 Harlequin Teen Author Katie McGarry Posted by Joan Kayse Aug 7 2012, 12:59 am It is with great anticipation, pride and excitement that I welcome debut YA author Katie McGarry to the Lair today. Her first novel PUSHING THE LIMITS released on July 31st! The buzz has been electrifying for months and after reading a much coveted ARC (:D) I can say without a doubt it is well deserved. Welcome to the Lair, Katie! Thanks for having me, Joan. I’m honored to be here! So Katie, how did Noah and Echo come into your life? Pushing the Limits was born when I was free writing for another story. I thought it would be fun to write a scene with my characters in therapy. Halfway into the scene, I realized that my heroine’s voice had changed. She had a wit, spunk, and a sadness that didn’t belong to the character I was writing. I fell in love with her and that new voice became Echo. I gave Echo room to play and when I asked myself who would be the best person to bring her out of her shell, Noah was created. Did you target the YA market when you started? I wrote PTL with the YA market in mind. Echo and Noah face very adult problems, but they tackle them with the compassion, spirit, and honesty of teenagers. Q: Your characters are incredible—full, dynamic, multi-dimensional. The reader can FEEL these characters, inside and out. Any insights into how you accomplished this…aside from being a genius writer? When I write, I “become” my characters. Their highs are my highs. Their hurts become my hurts. I cried several times while writing Pushing the Limits, but I also laughed quite a bit too. Q: The story itself is right on target too, highlighting the characters on the periphery, the importance of finding your place in the crazy world of adolescence. What drew you to this age group? To me, being a teenager is like standing on the edge of a cliff and laid out in front of you are all the possibilities for the future. Adrenaline rushes through your blood stream as you think about all the adventures waiting for you, but your hands also start to sweat. In order to experience all that life has to offer, you have to jump. Jumping can be terrifying. That gray area between being a child and becoming an adult is rich with emotions. I love capturing those emotions and the rush of jumping into the future. This is why I write YA. Q: What advice would you have for kids facing tough times? To breathe. Take whatever it is one day at a time and to talk to a trusted adult. Always remember, there is hope. Here is an excerpt from PUSHING THE LIMITS: “I won’t tell anyone, Echo. I promise. “ Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. “You didn’t do that-did you? It was done to you?” No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked. Sigh. This was one of the highlights that led me to fall in love with Noah and to want to embrace Echo. Are there more stories on the way? Yes! I’m currently working on revisions for DARE YOU TO, a companion novel to Pushing the Limits. DARE YOU TO follow the story of Beth. She is a secondary character from PTL. It is scheduled to be released sometime in 2013. On a side note, I’ve had the honor of reading some of Joan’s work and I want the world to know that she’s extremely talented. Thank you Joan for inviting me to appear on this fabulous blog today!!!! (Blush) Oh, go on Katie….no I mean it. Go on Katie is giving away an autographed copy of PTL in our August Members Only giveaway. Not a member? Join today for special Members Only prizes and newsletter. Now Katie has some questions for you. Who was your first kiss with? The bad or the good boy? Are you the ype of girl who prefers the boy in the black leather jacket or the khaki pants? Learn more about Katie at www.katielmcgarry.com
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It was during a game of truth or dare and it was a friend of my cousin. I think he was a wanna be bad boy. However, I prefer the khaki kinda guy. Not really into the bad boy, but a good nice boy.
Just don’t go kissing that wily rooster, Melody!
I agree Anna….too much beak
Owww
Hey Melody! Congrats on nabbing the rooster! He’s not much into Khaki’s I”m afraid. But he does like motorcycles….hmmmm
Wanna-be-bad boy. I love it! Thanks for stopping by!
Us wanna be’s try harder
I’m a wanna be Olivia Newton-John in the last scene of Grease “You’re the one that I want..”
Good morning everyone! WTG Melody May on grabbing the Golden Rooster! He’s definately not the khaki kind of chook …unless he’s undercover
Isn’t he always undercover
Katie, welcome to the lair. Great interview, JT. Katie, good luck with PUSHING THE LIMITS. It sounds great – and congratulations on your debut!
Thank You!
Congrats on your debut!
As for my first kiss, I assume you mean as an older kid? Anything younger than 10 doesn’t really count? In that case, it was a nice boy; I had no time for bad boys. Regular jeans was fine and I had my own black leather jacket.
Heehee. I had my own leather jacket too, Infinitieh! Grins.
I love that you had your own black leather jacket. And yes , I agree. Anything under 10 doesn’t count.
The closest I got to an under age 10 kiss was sharing an Orange Crush and popcorn with Herbie….the popcorn was more interesting
Oh i would love a copy!! Love the cover too, very original and striking.
I’m also in love with the cover! Thanks for stopping by!
Jacinta,
The cover is yummy isn’t it and once you read the story of Echo and Noah, you’ll love it even more!
katie
Congrats on you debut release it sounds really good I haven’t read a lot of YA stories but the few I have read I really enjoyed I must keep an eye out for this one.
First kiss so long ago LOL and yes he was classed as a bad boy back then but probably tame by todays standards I do remember his name though Owen so long ago. And for me I like both types as long as they have a sense of humour
Have Fun
Helen
Ah, Helen has a dark past with a bad boy! Grins. (just kidding, Helen!) Wonder where Owen is now?
A sense of humor is a must for me too!
Helen, Katie’s book is the first YA I’d read (if you don’t count The Hunger Games) and I was floored. Course, this wonderful young author has a visceral abilty to convey a story. She’s a natural writer.
Katie…STOP groaning….
Hi Katie! Welcome to the Lair! Congrats on your debut. If Joan says it’s good, it’s good. Grins.
I had to LOL about the therapy session and the character coming to light that way. May have to use that…
As to kissing boys (reminds me of Susan Sey’s title, Kiss the Girl!), first crush-kiss was the semi-bad-boy. He did have a motorcycle, Infinitieh, and a leather jacket. Grins. But he also liked to read. A perfect combo. Ha!
I also liked the khaki-guys too – sharp pressed and business minded. Ha! second boyfriend was more one of these than a bad boy. I suspect he went on to be a bad-boy-of-business, khakis or not, as he had little respect for the law. Snork!!
Bad boy of business. I think there is a great hook for a story in there somewhere!
Ha! You’re probably right, Katie!
Good morning, Joan & Katie! Pushing the Limits sounds wonderful,Katie, & Joan couldn’t say enough wonderful things about it in Anaheim last week. I can’t wait to pick it up!
As for my first kiss, it was a tremendous disappointment, the way most hotly anticipated firsts are.
There was a lot of unprovoked tongue, that’s all I’m saying. And I did not allow a repeat performance. 
Hey Susan!!!!! Yeah, I kept imaging Katie at the Literacy signing and me bursting with pride.
My actual FIRST kiss was by the back porch of my house under the porch light…..awkward at best, horrifying when I went into the house only to find out my Daddy was out in the backyard!
And LOL on unprovoked tongue…again, inexperienced Joanie here didn’t realize what dork boy…er, I mean my date…was trying to do. I thought he was having a seizure
Aw, thanks Joan for talking up PTL. My first kiss was with the bad boy, but it was incredibly sweet. No tongue or seizures (Joan) depending how you look at it.
Katie!!!
We have lots of ways we welcome guests. I guess since PTL is YA, we must forego the sangria but we have LOTS of chocolate. Paolo! A plate of Hershey please.
So how did you arrive at the title Pushing the LImits?
The original title was Redefining Normal, but once it sold, we decided to change it. Echo and Noah definitely “push” each other in the area of trust as in: You can trust me, but can I trust you?
Hi Katie! Welcome to the lair. Congratulations on your debut. YA is a tough market to crack. How wonderful that you did.
First kiss…hmmm…I’m afraid my first kiss was pretty unremarkable. I believe I allowed the guy to kiss me just so I’d see what the fuss was about. Definitely was a non-threatening type.
But I’ve been kissed by bad boys as well. One thing about the bad boys – they’re quick to pick up the signals on what works and what doesn’t.
My husband is a reformed bad boy. He’d had the leather jacket and the motorcycle but was moving past that. I found him when he was moving toward respectibility and responsibility so I think I got the best of both worlds
Katie – I love to hear the call stories of debut writers. Can you tell us about yours?
My “call” from my agent was actually an e-mail. I was at a writer’s conference and my heart flew out of my chest when I opened up what I thought for sure was going to be another rejection. Nope, the agent was telling me how much she loved the book and was wondering when we could talk.
My “call” on selling was hysterical. My agent was out of the country and had called me via Skype with the results of the auction. Every other word was dropped and I was freaking out because I couldn’t understand a thing. Luckily, she e-mailed me what she was trying to say.
Woohoo! An auction! Extra congratulations on that!
Love technology. Chatted with a book group in Washington State last night via Skype. Periodically, the screen would freeze. Wasn’t sure if I’d bored them to absolute stillness or it was one of those break-up things. LOL
My first real kiss was given to me when I was almost 16 and he was almost 18 and the new kids who had traveled the world – we’ve been married 43 yrs. so it was some kiss lol. Congratulations on your book!
Oh I meant to add he was more the bad boy so it hasn’t been always easy but never, never boring lol.
Awesome! I’m proud to be my husband’s first kiss!
Oh, it was a Bad Boy. Yup. Every bit of it.
And for me, that was a very good thing. *grin*
Welcome, Katie, and huge congratulations! I hope these books just explode for you. From that short excerpt, I’m guessing you tangled with some really tough issues. Good for you.
Thank you Cassondra!
I’ve got a case of Coco Lopez, and I’m going to whip up a batch of virgin Pina Coladas for your younger set.
Anybody want one?
Sven!!!???? Have you seen the extra blender? I think I’m gonna need two.
That’s the spirit Cassondra! Too bad we can’t have Tom Collins in honor of Mrs. Collins the counselor in the book.
This unassuming connection between Noah and Echo….mad…she was fantastic. Knew JUST how to handle things. Straight talk and no BS… gotta love that
Welcome to the lair, Katie! Pushing the Limits sounds wonderful – I can’t wait to read it!
My first “real” kiss was with a bad boy but I ended up with a good boy
I ended up with a good boy too!
Ah Katie, what a lovely man Noah is going to be!! This sounds like such a good book. And I have to agree that the world needs to read Joanie’s books, too!!!
First kiss, hmmm…Brian in the first grade. He brought me home on his bike, but after my big brother had a “talk” with him, he never offered again. “pout”.
I’ve always been drawn to the guy in the leather jackets.
What is it about leather jackets that make us swoon?
I hate to kiss and tell, but I’m telling anyway. My first real kiss was with a good guy. It had to be because I was a good girl. I was seventeen and I thought he was the most handsome guy in the world. He was leaving for the Navy, he asked me to wait for him. Did I wait for him, Nah, you know the saying “them Navy guys has a girl in every port”, well it was true with him. My first love I’ll never forget.
I prefer the guy in Khaki jeans. I’m a blue jean gal myself.
Congratulations on your book “Pushing the Limits”, can’t wait to read it.
LOL….donna. Poor Navy guy
You’re going to love PTL. Seriously, it’s one of those first you cry, then you laugh, then you go “Is it ok for a fifty something lady to totally crush on an 18 yo?”
Oh, that is such a heart wrenching story. The romance writer in me loves it though.
Welcome, Katie, and congrats in your debut! It sounds fabulous.
My first kiss was a good guy. Walking with the leatner jacket was fun, but the guys in khaki, in my experience, are more dependable.
Hi Ho, Hi Ho…..I went to Disney to much….
Off to bed for the DDJ tomorrow. My thanks to Katie for visiting the lair and all ya’ll who stopped by!