I’d like to welcome writer Alison McBain to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Favorite thing that you always make time for: I might be elbows-deep in a project, but I will always make time for my kids.

The thing you’ll always do just about anything to avoid: I’m a terrible procrastinator, so I will always avoid the most urgent thing I HAVE to do because the world will explode if I don’t. But I’m very productive at doing all the stuff that’s NOT urgent, LOL.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: The fuel that keeps my writing going is silence, hot chocolate, and tea. Not necessarily in that order.

Things that distract you from writing: Loud, constant noises are somewhat distracting when I’m writing. A neighbor mowing their lawn, a siren going off down the street, or even the buzzing of a fly stuck at the window—argh. It’s why I have a monster tub of earplugs for when I really need to shut the world out.

The thing you like most about being a writer: I love sitting down and being able to tell stories every day. It’s seriously my dream career come to life. And there’s no better high than when you open an email to find an acceptance waiting for you.

The thing you like least about being a writer: I’d love to just write constantly and do nothing else—no editing, marketing, networking, etc. But that’s the necessary evil of writing as a profession—it’s a business, so there’s a lot more to it than just putting words on a page.

Things you will run to the store for in the middle of the night: I have a terrible sweet tooth, so if I’m out of candy, cookies, ice cream, you name it—there might be a midnight trip to the store in my future.

Things you never put on your shopping list: Broccoli is the bane of the world—that stuff ain’t ever coming near me. *shudder*

Something you’re really good at: Aside from writing, my lifelong hobby has been folding origami. If you ever meet me in person, just ask me and I’ll make you something cool.

Something you never learned how to do: This might be a cliché, but I’ve never learned how to change the oil in my car. Perhaps I will someday, but I’m not really interested in doing it when it’s so much easier just to take it to my local mechanic.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: I’ve always wanted to be a writer, ever since I was four years old. What a great gig—telling stories all day.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: I think I must have imposter syndrome because I never thought I’d ever get to the point that I could be a fulltime freelance writer and editor. It’s so cool!

Things to say to an author: “Your writing is so inspiring that I want to be an author when I grow up!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “On a scale of one to ten, I give your last book a zero.”

Favorite things to do: I’ll quote Julia Child here: “People who love to eat are always the best people.” I don’t know if that’s true, but I do love to eat!

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Eating bugs is actually one of the things that I’d run through a fire to avoid. Just the thought of it… ugh.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: I only really fangirl over authors, so I’m going to have to say the coolest writer I ever met was Ray Bradbury. He’s long been one of my writing heroes, and so it was awesome to talk to him when I was just starting out as a writer. Very inspiring.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: I lived in New York City a couple of decades ago, and you see a lot of celebrities all the time there. The one celebrity I saw walking down the street who looked MUCH different without tons of makeup and fancy clothes was Cameron Diaz. I didn’t even recognize her at first (my boyfriend at the time did).

The best job you ever had: Being a writer is amazing! I get to wake up every day and do what I LOVE.

The worst job you ever had: Working as a server in a restaurant is a nonstop sh*tshow. Long hours, low pay, customers who hit on you constantly when they’re not complaining about something that you can’t do anything about (such as prices being too expensive, drinks arriving too slowly, etc.). While my previous experience as a server has been great fodder for my writing, I would probably gouge out my eye before going back to a job like that.

The one thing you cook/bake that is better than a restaurant dish: I’m a whiz when it comes to desserts, but I have to say I’m a pie whisperer at heart. The crust I make is *chef’s kiss.*

The one thing you cooked/baked that turned out to be an epic disaster: I have to say that I don’t think I’ve ever had a good experience cooking with canned sardines. They stink up the kitchen and are just not edible, no matter how much I try to disguise them in a dish.

About Alison:

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

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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