I’d like to welcome A-M Mawhiney back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Things you need for your writing experience

I need a silent environment, my laptop, my IPad (for research), a thesaurus, and a notepad to jot down ideas “for later.” I have a studio with a desk facing a large window that overlooks the backyard where I write. Once I close the door, I am in a quiet environment, and the ideas begin to flow.

Things that hamper your writing

Being interrupted when I am deep in the “writing zone” sets me back as I can’t easily re-capture the flow. Like many authors, time is another barrier to my writing. At times life is hectic. Expected and unexpected events occur that take me away from writing. But I would rather be busy than bored, and I can re-schedule writing time.

The last best thing you ate

I have a favorite restaurant in Creston, a small town in British Columbia, Canada, where I visit with relatives annually. There, two weeks ago, I enjoyed a delicious crepe filled with steamed salmon in a rich cream sauce.

The last thing you regret eating

I was served a Thai chicken dish by a family member a few years ago. He had used a jar sauce and cooked the chicken and vegetables perfectly. When I took the first bite my mouth burned with the intense level of “heat.” I put down my fork and signalled to other family members to wait until the chef took his first bite. It turned out the sauce had a warning label showing four red peppers, which meant the sauce was extremely hot. While many people enjoy this level of “heat” it was too much even for the chef!

Things you’d walk a mile for

I routinely take brisk walks for my health, often more than a mile. It keeps me energized, clears my brain and, most importantly, keeps me healthy.

Things you want to run screaming from the room

It’s surprising how often in a social setting that someone will make a passive-aggressive comment, trying to make it sound like a neutral comment or even a compliment. I don’t like to be around that kind of negative energy and would like to flounce out when I encounter it, even when it’s not directed toward me.

Things you always put in your books

I have used social and environmental themes in all three of my books.

Things you never put in your books

I cannot imagine any of my books ending tragically. So far, at least, all three books end on an optimistic note.

Things to say to an author

If you have an opportunity to tell an author that you’ve read their book, almost every one of them, no matter how famous they are, will be appreciative of your comments. If there is an opportunity for a longer conversation than a quick “fan rave,” you might find some authors will request critical feedback, asking if you didn’t like anything about the book.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book

Pointing out typos and minor editorial issues once a book has been published is something no author I know of appreciates. They’ve already found them.

So far, I have never had the experience where a person’s comment about my book has made me see red. I can imagine, however, a situation where someone goes on at length making nasty comments about an author’s writing. That would make their comments reveal more about them rather than about the book or author. It might, then, be tempting to write them into a murder mystery.

Favorite places you’ve been

In the 1990s and 2000s, I spent lots of time in various parts of the U.K. where I established enduring friendships. It is my favorite place to visit, and I hope to return sometime soon.

Places you never want to go again

Restaurants with loud music with a thumping bass. Most people I know who go out for a meal want to socialize with family, friends, or handle business with colleagues. Yelling over loud music is not the least bit enjoyable. I return to restaurants where I can have quiet conversations.

Favorite books (or genres)

I read lots of different genres but recently have enjoyed fantasy, speculative, historical, and science fiction.

Books you wouldn’t buy

I tend avoid autobiographies by famous people whose personal lives have been filled with endless drama.

Favorite Things to Do

I love spending time with my immediate and extended family and with friends, summers at our cabin by the lake, reading, writing, travelling to new and favorite places, watching basketball, and playing the piano.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing

I am not good with heights. I would rather do almost anything to avoid jumping off a cliff into deep water, even when I know it is safe to do so. I’m convinced I will hit a rock that no one else, ever, has encountered or will be carried away by an unexpected flash flood even though there had never been one before.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done

After a break of over sixty years, this year I’ve rediscovered the joy of playing the piano. It is astonishing how quickly this came back to me. It is also helpful for my current writing, as the MC in my work-in-progress was child prodigy.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it

I bought a knitting kit several years ago that taught me many new knitting stitches, with a new pattern for each block. In total there were 45 blocks. I imagined a beautiful blanket to gift to someone special. But when I started to put it together, I realized I hadn’t been consistent with the sizing for each block. I wound up with a 3x5 baby blanket instead.

Some real-life story that made it into one of your books

I was socially awkward as a child. I knew I didn’t do well in social situations and would have anxious thoughts flood my mind whenever I had to join a group. Some of my characters’ emotions and mental images described in each book are loosely based on my own childhood experiences.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not.

I have had a few readers of my third novel, Fugitive Rifts, look at me in surprise when they meet me because I look nothing like a basketball player. In fact, I am the first person to say I have no athleticism at all. The basketball scenes with one character are based on my years as a basketball fan. Trust me, no one who knows me would ever think I had played basketball.

About A-M:

At age eight A-M Mawhiney announced she wanted to be an author. It only took sixty years. Her career, first as a social worker and then as a university professor and senior administrator, ended with her retirement in 2018. She began writing again during the first lockdown in 2020. To her surprise she found herself writing her first novel, Spindrifts. which was a finalist in the 8th annual Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writers’ Prize and shortlisted for the Whistler Independent Book Awards in 2022. Its sequel, Spelldrifts, was released in 2023, and her latest book, Fugitive Rifts, was published in July 2025. When she isn’t writing A-M enjoys reading, taking in local basketball games, time with family and friends, and travelling. She lives in Sudbury, Ontario with her partner Dave.