Today I’m happy to welcome C. Lee McKenzie to my blog, to answer a few questions about her recently released debut novel Sliding on the Edge.
Q: Tell us about a scene or character from your novel that was especially easy (or especially difficult) to write.
A: My Chapters 35 and 36 were bears to write at first–well, actually I kept re-writing them in my head until I could force myself to sit at the desk and put the words down. I didn’t want what happened in them to happen, yet I knew I needed it to. Hmmm. That sounds cryptic, but if you read the book, you’ll understand.
Q: What is your favorite (or one of your favorite) myths or fairy-tales, and why? Or alternately, what fairy-tale or myth do you dislike, and why?
A: I don’t like the myth of Sisyphus. I guess the reason is because I sometimes feel like I’m rollin’ that old rock up the mountain every day, just to have it roll back down. This feeling comes about the time I’m not getting the story right. When the story IS right I’m kind of a Polyanna; then I love the fairy tale, Cinderella, where everything turns out good.
Q: What has been the most exciting part of selling your book(s) and getting published so far?
A: I loved talking to the editor for the first time and hearing her tell me she loved my book. Next to that, I got really excited holding the Advanced Reading Copy. “This is really a book!” I think I said that out loud.
About Sliding on the Edge
Shawna Stone is a heartbeat away from making the worst mistake anyone can. She’s close to taking her own life. Kay Stone is a grandmother Shawna has never known, and at sixty-four Kay feels there is little left in her life to look forward to. When they are thrown together they circle each other in a crucible of secrets and distrust until saving a doomed horse unites them and gives each a reason to live.
About C. Lee McKenzie
A native Californian, C. Lee McKenzie has always been a writer, but to eat and make contributions to children’s college funds, she’s also been a university lecturer and administrator. Lee’s written and published non-fiction articles, both in her field of Linguistics and Inter-cultural Communication, and in general readership magazines. For five years Lee wrote, edited, and published a newsletter for U.S. university professors who were managing global classroom issues. Since she turned in her academic hat and began writing for young readers, Lee’s fiction and non-fiction works have been frequently published in the award-winning e-zine, Stories for Children, and Crow Toes Quarterly has published her ghostly tales. Sliding on the Edge is her first young adult novel. Writing for teen readers keeps Lee in touch with the young members of her family, and allows her to re-visit those wonderful years in life when everything is possible. When she isn’t writing, Lee’s hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Los Gatos, California.
Learn more about C. Lee McKenzie at her website.
Sliding on the Edge is available now! I encourage you to shop at your local independent bookstore!
Tags: debs blog tour
