Caroline Mason holds up a copy of her book, Esme and Oscar, which is available on Amazon and at Samizdat Bookstore and Teahouse. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

Caroline Mason (Cas) is always writing stories, but the majority of the time, they don’t go anywhere; a combination of forces led her to publish a novel, “Esme and Oscar”. These forces included meeting a dog groomer, seeing a friendly corgi dog and hearing a tragic story about a cat being eaten by a coyote.

Living in Los Alamos also influenced her decision to incorporate some science elements into the story.

What resulted is a charming story about finding a family, a sweet dog named Oscar and a rebellious cat named Esme. There is also a bit of a mystery throughout the story. “Esme and Oscar” was published in January this year.

Writing the story wasn’t something Mason did by herself. She credited her husband for helping her with many computer issues in order to finish the story, as well as Page Publishing, which illustrated the book, and two of her friends who edited her writing.

“It was those two friends that said, ‘You’ve got to keep up with this,’” Mason said.

Writing the book was a lengthy process; Mason said it took her 18 months.

“Getting a story published, even self-publishing,” takes a lot of work, Caroline said

For instance, “You have to have lots of patience and be very good with computers.”

The end result was worth it; however, “finishing it was such a huge relief,” Mason said.

She added her favorite part of the story is the friendship between the dog and the cat.

“Esme and Oscar” is available for purchase on Amazon as well as at Samizdat Bookstore and Teahouse in Los Alamos, and directly from the author either by phone at 505.672.1938 or by email casmason01@msn.com.