Author
Interview: Chris Mason
Book
Title and Subtitle: Video Store in a Box: A Guide to Free
Television and Movies on the Internet
Genre: Nonfiction, Film and TV
Tell us a bit about
yourself.
My name is Chris Mason and for the
last 20 years I have been a house husband raising three kids with special
needs. During this time I received my Bachelors in Psychology and a Master’s in
Education. 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
What is one of your
favorite positive sayings or quotes?
"Everything is true from a certain
point of view".
Alec Guinness
Who or What inspired
you to start writing this book?
Trying to get a substitute
for cable was my inspiration for Video Store in a Box.
What three words would you use to describe this book?
Free
TV Guide
Who is your target group for this book?
Anyway
trying to find an alternative to cable.
Tell us about this book.
Is
your cable bill to high? Were you one of the thousands affected by the analog
digital crossover, and now you’re not getting any TV at all? Tired of the video
store being out of the movie you want to see? Do you just want to save some of
your hard earned cash in these trying economic times. If you answered yes to
any of these questions then Video Store in a Box: The Guide to Free Television
and Movies on the Internet is for you. This book will show you how to watch
thousands of current and older television shows and movies for free online.
Well known websites like Hulu, Fancast and Crackle are featured in the book as
well as lesser known websites that feature shows including: Steven King's The
N, IQ 145 and Heathens.
The
book has step by step directions, with screenshots to get you up and watching
your favorite TV shows and movies in minutes. The author's contact information
is also included if you have any questions feel free to email.
Video
Store in a Box Features:
What
tools you will need to watch TV and movies on the internet and where to
download them for free.
What
types of TV and movies are available online?
How
to easily locate when a TV show or movie will next be shown on broadcast TV as
well as online.
The
types of TV shows and movies covered include:
Current
Shows (Revolution, Bones,)
Past
shows (Bonanza, Cheers)
Cartoons
(Liberty’s Kids, The Amazing Spiderman)
Fan
made Series ( Star Trek: Phase Two, Dark Shadows)
Older
Movies (Ghostbusters, Ace Ventura)
Fan
made Films (Quantum Leap: A Leap to Di for)
Documentaries
(Supersize Me, Sicko)
Original
Web Only Series ( H+, Sorority Forever)
So
what are you going to watch tonight?
What do you hope people will gain from reading this book?
I
hope readers will be introduced to all the unique programming available on the
Internet.
Is your book in Print, ebook or both?
Video
Store in a Box is available as an E-Book at all major retailers.
What advice would you give to other Writers?
I
guess my main advice is be passionate about what you write. Have faith in
yourself. Don't be afraid to be different and as Ed Wood once said “Keep
writing, If your writing is bad it will get better. If it is good it will
become great." Lastly, be patient writing is a slow process and remember
to enjoy the journey.
Tell us the link where potential readers can buy this book.
My
book is available at:
Smashwords:https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/391633
Is there anything else you would like to share about this book?
I
am working on two more titles in the series due out Christmas of this year…
Production
Studio in a Box: The Guide to make DVD, CD Websites and other Media at Low or
No Cost and Entrepreneur in a Box: The Guide to the best Free Websites to Make
Money
Like
me as an author at Smashwords to find out more about me and my books.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/digitalattic
While you are there pick up "Record Store
in a Box," it’s Free at all retailers but Amazon.
I
am always looking for free resources on the internet. If a reader of this
article has a resource they think is good email me. I will give contributor
credit in my next edition. I have found many people have question about the
topic of free resources. If any reader has any question on this topic feel free
to email me@ digitalattic95@gmail.com.
Thank you so much for taking the
time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your world.
Plan2Win
