Interview Roulette: Ava Haydn

 

It’s Ava Haydn’s turn today!

  1. One of your characters has an allergy that’s proved problematic. Tell us about it.

In “The Timpanist and the Stagehand,” Christoph, an American now playing in the Oilton Philharmonic Orchestra up north in Alberta, Canada, has had a lifelong allergy to Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies. (No, not explicitly stated in the book, but I wrote it, so I know.) Imagine how shocked he is to find that his new love, Ren, is a Girl Guide Chocolatey Mint Cookie fanatic, to the extent that he buys lots of boxes and stores the extras in his freezer to hide them from his nieces and nephews. (That part is in the book.) Amazingly, Christoph has no allergy symptoms at all to Chocolately Mint Cookies, which leads to a relationship crisis when Ren discovers that entire boxes have disappeared from his freezer.  The guys hash out their differences, have hot make-up sex, and learn that getting chocolate out of light-coloured sheets is a bitch. Ren doubles his Chocolatey Mint Cookie order the following year and buys another freezer to hold their backstock.  That way he’ll be sure to have plenty to offer to angsty teens who regularly show up at his house. (The preceding events all happen after “The End,” for those of you who read the book and are now wondering ‘what the hey?’)

And I have to add…. As a dual American-Canadian citizen and former Girl Scout who sold and consumed lots of Thin Mint Cookies in the States and who now buys Girl Guide Chocolately Mint Cookies—American folks, I’m sorry, but Chocolately Mint are better. Just sayin’…  Check out a pic on my Pinterest (that luscious white minty layer is even better frozen–seriously): https://www.pinterest.ca/avahaydenab/the-timpanist-and-the-stagehand/

 

  1. Which of your characters would send you screaming out into a blizzard before a week was up?

Ronan’s lynx self from “Daniel’s Lynx” might send me screaming if he kept gifting bits and pieces of squirrels, rabbits, and mice the way he does with Daniel. (Prrrprrrprrrprrr)

 

  1. Cats or dogs? Discuss.

In “Daniel’s Lynx,” Ronan asks, “Why do cats do anything?” Exactly. Dogs, well, if cats are inner-directed, dogs are the ultimate outer-directed creatures, except that the values and standards they are guided by are yours, not society’s. In that, cats and dogs are actually the same—neither gives a good goddamn if you’re a murderer or an embezzler. As long as you show up with food and head scratches, cats and dogs think you’re just grand.

Favorite cat in literature:  Jeoffry in “For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffry” (Excerpt, “Jubilate Agno”), the poem by Christopher Smart.

Favorite dog in literature: Rowsby Woof in “Watership Down.” Did Richard Adams nail it or what? Doggiest dog ever.

  1. You can eat only one ice cream flavor for the rest of your life. Which is it?

Butter Brickle. But if I could only eat one ice cream flavo(u)r for the rest of my life, I would lose the will to live and fade away, so it would be a moot question.

 

  1. What did you have for lunch yesterday?

Slices of homemade bread with 1) avocado and mayo and 2) hummus. Also a banana.

 

  1. Which of your characters should run for US President?

I think Christoph in “The Timpanist and the Stagehand” is the only one eligible. All the others were born in Canada.

 

Blurb: Highballer (published October 25, 2017)

What happens when the man is as tempting as the money?

Remy Delacour’s family doesn’t believe in mainstream medicine, and when Remy’s boyfriend reveals that Remy is majoring in nursing, they cut him off. He has to find money to finish his education—fast. And he is so done with boyfriends.

Levi Aronson met the guy of his dreams and followed him to Australia. He knew the chances for a lasting romance were slim—and boy, was he right. Now he’s back in Canada, a year behind in his university program, and short of funds. He needs money, not another man.

Tree planting is a way to make a lot of money fast, but it’s one of the hardest jobs in the world. When Levi, an experienced planter, sees pretty, sloe-eyed Remy, Levi is certain he’ll never last.

They’ll have to pry Remy’s shovel from his cold, stiff fingers, because he won’t quit—or let anything take his eyes off the prize. When a storm brings Remy and Levi together, each finds the other a distraction from the big goal. But can anything develop between two men who have sworn off relationships?

World of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the globe.

 

Author Bio

Ava Hayden lives and writes in Canada but grew up in the southern United States.

When not writing, she loves reading yaoi manga and LGBTQ+ romance, taking afternoon tea, baking, seeing plays, hearing live music, and hiking (even though she once came face-to-face with two grizzlies on a trail). Most of the time her life isn’t that exciting (and doesn’t require her to carry bear spray), and she’s okay with that.

More about Ava

Ava Hayden Writes: https://avahayden.com/

Ava Hayden on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avahayden.ab/

Ava Hayden on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/avahaydenab/

Ava Hayden on Facebook: fb.me/avahayden.ab

Ava Hayden on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/avahayden

Ava Hayden on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Ava_Hayden

Ava Hayden at Dreamspinner Press: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/authors/ava-hayden-812

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