Q&A with Catherine McKenzie

It is with great pleasure that I welcome Catherine McKenzie, author of Spin, to Turning the Pages today.  I was contacted by HarperCollins Canada and asked if I would like to review Catherine's newest novel, Forgotten, as part of the blog tour and of course I said yes.  Having heard nothing but rave reviews for her two previous novels, I was excited to see what Forgotten would hold.  You can read my review here.

As a way of saying thank you, Catherine answered a few questions for me and I thought it would be great to share with my readers.

Thank you to Catherine as well as to Shannon, at HarperCollins, for making this all come together! :)

Without further adieu, here is what Catherine had to say:

TTP: Where did you come up with the idea for Forgotten?

CM: I've always found the idea that someone who has a life-scare should re-evaluate their life interesting. It seems to be a given - in the movies anyway - that anyone who has a brush with death will then start acting like they might die any day, that their life will be found wanting somehow if they don't change. I like flipping givens on their head and explore them from the opposite perspective. And when I heard about someone showing up after having been stuck for six months in Africa and finding a stranger living there, I felt that I had the right premise to explore the issue. (Author's note: I have never met this person, nor do I know anything other than those facts. I, in fact, expressly forbade the person who was telling me the story from telling me anything more than that).

TTP: If you were to take Emma's place, would you try to get your life back or would you want to have a fresh start?

CM: I think that what Emma learns through the experience is that you can't go back; you have to accept life as it is when you're living it. And that's something I believe in.

TTP: Forgotten has a very 'Hollywood' feel to it. If you were to cast the movie, who would play Emma, Dominic and Craig?

CM: Honestly, I almost never envision any character in any of my books as a real person (actor included), so questions like these are really hard for me to answer. That being said, I did name Dominic after Dominic West from The Wire, and they might look a bit like one another. As for Emma and Craig , I really have no idea. If I'm lucky enough to sell the film rights & have it made into a movie, I'm sure I'll have all kinds of opinions - about who's wrong for the part!
TTP: Which of the characters do you relate to the most and why?

CM: I probably relate most to Emma - we share a profession (though not a work environment) - and we had to share a brain, in a sense, while I was writing the book. I had to go through what she was going through and make it relatable to me, if that makes any sense.
TTP: What's next for Catherine?

CM: My 2nd book, Arranged, is coming out in the US in a few weeks, and I'm working on my fourth novel, top secret for now.

Author Bio:

Catherine McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. A graduate of McGill University and McGill Law School, Catherine practices law in Montreal. Her novels SPIN and ARRANGED are International Bestsellers. They, along with her third novel, FORGOTTEN, will all be published in the US by William Morrow in 2012.

 

 

Novel Spotlights:

Spin ~ Chapters/Amazon/Barnes & Noble

Katie’s To-Do List:

1. Go to rehab
2. Befriend/spy on “It Girl”
3. Write killer exposé
4. Land dream job

Piece of cake!

Katie Sandford has just gotten an interview at her favourite music magazine, The Line. It’s the chance of a lifetime. So what does she do? Goes out to celebrate — and shows up still drunk at the interview. No surprise, she doesn’t get the job, but the folks at The Line think she might be perfect for another assignment for their sister gossip rag. All Katie has to do is follow It Girl Amber Sheppard into rehab. If she can get the inside scoop (and complete the 30-day program without getting kicked out), they’ll reconsider her for the job at The Line.

Katie takes the job. But things get complicated when real friendships develop, a cute celebrity handler named Henry gets involved, and Katie begins to realize she may be in rehab for a reason. Katie has to make a decision — is publishing the article worth everything she has to lose?

Arranged ~ Chapters/Amazon/Barnes & Noble

Anne Blythe has a great life: a good job, good friends, and a potential book deal for her first novel. When it comes to finding someone to share it with, however, she just can’t seem to get it right.
After yet another relationship ends, Anne comes across a business card for what she thinks is a dating service, and she pockets it just in case. When her best friend, Sarah, announces she’s engaged, Anne can’t help feeling envious. On an impulse, she decides to give the service a try because maybe she could use a little assistance in finding the right man. But Anne soon discovers the company isn’t a dating service; it’s an exclusive, and pricey, arranged marriage service. She initially rejects the idea, but the more she thinks about it-and the company’s success rate-the more it appeals to her. After all, arranged marriages are the norm for millions of women around the world, so why wouldn’t it work for her?

A few months later, Anne is travelling to a Mexican resort, where in one short weekend she will meet and marry Jack. And against all odds, it seems to be working out-until Anne learns that Jack, and the company that arranged their marriage, are not what they seem at all.

Forgotten ~ Amazon

When everyone thinks you’re dead, how do you start your life over again?

Emma Tupper, a young lawyer with a bright future, sets out on a journey after her mother’s death: to Africa, a place her mother always wanted to visit. But her mother’s dying gift has unexpected consequences. Emma falls ill during the trip and is just recovering when a massive earthquake hits, turning her one-month vacation into a six-month ordeal.

When Emma returns home, she’s shocked to find that her friends and colleagues believed she was dead, that her apartment has been rented to a stranger and that her life has gone on without her. Can Emma pick up where she left off? Should she? As Emma struggles to recreate her old life, everyone around her thinks she should change: her job, her relationships, and even herself. But does she really want to sacrifice everything she’s working so hard to gain?