Carol Mason is author of The Secrets of Married Women, published by Hodder Paperback last December 13th.  ‘The Secrets of Married Women’ follows the lives of three women in Newcastle; according to the Financial Times ‘the women have resonant characters and recognisable jobs, which give depth to their messy lives…. Much grittier and more substantial than standard chick-lit fare’.

Carol, your book is based in Newcastle where you grew up; are the events in ‘The Secrets of Married Women’ also true to life, or completely fictitious?

No! These events are definitely not true to MY life! Mine is quite boring by comparison. But the great thing about being a writer is you can have all kinds of fantasies that you get to ‘act out’ on paper. You can try out things you might have seen yourself doing if you weren’t so boring. And the life-altering consequences aren’t half as devastating when they’re happening to your fictitious characters and not to you!

Where do you get the ideas for your writing?

Everywhere. From little things people tell me, things I read or see on the TV. Sometimes ideas just come to me and I’ll never know why they do, or where they came from. In the case of The Secrets of Married Women, the idea for Jill and her marriage trouble came about because I got thinking about what would happen if a husband found out he was infertile and it affected his attitude to his esteem and to sex. Then one day a friend and I were chatting about what it would take for us to have an affair – and she said she’d have to have put an expiry date on it to ensure things didn’t get out of control. Somehow I put the two thoughts together and Secrets emerged…

Have you written any other books?

Oh yes! There are three others in my bottom drawer – it took me five years to get published. My other attempts were decent books but just not good enough to cut it in today’s highly competitive market. I’d originally left my job as an advertising writer to write a novel, and I really did think I’d succeed in a year! The thing was though, with each book I wrote I got closer to my goal – with one I landed an agent, with another I ALMOST got published… so I was almost there. I just had to, somehow, bring it all together and write the best book I could write at the time. But it was hard to keep getting back on the horse. I wrote Secrets confident that if it didn’t get published, I’d not have the heart to write any more. So getting the news that the book had made it really makes me know that people must never give up. Everything is possible if you want it so badly that it rules everything else.

How did you do at school – what qualifications did you come away with?

I was always a good student. I had to work hard, but my family were hard workers so I have that gene. But I did really poorly at my A Levels and it dashed my hopes of getting into University. I went to work for the Foreign Office, and then a year later, embarked on my stint in hotels. I didn’t go back to get a degree until I was twenty-two and had moved to Canada (because I went there as a visitor when I was twenty-one and met a wonderful guy who is now my husband).

Why did you move away from Newcastle?

When you’re in your late teens, everywhere seems more exciting than where you live. I wanted to have adventures, and to see a bit of the world. Plus I’d landed a job working for the Foreign Office so I had to move to London. I’ve never lived in the North East since.

When and where did you work as a receptionist?

First off at the Stafford Hotel which was a sister hotel to the Ritz - a boutique five star. Then a few years later I was at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane. Of course between those two jobs I was in Canada for a couple of years and was a receptionist there too, at the Hotel Admiral in Toronto – the a waitress at the Hilton in Toronto, and later on, at the Westin.

Did you enjoy ‘Front of House’ – are you naturally a friendly, patient person, or did you find it stressful?

You know, I loved so many aspects of the job. I loved wearing the uniform which represented a company I was proud to be a part of. I loved being the first person the guests saw, and that sense of taking care of them and ensuring they enjoyed their stay – I even enjoyed resolving complaints and making them happy again, and the odd times they thanked me and you could tell they sincerely meant it. I am naturally chatty and I tend to smile far too much! I also enjoyed harmless little flirting with some of the very handsome businessmen who would come in from overseas! And okay I know this is naughty, but I did go out to dinner with one or two. Only dinner though (what did I tell you earlier about being boring?).  But what I hated was the shift work – finishing at midnight, having to walk home across London, then be back on the desk at seven the next morning. And it was not well paid. Certainly not to live in a place like London (hence getting taken out for a fancy dinner on an expense account once in a while felt like paradise!)

Did you gain any inspiration for your books from your time spent Front of House?

Actually, my last book I wrote before I got published had a husband in it who was front of house manager in a hotel in Newcastle. My brother is an executive chef, so I feel I know hotels inside out and can only bet that I’ll use it in a book soon.

Do you have any lasting memories of your time spent as a receptionist?

I remember there was a lovely guest (who never took me out to dinner), who used to stay at the Stafford when I worked there. He was an American from Seattle. By the strangest coincidence, when I was waitressing at the Westin, some six years later (while I was doing my degree), he sat in my section. We both remembered each other, and couldn’t quite believe it.  What were the chances of that?

I also remember all the great ‘characters’ I worked with. Lots of Italians, Germans…people passing through London, in a way, like I was. I remember getting a free bottle of champagne at Christmas, and highlight of highlights, getting to stay two nights in a suite at the Grosvenor House, as a special staff privilege. I brought my mother down from Sunderland for it. And our room had a balcony that overlooked Hyde Park. It was like being born into money. We went to the theatre to see ‘Buddy’, had afternoon tea at the Dorchester, and could not have had a more spectacular time.

To buy The Secrets of Married Women from Amazon click here.