Author Interview: Katie McGarry (and giveaway!)
Sunday, August 19, 2012
KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.--GoodreadsQ: What was your inspiration for writing Pushing the Limits?
A: I had
two main inspirations: One, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to write a
story in which my characters felt strong enough to leave their pasts behind and
create new futures for themselves. The first scene I ever saw in my mind was
Echo and Noah leaving town after graduation. Two, I wanted to write two
characters who were facing over- whelming
issues and who, through battling these issues, found hope at the end of their journey.
Q: How did you come up with Echo’s name?
A: Echo
went through several name changes as I wrote the man- uscript. For a while, she had a very normal name, but it
alwaysfelt off. It wasn’t until I looked at Echo from her mother’s point of
view that I found her name. Echo’s mother loved Greek my- thology so it made
perfect sense that she would name her chil- dren after the myths. I read
several Greek myths and the mo- ment I
found Echo’s, I fell in love. Echo, to me, was the girl who lost her voice. Thankfully, she finds it by the end.
Q: Which character is the most “like” you?
A: All of
them. I gave each character a piece of me (though some have larger slices of me than others). Overall, I’d say I’m
a strange combination of Echo, Lila and Beth. Echo
has my need to please, Lila has my unfailing loyalty to my friends and Beth
encompasses my insecurities.
Q: Did you experience friendships with Grace
types when you were in high school?
A: Yes.
And the more people have read this story, the more this question comes up. Grace has struck a stronger nerve in people than I ever would have imagined. It seems most of us have un- fortunately experienced a relationship where a person wants to “like” you and wants “be your friend,” but only if it serves
their needs. In case anyone is wondering, that isn’t friendship.
Q: Are there any parts of the story you feel
particularly close to?
A: Yes.
The relationship between Noah, Isaiah and Beth. Beyond my parents and sister, my nearest family members were over fourteen hours away. My friends became my family. The peopleI grew up with were more than people I watched movies with or talked to occasionally on the phone. These were people with whom I shared life’s most devastating moments, but also my
hardest laughs. These were people who I would have willing- ly died for and I
know they would have done the same for me. They shared my triumphs with smiles
on their faces and con- gratulatory hugs. They held
me when I cried and offered to beat up whoever
hurt my feelings. These were also the same people who were more than happy to
get in my face if they thought I was making a wrong decision.
Q: Did anything that happens to Echo happen to
you?
A: Sort of. I was bitten by a dog
when I was in second grade and repressed the memory. It felt very strange to
have no memory of an incident that other people knew
about. It was even strang- er to have injuries and not have an inkling where
they came from. In college, I finally remembered the incident when a dog lunged
at me. I relived the horrible event and sort of “woke up” a few minutes later to find myself surrounded by people I loved.
Even though I “remember” the incident, I still
don’t remember the whole thing. I only see still frames in my mind and there is
no blood in any of the memories.
Thank you, Kaie McGarry! If you liked to read about her awesome experience creating the masterpiece Pushing the Limits which you can my review HERE, you will have to check out her website HERE.
I know you will love Pushing the Limits as much as I did. Karen Wadsworth, Katie McGarry's publicist, has offered a finished copy of the novel up for grabs. For this contest, all you have to do is comment down below with your email.
You will even get an extra entry if you follow me, just make sure you let me know. This contest is US and Canada only. If you have any more questions, be sure to check out my policy page HERE. The giveaway ends September 2, so be sure to enter for a chance to win Katie McGarry's book, Pushing the Limits.
10 comments
Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteI follow by email.
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com
Thanks for the giveaway! I've been wanting to read this book for forever!
ReplyDeleteI'm a GFC follower: laceyblossom
Lacey
laceyblossom1(at)gmail(dot)com
I can't believe I haven't read this yet. I'm impressed that Katie could bring her own experiences into the story without feeling too exposed. the fact that she uses her experiences to add reality to her work makes me envious! There's always some sort of limitation on how real a person's own experience is in comparison with others that tend to hold most of us back from sharing those instances. I cannot wait to read this especially now that I have a feel for how very real this author is!!
ReplyDeleteMy contact info is in next post!
DeleteOops! Forgot to leave my contact info in my previous post.
ReplyDeletegfc: Cordelia Fitzgerald
email: cordfitz@gmail.com
Thanks so much for the amazing giveaway!!! Totally cant wait to read this one :)
ReplyDeleteGFC: iLuvReadingTooMuch
iliveforreading AT hotmail DOT com
Can Wait to read this book. thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteGFC - Ronyka7
flaka.077 at gmail dor com
I love you!!!!! <3
ReplyDeletefloppyrocks102@yahoo.com
Oh I would love to read this book :D
ReplyDeleteGFC as Gaby
gaby891 AT YAHOO DOT COM
I've seen sooo many great reviews for this book, and I really have to read it soon! Great interview!! Thanks:D
ReplyDeleteGFC Follower-silverlight-Lisa C
pnrurbfantasyreview @ hotmail.com