hidden and terrifying part of our government while being entertained at the same time.
Can you share with us the most interesting story that you shared in your book?
I was interviewing someone with information concerning the relationship between the DOJ and the private prison industry. When I entered that interview, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of what the private prison industry was and how it operated. I remember leaving that meeting almost in a haze, as I realized I knew nothing about the private prison industry and what it entailed. I left completely disillusioned.
I felt like a fool for having accepted the general narratives that had come out in government reports and the media. I never understood the breadth of the industry and how much influence it has. I wrote that feeling of disillusionment and the emotions I was experiencing into the story. It completely changed how I approached the book.
What was the “aha moment” or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?
I read a well-publicized story of how a government official was charged with a federal crime. It turns out he was completely innocent, and the US Attorney’s office knew he was innocent. The US Attorney that handled the case had knowingly withheld evidence that would have proven his innocence.
Although the gentleman was eventually found innocent, it had completely ruined his and his family’s lives. The US Attorney, even though he had committed what would have been considered a federal crime if it had been committed by anyone else, received only a one-month suspension, that was later reduced to two weeks by the US Attorney’s office.
I thought, how was this possible? How can someone just ruin someone’s life with essentially zero consequences? So, I began to research it further. It was that story that led me on a pathway of discovery about this little-discussed part of our justice system.
Without sharing specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
The book was just released, so as of now, it is difficult to judge its impact. However, my hope is that it will have a significant impact on how we look at our justice system at the national level, and maybe implement some changes.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Yes, society needs to stop accepting the federal government’s narrative on how our federal justice system operates. They need to start asking basic questions about the system and how when most government programs don’t even have a 50% success rate, that this part of our system has a nearly 100% success rate when it comes to convictions.
Politicians need to stop pandering to large corporations and end a system that has made justice and incarceration in our country nothing more than a “for profit” enterprise. Both society and politicians have to realize there is a big difference between being tough on crime and stupid on it.
Finally, there needs to be some mechanism put in place that does not answer to the DOJ or the private sector that holds them accountable. Right now, they basically operate with no boundaries.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership to me is simply defined as being willing to stand up for what you know to be true even if it goes against the opinions of the people, you normally side with or what may be the popular opinions of the day.
I believe we have a lot of social media cowards out there who think they are providing a valuable contribution to the cause by trying to shame someone for their opinion because it does not go along with the trending narrative of the day, or by trying to post a video of someone caught in a bad moment without providing any context or background.
Standing up for what you believe in means you must do more than just sit on your ass and type frantically on your cell phone when you object to another’s opinion or actions.
I am a big admirer of people like Bill Maher. I don’t always agree with what he says, but I admire the fact that not only does he stands-up to those he normally opposes but is also willing to battle those who he usually sides with when he disagrees with them.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a brief story or quick example for each.
- That there is no right or wrong way to write a book. I believed that there was a formal way with strict guidelines to construct a story, or that there was a trained process that you had to initiate to be successful. That was completely untrue.
- Write the stories that you would be interested in reading. Do not try and write for what you think the audience wants.
- Don’t worry about writing things that you believe won’t work. Even when you think you are writing poorly, and even if you are writing a poorly on a given day, that there is something to be gained from that material. Even when things don’t seem to be working, there are still advantages to going through the process.
- Don’t be afraid to write your own personality faults or flaws into your characters, especially into the protagonist. And don’t be afraid to write some of your good qualities into the antagonist.
- Not every part of your story has to have a happy ending.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite quote is, “What you feel is real but not necessarily true.” I think a lot of us believe things based on our emotional reaction to them, but those reactions, often, are based on an inaccurate assessment of a situation or have zero facts to back up our thoughts to justify our reaction.
I often limited myself on trying new ideas because I falsely perceived that someone had a negative reaction to them, and then applied that negative reaction to my belief that everyone would perceive my ideas that way if I went forward with them. This limited me in trying new things. I believe this flawed thinking kept me from becoming an author for a long period of time.
Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?
This may seem strange, but when people ask me who influences me the most as a writer, my answer is comedians. Comedians are just writers who perform their work, and I have always admired their guts of being able to perform that work with nothing but a microphone. To me, it is the purest performance art there is, and the amount of ice water you need to have running through your veins to not be afraid to fail when you know you eventually will be immense.
So that being said, the person I would love to have breakfast or lunch with currently would be comedian Bill Burr. I respect Burr because he is willing to try things that others do not have the nerve to try and does not give into people who criticize him. I would greatly enjoy getting his perspective on trying new material and what his internal process is when he deals with controversy.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
People can follow me and my work on my website and they can also sign up for my newsletter at elliotmasonbooks.com.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Authors: Why & How Author Elliot Mason Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.