Mason's maternal grandfather was Errol Knox, Managing Editor of the Argus in Melbourne. Her aunt also was a journalist and her mother is Pam O'Connor, a historian and writer.
Mason travelled around Australia and overseas to gain experience. She learnt to cook while working with shearers in the Outback; learnt to fly while ferrying aircraft across Canada and back with her husband and taught English as a second language to Arab girls in Dubai.
While living in Dubai Mason started working for a children's magazine and assisted an old Iranian woman to write her autobiography. In March 2001 she left Dubai and came to live in Rowan House, Mt. Mellum in Queensland, where she runs a writers' retreat and guesthouse.