Interview with Katie McGarry

Ya'll, I recently read Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, and I frackin adored it! It was full of fabulous. My review will come closer to publication date, but in the mean time I have the marvelous Katie here on the blog for an interview! 

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions!

1) Pushing the Limits switches between Echo's point of view and Noah's. Did you know from the beginning that would be the case, or did you figure it out along the way? 

I knew immediately that I wanted to write alternating points of view. I had tried it in a previous manuscript and fell in love. There’s something about being able to see a love story from both points of view that is just enchanting!

2) Noah's voice is much more crude than Echo's. Was transitioning between the two of them difficult? 

Sometimes, yes. Between writing Echo and Noah, I would often need to take a break. Whether it be a walk around the block or heading into the kitchen to sneak a chocolate chip cookie. I go deep into my characters’ heads when I write and I lose myself in them. It was harder for me to pull out of Noah’s head than it was Echo’s.

3) What was the most challenging part of writing Pushing the Limits? What about your favorite part? 

The hardest part of writing Pushing the Limits was having to channel difficult memories and emotions so I could properly write Echo and Noah. There were several times that the scenes became so emotional for me to write that I had to walk away and take a break. 

My favorite parts, hands down, are the scenes with sexual tension. I adore writing those scenes.

4) How do you feel knowing that your debut novel is going to be out in the wild for everyone to read (and most likely adore!)?

I’m super excited and nervous. I’m heading close to the two year mark from when I first signed the contract with Harlequin Teen. It feels like it has taken forever to reach my release day, but now that it is right around the corner, it seems like the time flew by.

5) Greek mythology is mentioned throughout the novel. Is that something you've loved since you were a child, like Echo? How did you get into it? 

I honestly knew nothing about Greek mythology when I started Pushing the Limits. When I begin to write, I see flashes of scenes in my mind. One of the flashes was a memory Echo had of her mother talking to Echo when she was a child in her bedroom. Echo’s mother was pointing out constellations that she had painted on Echo’s ceiling. 

A lot of constellations involve Greek mythology therefore my story evolved. 

SPEED ROUND

Lemonade or iced tea? 

Lemonade

Pens or pencils? 

Pens

Dresses or jeans? 

Jeans

Spearmint or peppermint? 

Neither

Zebra print or cheetah print? 

Zebra

~~~

Thanks again, Katie! I see big things ahead for you! 

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.

Katie would love to hear from her readers. Contact her via her website, katielmcgarry.com, follow her on Twitter @KatieMcGarry, or become a fan on Facebook and Goodreads. 

Her website ~ Her twitter ~ Her facebook

Series: Standalone

Genre: YA Contemp

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: July 31, 2012

Pages: 384

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.  Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

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