Interview & Giveaway: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Hola chickies!!


How many of you guys have read Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry?? :D I just finished it and holy macaroni, I think I'm in love! Not only with Noah and his little brothers, but just with the whole mind-blowingly amazing book in general.
                     
If you haven't read it, but need a small push, check out these fabulous reviews:


Beverly @ A Reading Daydreamer
Shirley @ Shiirleyy's Bookshelf
Jasprit @ The Readers Den
Maja @ The Nocturnal Library
Giselle @ Xpresso Reads
Nick @ Nick's Book Blog
Sam @ Realm Of Fiction


Trust me, after reading those reviews, you'll go crazy with want NEED. (I know I did!)!!


SOO... I'm super duper happy to be hosting a giveaway with a copy of Pushing The Limits! A huge thanks to Harlequin Teen. :)


Details:


-This giveaway is US/Can only (sorry my International peeps!)
-The winner will have 72 hours to respond
-There will be only one winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good luck everybody!! If you can't enter this giveaway, don't fret because I will be posting an awesome international giveaway this Friday, so stay tuned!! :D


Here is a short interview with YA author of Pushing The Limits, Katie McGarry. Hope y'all enjoy it! :)

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 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 moment 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 unfortunately 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.

Thanks for stopping by, Katie! I wish you the best.

So, what do you guys think of the interview?? Thoughts?? Questions??? Just some good ol' rambling?? :P