Linda Avellar
Author Interview - Linda Avellar
Author of Cassie Linden Finds Her Sweet Spot
Cassie Linden worries about every word she can’t remember, terrified of the early-onset Alzheimer’s that stole her mother and sent Cassie fleeing the wreckage of her family. Since then, Cassie has constructed a carefully calibrated life—a modest but satisfying career in New York City’s legal department, a teenage son she dotes on. But she didn’t see the break-up of her marriage coming.
Now her ex is remarrying, her son has been suspended from college, her father has developed dementia and Cassie is having troubling memory lapses of her own. She and her dad have never seen eye to eye and after her mother died, Cassie rarely visited. But with her sister on the West Coast, Cassie has no choice but to step in. She decides to temporarily move back home until she can come up with a plan to care for her dad and figure out her own next steps.
The house in Connecticut where Cassie grew up has five gorgeous acres and her father’s beloved beehives. Her parents’ dream of beekeeping was cut short when early-onset Alzheimer’s claimed her mother, leaving her dad to tend the bees on his own. But now her dad is having trouble caring for himself and after a shipment of bees arrives that he doesn’t remember ordering, Cassie decides to enlist the help of a beekeeper, at least until she can convince her father it’s time to sell.
Beekeeper Glenn Marsden has raised his twelve-year-old daughter Lilah on his own since his wife walked out eight years ago. He’s not very talkative, but Cassie appreciates his patience with her father and is increasingly intrigued by this attractive, broody man. An avid hiker, Glenn is passionate about the environment and troubled by the impending development of the last open space in town, which is adjacent to the Linden property.
Even with his confusion, Cassie’s father isn’t willing to give up his home or the bees, which are the last link to his wife, and increasingly relies on the resourceful Glenn for help. Cassie, worried about her father and afraid her own forgetfulness might be more than just stress, finds herself looking forward to Glenn’s visits too.
What she doesn’t mention is that the developer putting up the project next door has approached her father about buying his property. Even though she doesn’t love the idea of her family home being plowed under for McMansions, she believes this might be the only solution—sell the house for an enticing sum, which will help pay for her father’s care. She also hasn’t been honest with her son, who knows nothing about the genetic history that might impact him too. She needs to find a time to tell him, but it’s a hard thing to talk about.
Despite his wariness about getting involved, Glenn is smitten with Cassie. She is surprisingly easy to be with and opens up about her ever-present fear of Alzheimer’s. But his ex-wife has resurfaced, and though Glenn wants nothing to do with her, Lilah is seduced by the mother she hasn’t seen in years.
Cassie knows Glenn values honesty above all else but continues to keep quiet about her plan to sell to the developer, fearing it will doom their fledgling relationship. The plan will only work if her father agrees to sell, and he is still resistant, until a heart attack lands him in the hospital and forces him to acknowledge that he can no longer manage on his own.
Her father’s close call terrifies Cassie, who has begun finding her way back to him since she’s been home. But the fear of what happened to her mother is never far from the surface, and her sister is pressuring Cassie to get tested for the genetic mutation that guarantees early-onset Alzheimer’s.
When Cassie finally comes clean about selling the land to the developer, Glenn feels betrayed—to him, trust is everything. Cassie is heartsick over the rupture of their relationship and now must face the future without him. If she has the mutation, her outlook is bleak— she will definitely develop early-onset. But in the genetic counselor’s office, Cassie realizes she doesn’t want to know. She will take life as it comes, whatever it may hold. She summons the courage to tell her son, who is upset, but supports her decision not to get tested.
After two weeks of soul searching, Glenn finally apologizes for his reaction to the sale of the property, but Cassie is wounded by his long silence and can’t see a way forward for them.
With the sale to the developer pending, Cassie comes to realize that the bees and her childhood home mean more to her than she thought. The discovery of a long-term care policy changes the situation and she decides not to sell to the developer. With her father’s blessing, she and her sister accept a lesser offer from a family that intends to live in the home. Cassie has also made another decision—she is not going back to New York. She needs to focus on her father and wants to be closer to him. After much persuasion, her dad reluctantly agrees to move into assisted living, but will hear of no one except Glenn to take his bees. As uncomfortable as it makes her, Cassie must ask him.
Glenn agrees to take the bees for her father’s sake but doesn’t want a casual friendship with Cassie. Their relationship meant too much to him. Cassie, face to face with the man she can’t get off her mind, confesses she misses him and stuns him with the news that she’s bought a small house nearby.
But Cassie wants to be honest this time and make sure Glenn understands what might lie ahead. She might get Alzheimer’s or she might not. Without testing, they won’t know for sure. She offers Glenn a way out, but he is unfazed. He wants to be with her, whatever the future holds.
When the weather cools, the families gather to transfer the bees to Glenn’s house, where they will join his other hives. It’s a new beginning for everyone, including the bees, which will stir when the sky lightens and explore their new home.
Author Interview - Linda Avellar
Author I draw inspiration from:
Anne Tyler. She can take ordinary life and make it so compelling you just have to see what the characters are going to do. Some of my favorite titles are The Accidental Tourist, Breathing Lessons and A Patchwork Planet. I loved A Patchwork Planet so much that when I finished I went back to the beginning and read it again.
Author Interview - Linda Avellar | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
In the easy chair in my family room on a winter day. I'm wrapped in blanket with the cat on top of that.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
If I have to be stuck in an elevator I would hope to be locked in with a repairman! But second best would be Oliver Addison, the handsome, kind vet in Katherine Center's book, Hello Stranger. He was very calm and could probably talk me off the ceiling. And I'm a sucker for a guy who loves animals.
Author Interview - Linda Avellar | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I've always loved books and writing. As a child, I made up stories and wrote them down. I was a news reporter for years, which involved a very different kind of fact-based writing. The inspiration to write fiction came to me suddenly when my son was in high school. I was reading a book and suddenly thought - I could do this. Of course, it was a lot harder than that!
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I prefer reading a physical book. I love the heft of hardback, but they can get heavy to tote around. I do read a lot of library books, which tend to be hardcover. Paperback is my favorite - easy to tuck into a bag and carry around. I don't love ebooks since I'm on a screen all day at work. My eyes need a break. No reading on devices for me! Audio works great when I'm traveling. It's all about the narrator for me. If they're good, I can really get into it.
The last book I read:
A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst. Riveting! This is a true story about a British couple sailing around the world whose boat was sunk by a whale. They survived on a raft in the middle of the Pacific for four months. Needless to say it tested their marriage. Also, they almost died.
Author Interview - Linda Avellar | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Definitely computer. I know some writers prefer writing long hand, but the few times I tried it I ended up scratching out most of what I wrote and throwing out a lot of paper. I wouldn't get far writing that way.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Joan Griffin, in Force of Nature. She is actually the author of this memoir about three women hiking the John Muir Trail. She has so much grit and determination and I loved how strong and self confident she got as the journey progressed. She has a sense of humor too, which I appreciate. She would be fun to get to know!
Author Interview - Linda Avellar | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I've had two other careers before becoming a writer: news reporter and a library fundraising/communication professional. I enjoyed them both, but writing fiction is a passion for me. It's totally absorbing and fulfilling in a completely different way. I'm still working at the library, but I think of myself as a writer.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Probably the 1960s with all those mini skirts and boots and outrageous colors. Fashion, like the rest of society, was in rebellion. I was just a kid then so I wasn't wearing any of that stuff, but it sticks in my mind.
Place I’d most like to travel:
The Alps. I'd love to go hiking there. Mountains are my happy place and the Alps are breathtaking. It's on my bucket list.
My signature drink:
A nice cool glass of Chardonnay.
Favorite artist:
Edward Hopper, the 20th century American painter, has always been one of my favorites. His work resonates with me. His quiet, introspective scenes from everyday life allow the viewer to look in and imagine what's going on. There's an entry point to his work that reminds me of the best fiction - it invites you to step in and immerse yourself in the life of the painting. When I look away, it always stays with me.
Number one on my bucket list:
An African safari. I know people who've done it and they all say it's the trip of a lifetime to see lions, elephants and other wildlife up close in their natural habitat. It's on the list!
Anything else you'd like to add:
These questions were a lot of fun. I still don't want to be stuck in an elevator, though!
Find more from the author:
https://www.facebook.com/lindazohmanavellar/
https://www.instagram.com/lindaavellar/
About Linda Avellar:
Linda Avellar
Linda Avellar is a former Emmy-nominated TV news reporter who’s always loved a good story. After stepping away from the news business, she found the perfect job working at the public library in Stamford, Connecticut, where she is surrounded by books.
A Southern California native, she’s lived in Connecticut most of her adult life with her husband, two kids, and a succession of amiable dogs and cranky cats. She is a founding member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and when she’s not writing, you can find her digging in her garden, hiking with her grown kids in the Pacific Northwest or sailing on Long Island Sound.
