Q&A With Katie McGarry
Q: 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
always felt 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.
About author Katie McGarry
Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and she 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.
Writing has given Katie an excuse to pursue her passions. Research for her books has provided her with the amazing opportunity to train with baseball players, ride along in a drag car at ninety-six miles per hour and experience boxing and mixed martial arts. Katie loves to visit schools and talk to teenagers about her research, writing and the truth that no dream is out of reach.
Check out my review of Pushing the Limits
here!
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