Will Haddad grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, spent three years in Chicago, and now lives in Arizona. His debut novel, The Bridges Are Ash, draws on his personal experience of coming out and navigating love, loss, and relationships from the early 2000s through 2023.
After a turbulent love life in the Midwest, Will found a deeper appreciation for the outdoors. Arizona’s landscapes—and especially its volcanic history—sparked the idea for the Tectonic series. The story began while he was looking at the cliffs of Saguaro Lake and imagining what might happen if earthquakes and fire brought them crashing into the water.
Will writes LGBTQ+ characters from lived experience, with a focus on the emotions, contradictions, and private realities that are often missed when those stories are told from the outside. When he is not writing, he can usually be found exploring Arizona’s trails, lakes, and volcanic landscapes.
