Heather Weidner's Blog

Writerly, Bookish, and Fun Resources

I subscribe to a lot of newsletters and podcasts, and I want to share some interesting ones with you. These are great for research and ideas.

Newsletters - I love keeping up with authors and what they’re writing, and bookish events. Here are a few that are worth checking out:

Nicolette Lemmon’s Simply Stated Newsletter and Blog

Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookstore’s Newsletter

Cozy Crime Reads

The Carousel of Chaos - This site documents the history of long-lost and older carnivals and amusement parks. It’s great for research and a nice trip down memory lane.

Podcasts

Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookstore’s Podcast

Sisters in Crime Podcast

Pick Your Poison

Forty-eight Hours

2020

Sisters-in-Law

You Don’t Know Peanuts - The Untold Stories

What are your favorite newsletters and podcasts?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! And many thanks to those who work during the holidays to keep us safe and the essential workers who keep things running smoothy!

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with J. Kent Holloway

I’d like to welcome the amazing J. Kent Holloway to the blog this Thanksgiving to celebrate his new Christmas mystery.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Prioritizing the zillion story ideas that spring to my mind unbidden at any given moment so that I can actually finish a book.

Easiest thing about being a writer: World building and plotting ideas.

Words that describe you: Vivaciously infectious!

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Dwarf-like (but in a fantasy sense…in high school, my nerdy Fellowship of the Ring nickname among my peers was Gimli!).

Something you’re really good at: Dreaming big. There’s nothing I feel like I can’t accomplish if I put my mind to it.
Something you’re really bad at: Holding a grudge. Sometimes I’d like to just be angry at someone for a few minutes.

Favorite music or song: Big Band music of the 1940s…oh, and Oingo Boingo!

Music that drives you crazy: Definitely rap. Or maybe Taylor Swift. It’s a tie.

The last thing you ordered online: Meta Quest 3S VR with Batman: Arkham Shadows.

The last thing you regret buying: A new shirt that didn’t fit right (see the Dwarf-like comment above).

Things you always put in your books: Lots and lots of folklore (usually folklore involving various mythologies of Death (Grim Reaper, Psychopomps, etc).
Things you never put in your books: Romance or sex. Also never use cuss words.

Things to say to an author: I love your stories…they’re so creative and fun!
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I wrote a book with AI…will you read it and give me a blurb?

Favorite places you’ve been: St. Petersburg, Russia
Places you never want to go to again: New York City

Favorite books (or genre): Mysteries with supernatural or fantasy elements.
Books you wouldn’t buy: Romance or erotica.

The funniest thing to happen to you: Performing an autopsy, I got blood all over my clothes and had no spares. After taking a shower at the morgue, I had to put on a Tyvek (white paper) suit…which was basically see through because I didn’t have a towel after my shower. Then I had to scramble into the parking lot, covering my nethers with my hands (front and back) as I ran to my car to drive home and get new clothes!

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: Um, see above!

My favorite book as a child: Pippi Longstocking (the whole series)!

A book I’ve read more than once: The Lord of the Rings (read it at least twelve times).

About J. Kent:

Bestselling Christian author Kent Holloway isn't just a storyteller. He isn't just a forensic death investigator. He's also a Bible Teacher, preacher, speaker, and best of all...Santa Claus (this year, he saw over 500 kids alone at his Santa engagements!)!

For the last 30 years, Kent Holloway has lived on death. Literally. As a forensic death investigator. he's seen it all. Experienced the worst that life has to give. Yet he never let it dim his sense of wonder or humor or, most importantly, his Faith in Jesus Christ! 

Now, he brings all this experience, along with a zeal for living an abundant life to the written page with fun, adventurous mysteries, middle grade fantasy, and an upcoming library of exciting and inspirational nonfiction similar to his book I Died Swallowing a Goldfish and Other Life Lessons from the Morgue!

Kent Holloway also has a Master’s degree in Theology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (yes, he's very Southern Baptist). He has served as singles minister, evangelism pastor, and director of discipleship and education. He is now focusing on three very important ministries to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KentHollowayAuthorPage

 

#WriterWednesday Author Interview with Patrick Sangimino

I’d like to welcome Patrick Sangimino to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: Most of all, I need to be ready to write. It’s a mental state. Once there, music is a requirement, with no lyrics. Jazz or classical. With words, I find myself singing, which hinders my ability to get lost in the story I’m trying to tell.

Things that distract you from writing: Conversation. Human interaction. I love good conversations. Unfortunately, they can’t happen when I am in a writing zone. Years of working in a newsroom – surrounded by others – trained me. I learned to put on headphones when it was time to write.

Favorite snacks: Without question: Nothing fancy. Poporn or chips and salsa. Maybe some fruit.

Things that make you want to gag: tofu, definitely tofu.

Something you’re really good at: I’ve been told I am a great storyteller. I’ve made a living telling stories in the written form but have entertained loved ones with my ability to tell a story that will cause laughter.

Something you’re really bad at: Playing any kind of musical instrument, guitar especially. I have a profound respect for musicians and their ability to make magic. Much of that respect comes from my own lifetime of musical failures that have become some of the stories in my repertoire.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: Originally, I wanted to be a lawyer, but that ambition changed the first time I saw Jack Klugman in the old sit-com “The Odd Couple.” From that point on, I wanted to be a sportswriter.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: After years as a newspaper columnist, writing a book always seemed like a bridge too far. And then I found the wherewithal to write one. Holding it in my hand for the first time – seeing my name on the cover – was an emotional experience.

Something you wish you could do: I wish I could play the piano. I always wanted to be that guy who could walk up to a piano at a party or crowded barroom and belt out something that would leave people speechless.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: While paining houses – interiors and exteriors – is a good skill to have acquired, it’s something that friends and family members have taken advantage of over the years. As if helping to paint your best friend’s house over the course of a weekend can be compensated with pizza and beer. The things we do for love.

Last best thing you ate: The crab cioppino at a small family-owned Italian restaurant in San Francisco.

Last thing you regret eating: The four-alarm buffalo wings at a national chain. The wings were good at that moment. The heart burn that followed wasn’t nearly as pleasant.

Favorite places you’ve been: St. Thomas, the U.S. Virgin Islands. Great beaches and weather. Clean place with friendly people. Wonderful food and a good place to recharge.

Places you never want to go to again: Las Vegas. Sin City earned its monicker. And while, I’m not a prude, such sin comes with a heavy price tag – figuratively and literally – I’m not willing to pay anymore.

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living): Billy Joel, Warren Buffet, Paul Giamatti and Tiger Woods.

People you’d cancel dinner on: Any politician, television evangelist or anyone who judges someone else simply by who they voted for.

Favorite things to do: I adore being outside, working in the garden or playing golf. I also enjoy going to a ballpark on a warm day to watch school-aged kids – say, ages 12-18 – with a passion for the game and enough skills to catch my attention – play baseball.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Paying the high-dollar costs for parking, concessions and entry to the ballpark to watch professional ball players, without a doubt world-class athletes, often times go through the motions while taking part in a game once meant to be played by children. Ironically, there was a time when I earned my daily bread by chronicling their daily endeavors. Sports writing, it’s been said, is a young man’s game.

Best thing you’ve ever done: My daughter is evidence that I did something right in this world. She is smart (an attorney), funny and grew up with a love for “Seinfeld” reruns and an early knowledge of how to read the Major League Baseball box scores each morning. She’s a daddy’s girl and the apple of my eye.

Biggest mistake: My biggest regret is failing at marriage. Two meaningful careers took precedence over what should have been a happily-ever-after. We never factored job relocations into the equation. Happily, my ex-wife has become a dear friend, but our divorce is my greatest failure.

The funniest thing to happen to you: Running a five-kilometer race the morning after staying up to hit a late-night deadline was an achievement, especially since I ran a personal best. However, just a few steps from the finish line, I threw up, sending my morning coffee spewing like a geyser toward those congratulating the finishers. It was a moment that was captured and chronicled in my best friend’s next column.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: My embarrassing moment has evolved to shame. My bad behavior as a boy after my father’s best effort to turn my bicycle into a motocross by painting my handlebars black and screwing a broomstick across the bars, a makeshift renovation that was ridiculed by my friends. Years later, I am more embarrassed by the way I lashed out at my father, who was only trying to give me something our family just couldn’t afford.

About Patrick:

Patrick Sangimino worked as a journalist for over forty years, writing for large newspapers throughout California and the Midwest. He worked during the print journalism golden age and saw it slowly shift into the digital age. From beat reporter to award-winning columnist, Patrick wrote about some of the biggest sporting stories of all time, including eight seasons of the National Football League, World Series games, and local legends who made athletic history.

A self-described “ink-in-the-veins” writer, Patrick was not merely a journalist, he was a weaver of tales. His craft was motivated by a native curiosity, relentless doggedness in pursuit of fact, and the deeply human understanding that accompanied membership in the communities he served. His columns were read devotionally, acclaimed for their humor, pathos, and biting acuity.

Having retired in 2024, Patrick devoted himself to fiction. But whereas his columns were anchored firmly in the real world, so too is his fiction. Dogs Chase Cars is his first novel, but it feels like the accumulation of a lifetime of experience unvarnished, perceptive, sometimes self-aware, always uncompromisingly truthful.

Sangimino now spends his retirement doing what he’s always done best writing. Whether looking back or making up stories for the future, his pen still pursues meaning, memory, and perhaps a little bit of mischief.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: www.patricksangimino.com

Instagram: @patricksangimino

Twitter or XL: @psangimino

 Facebook: @patsangimino

Use Your Books to Generate Ideas for Social Media, Blogs, and Events

Use your books to help you generate ideas for social media and blog posts and events.

Do some brainstorming. Make a list of 10 or 15 words that relate to topics and subthemes in your stories. Think about:

Settings/Locations

Hobbies

Your Character’s Job

Music

Popular Culture

Examples from my Series:

Delanie Fitzgerald: Sassy Private Eye, Richmond, Computer Hacker, English Bulldog, Sears Catalog Houses

Jules Keene: Glamping, Blue Ridge Mountains, Vintage Trailers, Jack Russell Terrier

Jade Hicks: Beach Town, Christmas Shop, French Bulldog, Tuxedo Cat

Cassidy Jamison: Event Planner, Blue Ridge Mountains, Chihuahua, Music, Honky Tonk, Cave, Serenity Garden

Then create social media and blog posts that highlight these. Look for groups and hashtags on social media that are similar and follow people with similar interests.

Connect to a “holiday.” There are lots of online calendars that show all kinds of holidays for any occasion or celebration (e.g. Taco Day, Chocolate Lovers’ Day, Dog Lovers’ Day). Target posts for these special days and highlight your book.

You can use your list to come up with some creative book signings. I was part of a wine-themed anthology, and we scheduled signings and readings at wineries all across our area. There are all likes of places and small businesses that may work with you to do a signing or to sell your books. Think beyond bookstores, libraries, and conferences.

What would you add to my list?

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Rose Kerr

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Rose Kerr to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite fall traditions: Driving to see the fall colors (yes, we’re leaf peepers!); enjoying lunch in a park; visiting a local farm with our grandkids.

Something autumn-related that you’ll never do again: Drive in an early season snowstorm! I was driving home after dropping my mom at the airport, and fifteen minutes into the three-hour drive home, I found myself driving in white-out conditions. There was a transport truck in front of me and one behind me. It was an hour before I could pull off the highway at a rest stop.

Favorite fall treat: Butter tarts, although they are good any time of the year!

A fall treat that makes you gag: Pumpkin spice lattes, not for me.

Something you only do in the fall: Rake the leaves and decorate pumpkins.

Something you’d never do in the fall season: Swim in a lake.

Favorite fall smell: Fresh air out in the woods.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Rotting vegetation.

Best fall memory: Clearing leaves from the lawn with our kids and the dog. It took a long time, but it was fun. The dog would chase our kids through the piles of leaves, and they’d all jump in them.

Something you’d rather forget: The bear that strolled through our backyard looking for something to top up its belly before hibernating! Kids and the dog were safe in the house, but the dog was barking up a storm.

A tradition you share with others: Visiting farms with our grandkids

A tradition that can be retired: Decorating the entire house for Hallowe’en

Best thing you ever cooked/baked in autumn: Apple Crisp, my great aunt’s recipe. One of our favorite fall desserts.

Your worst kitchen disaster: I tried a new recipe for bread; you would think that would be fool proof. It wasn’t. The loaf didn’t rise and was very dense. My husband called it “participaction bread” because you had to chew it a long time before you could swallow it!

Favorite place you spent a fall day: Walking along trails in Northern Ontario, especially nice by a lake.

The worst place to spend a fall day: Stuck in the office for meetings.

Funniest pumpkin-carving story: We had carved out the pumpkins after school one year, and after dinner we couldn’t find one of our cats. Turns out that cat had climbed into the pumpkin before the lid was put on it. Fortunately, the cat didn’t eat any of the pumpkin and was okay!

Your worst pumpkin-carving story: We picked up our pumpkins too early, and when we started carving them, well, they had mushy insides and a bad smell. The kids were so grossed out!

Best Halloween memory: When our daughter went out for her first “Trick or Treat”. She was so excited to come home with candy.

Worst Halloween experience: A snowstorm for Halloween! Our roads were in covered in snow and you couldn’t see across the street. That’s the only time I remember Halloween being cancelled.

About Rose:

Retired in Southern Ontario with her husband, Rose spends her days crafting mysteries featuring strong, smart women who use their resourcefulness to solve crimes. When she’s not writing, she enjoys discovering the hidden gems of the region she lives in.

Rose’s newest release features a modern day archaeologist turned amateur sleuth.

Retired in Southern Ontario with her husband, Rose spends her days crafting mysteries featuring strong, smart women who use their resourcefulness to solve crimes. When she’s not writing, she enjoys discovering the hidden gems of the region she lives in.

Rose’s newest release features a modern day archaeologist turned amateur sleuth.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://rosekerr.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoseKerrAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/r.m.kerr/?hl=en

Pinterest: https://ca.pinterest.com/RoseKerrauthor/

#WriterWednesday Interview with Dave Pratt

I’d like to welcome Dave Pratt to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Surrendering the outcome of my writing efforts to God, knowing he’ll take them where He wants them to go, to the people I need to reach, whether by traditional publisher, independent publishing, magazine article, and so on.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Writing the first draft of a story, article or novel.

Words that describe you: Christian, husband, friend, writer. Quiet, unless I believe in a cause or concept that needs defending or teaching to others. Addicted to writing.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Not always as good, humble or nice as I’d like to be. I very often lack self-confidence, although that’s not always apparent to others.

Last best thing you ate: My wife’s made-from-scratch, everything-left-in-the-fridge breakfast scramble. It is always amazing.

Last thing you regret eating: Three double chocolate truffles over within 5 minutes. But they tasted so good!

Things you’d walk a mile for: A forest scene with rushing water, mountains, old-growth trees, deer, fox and birds.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: A group of people too interested in hearing themselves talk to listen to input from others – in business and in writing groups.

Things you always put in your books: Positive, satisfying endings, conflict, martial arts, and a little romance.

Things you never put in your books: Profanity and gratuitous sex scenes.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: At 16, on a State Department sponsored People-to-People Student Ambassador tour to Rumania, then behind the Iron Curtain, I played sick, skipped a supervised tour, snuck down the hotel’s fire escape and went to the sections of the city we were told we were not allowed to visit. I was followed but not caught and saw things that changed my perspective on life. That evening at our restaurant, a waiter attempted to attack me with a knife, presumably because of what I did. Our group’s male chaperone intervened and guarded my door that night and we left the country the next day.

Something you chickened out from doing: As a gymnast through junior high, high school and college, I elected not to do the high-bar event and became a pommel horse specialist. Doing giant swings terrified me back then.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: That my writing was similar to Cussler and Ludlum.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: That a simple event where my character fell off his horse on purpose, to escape his captors, had deep social meaning. That was an important lesson for me, however.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: At a time when I was not looking for a relationship with a woman, I met my wife, Rafaela. In the first book in my Home Team series, the main character, Sam Anthem, trips across Consuela during a mission. She changes his life in many ways; helps him realize his faith in God and find the self-confidence he needs to do what he needs to do as a military/covert operator.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: They believe the character of Sam Anthem, in the first book in my series, is me, with all his emotional and spiritual wounds from a past operation gone bad, the covert operations work, expertise in empty-hand martial arts, and not finding Jesus until later in life, which helped him reconcile his jog with his faith and saved him. I certainly didn’t intend that.

The first 8-track, record, cassette, or CD you ever bought: One, by Three Dog Night.

A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: Symphony and Opera. I fall asleep during performances.

My favorite book as a child: Any of The Hardy Boys books.

A book I’ve read more than once: A Wizard in Spite of Himself, by Christopher Stasheff. Also, all of Louis L'Amour western novels – some many more times than once.

Your favorite movie as a child: Lt. Robin Caruso, U.S.N. with Dick Van Dyke. Funny, positive, silly, foolish, and I was certain I wanted to find someone like the character Nancy Kwan played when I got older. A big crush!

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): The Haunting, starring Julie Herns and others. Kept me scared for years.

About David:

Dave Pratt is a native of most of the west coast of the United States – and now makes his home in Middle Tennessee with his wife, near his recently relocated grandkids.

A freelance writer since 1977, Dave has authored more than sixty published articles, poems, short stories and novels. He has also written for a local newspaper and edited newsletters for charitable service groups and businesses. His latest books include the first two novels in the 5-part Home Team Series, released in November 2022 and 2023, respectively, and published by Ambassador International. The third book in the series, Homesick, is scheduled for release in November 2025.

Dave holds master’s degrees in Hospital Administration (Baylor University) and Management (Webster University), and a B.S. in Psychology from Washington State University. He is a retired army officer and more recently retired as a project management consultant. Dave has taught at the corporate, graduate and undergraduate levels and has been a speaker at numerous professional conferences on writing and project management. Dave is a 4th Dan (degree) Master in Tae Kwan Do, proficient in Tai Chi, Hapkido, and staff, and was a member of the U.S. National Tae Kwan Do Poomse Team in 2015.

Dave thanks Jesus Christ for his inspiration and the countless blessings in his life.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: www.DavePrattBooks.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/daveprattbooks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dprattbooks

LinkedIn: (22) Dave Pratt, PMP, PMI-ACP | LinkedIn

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidPrattBooks

Some Things to Think about if You Write a Series

If you think you want to write a series, there are some things to think about when you’re writing and revising.

Create connectors or mentions (of characters and events) and sprinkle them in without providing spoilers.

Think about your character arcs. Do you want them to grow or change? Some series, the character is basically the same age. In others, the change jobs, get married, get divorced, and age as time passes.

Have an idea for the plots and stories as you’re writing. You may want to have some kind of reference at the end that sets up the story for the next book.

Think about whether readers can read the series out of order and still enjoy the book. Some dedicated series readers read them only in order. Other readers find you mid-series.

Make sure there is going to be a next book if you write a cliffhanger. Readers don’t like to be left “not knowing.”

For fiction series where you have recuring characters and new ones, you may want to have a short list at the beginning for a reader reference.

What else would you add to my list?

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Alison McBain

I’d like to welcome Allison McBain back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Favorite snacks: Popcorn is my go-to snack, and it can fit any snacking mood. It can be sweet or it can be salty, and you can add any kind of flavoring to it, like cheese or fruit or jalapeños—it’s the snack that does it all.

Things that make you want to gag: Anything garlicky or mustardy. Those chips and crackers that are garlic-flavored—yuck! No thanks.

Something you wish you could do: I wish I was better at ice skating. While I did it here and there as a kid, I now live in hockey country (aka Canada), and EVERYONE skates, including my kids. They can certainly skate circles around me.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Taxes, LOL. I spent years doing my own taxes, learning the ins and outs of tax law that applied to me, and the paperwork took days and days of my time. I now have someone who does my taxes for me and I never have to have that headache again.

Favorite places you’ve been: In Canada, Lake Louise tops the list. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen—so beautiful that it seems fake, which sounds like a contradiction but is true. I also enjoyed visiting London—fun city. I’d go back again.

Places you never want to go to again: Utah, and for a very specific reason: Worst. Drivers. Ever. I thought I was going to die when navigating through Salt Lake City. I won’t tell the whole story, but it involved rush-hour traffic, a chicken, a dining chair, two pickup trucks, and an RV. You can use your imagination to fill in the rest.

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living): Margaret Atwood would probably top the list. I’d be curious to talk to her about her books and writing process. She has an amazing body of work, and I’ve enjoyed everything of hers that I’ve read. If I was allowed to organize a dinner party and invite more than one guest, I think I’d try to get all the living Nobel Prize winners in literature together. That would be a really fun literary salon.

People you’d cancel dinner on: Soooo many people, ha ha. Top of the list are many, many politicians and celebrities—they seem to live in a bubble disconnected from regular people, and I think most of them would be quite boring. I’d rather stay at home in my PJs and watch bad rom-coms.

A few of your favorite fall traditions: I love the fall! Decorating and doing crafts with the kids, eating apple cider donuts, going to a local farm for hayrides and pumpkin picking—there’s so many fun things to do.

Something autumn-related that you’ll never do again: I won’t say NEVER, but I don’t understand the point of corn mazes. I did several with my kids in the past, but it’s just hours of wandering around in the mud, often in rainy or freezing weather, and feeling claustrophobic with all the corn stalks pressing in and every row looking the same. Feels a bit like torture, ha.

Favorite fall treat: Hot, fresh apple cider donuts. Yum!

A fall treat that makes you gag: Pumpkin spice anything. To me, it just tastes like soap, and that was a punishment when I was a kid—getting your mouth washed out with soap. Why would anyone voluntarily do that to themselves?

Something you only do in the fall: Celebrate my birthday! I’m a Libra.

Something you’d never do in the fall season: I might live in Canada now, but I grew up in California, and I still have desert heat in my blood. I see other people walking around in the fall up here wearing t-shirts and shorts in freezing weather and it makes me shiver just looking at them. I’m usually wearing five layers by the time November hits.

Favorite autumn beverage: I’m going to veer into “grownup” territory here and say that rhubarb wine is delightful. I got a bottle of it at a fall harvest festival one year from a local, small-time winemaker, and it was a great combination of tart and sweet. Went well with cheese and crackers!

A drink that gives you a sour face: Cranberry gin. Same fall harvest festival where I bought it, and I thought it would be a good combination. Tart and dry, right? But the two flavors did NOT mix well. It was a bit like drinking cleaning solution.

Favorite fall smell: Woodsmoke and cold, crisp air that’s so fresh it takes your breath away.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Cleaning out the garden at the end of the growing season and facing all the dead vegetables that didn’t quite make it can be a stinky process. I like the smell of fresh dirt, but composting is not super pleasant to be around.

Best thing you ever cooked/baked in autumn: Pumpkin pie—I only make it once a year, but it’s *chef’s kiss.*

Your worst kitchen disaster: Cooking a large meal for family and friends at Thanksgiving can be a juggling act, and it was in a house with a very, very old stove that didn’t work properly (and was replaced shortly after this). The smoke alarm went off multiple times, there were actual flames coming out of at least one dish, and I was almost ready to throw in the towel and speed dial the nearest pizza place. I won’t say it was a disaster, since everyone eventually ended up with something to eat, but a couple of my pans were never the same again.

About Allison:

 Alison McBain’s human-created novels are the recipients of over 13 awards, including the Foreword INDIES. Her latest novella Dual took home 3rd place in the 3-Day Novel Contest. When not writing for herself, she’s a ghostwriter who has penned over two dozen books for clients, as well as an award-winning editor who has worked with both celebrity and NY Times-bestselling authors. In 2024, she pursued a project called “Author Versus AI,” where she wrote a book a week, using NO AI at all (34 books total). When not writing, Ms. McBain is the associate editor for the magazine ScribesMICRO and draws all over the walls of her house with the enthusiastic help of her kids. She lives in Alberta, Canada.

Let’s Be Social:

 Author Versus AI website: http://www.authorversusai.com/contact.html

Author website: https://www.alisonmcbain.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alison.mcbain.9

Twitter: https://x.com/AlisonMcBain

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisonamcbain/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-mcbain-0a026a266/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9PMu4p4urp_un0oy1vroQ

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@1authorversusai

Medium: https://medium.com/@amcbain

              

#WriterWednesday Interview with Patrick MacPhee

I’d like to welcome Patrick MacPhee to the blog for a fall #WriterWednesday.

A few of your favorite fall traditions: Definitely Canadian Thanksgiving – we enjoy the usual homemade pies (from scratch). For the longest time, we would take the kids to one of the local farms and do the whole farm thing (tracker rides, ball crawls, corn maze).

Something autumn-related that you’ll never do again: I had a hard time thinking about this one. A lot of the fun outdoor activities aren’t being done too much, given that the kids are much older now. However, who’s to say those activities won’t ever happen again if some grandkids come around…

Favorite fall treat: Homemade apple pie from scratch.

A fall treat that makes you gag: Pumpkin pie. I personally can’t stand the spongy texture. Reminds me of cheesecake.

Something you only do in the fall: As a teacher, fall always has that particular “school is starting” energy. Technically, the year may start in January, but for most of my life, the true start to the year has been September.

Something you’d never do in the fall season: Water park. Just don’t do it. Those tickets are on sale for a reason.

Favorite fall smell: The savory smell of a woodfire stove, especially those first few times on those crisp autumn nights where the sky is that rich azure.

Something that makes you hold your nose: We live in a rural area and sometimes the farmers apply some fertilizer to their fields. I tell myself that the smell means food and fertility, but it can be pungent sometimes. Only lasts a day or two depending on which way the wind is blowing.

Best fall memory: Walking with my wife and kids and the dogs through a valley filled with trees blazing in fall colors.

Something you’d rather forget: It seems like October is a time when someone is always getting sick. We’ve lost enough vitamin D by then that more often than not, someone is bedridden for a few days.

A tradition you share with others: We get into Halloween. Our neighborhood is like a Hollywood version of trick-or-treat. We’re talking hundreds of kids milling about in waves. They get dropped off, too. Just recently, we had over 250 kids (a slow year).

A tradition that can be retired: Ice Skating on frozen ponds and rivers is probably one I can do without. It always sounds better than it ends up being.

Best thing you ever cooked/baked in autumn: I can bake a pretty good hashbrown casserole. Lots of potatoes, cheese, and plenty of garlic and other spices. It’s always a hit at the dinner table.

Your worst kitchen disaster:

I’ve been baking pizza from scratch since the lockdowns. One day, I thought “let’s try calzones”. I also decided to brush some olive oil on it to give it a bit of a glazed/burnished effect. Yeah, not a good idea. Some of the oil dripped to the bottom of the oven and decided it was hot enough to start burning. The calzones weren’t too bad. A bit… smoky.

Funniest pumpkin-carving story: I don’t know about funniest, but I once managed to carve the Star Trek symbol with a “42” inside of it. Actually turned out pretty good and it wasn’t from a pattern.

Your worst pumpkin-carving story: One time, I had some pumpkins for my class, but we had a miscommunication about who was supposed to bring the carving utensils. It got a little messy that day.

Favorite pumpkin spice item: Coffee.

Something that should never be pumpkin-spiced flavored: Gum. It didn’t work for me.

Best Halloween costume ever: I went as Kakashi Hatake once to my school. I was running the anime club at the time, and had a lot of kids coming over for selfies with “Kakashi Sensei”. I bought a Hidden Leaf shinobi top, but the rest was homemade. I got a white wig and styled it with Level 10 “like cement” hair gel, but what sealed the deal was the sharingon contact lenses.

Worst Halloween costume disaster: I remember being very young and going as E.T. but I had trouble seeing out of the costume and kept falling over.

About Patrick:

Patrick teachers high school English and creative writing in Ontario, Canada. When he’s not writing, you’ll often find him playing video and board games with his wife and two children or going for walks with his two golden retrievers.

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Twitter/X: @macphee225

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Website: http://Patrickmacphee.com