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.

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