Interview with Catherine McKenzie- 2011

Last year, I was lucky enough to get to interview Catherine McKenzie about her debut novel Spin. I am pleased to say she was able to spare some time to grant me another interview, this time to talk about her new novel Arranged

KH: - Arranged is your second offering, how much harder was it writing on such a short schedule? Does it hamper the creative flow or help to push it along?

Catherine McKenzie: I’m actually very lucky that, although Arranged is being published only a year after Spin, I’d already written the book when I got my book deal. In fact, I wrote Arranged before Spin and so I only had to go through the editorial process in the last year (edits from my editors, line editing and copy editing) rather than starting from scratch or an outline. I know from other writer friends that writing on that kind of deadline can be very difficult, especially when – like most of us – you still have a day job.

KH: - I devoured Spin when I was given the chance to read it last year, and still recommend it to people when I am talking about books. I noticed a slight nod to one of the characters from Spin (celebrity Amber on the gossip show) near the beginning of Arranged, was that meant as a wink for your previous fans, or was Arranged originally meant as a sequel? 

CM: Thank you! That was definitely meant as a wink to the fans – something I added in the editorial process. A funny anecdote: the copy editor – who, among other things, checks to make sure that cultural references are correct – queried who Amber Sheppard was because she hadn’t been able to find her in an extensive internet search. She hadn’t read Spin J.

KH:-  Anne Blythe, is a 30-something writer who has a bad string of heartbreaks, with lovely red hair and a desire for the perfect man. I think I was 30 pages into Arranged when I was hit with a blast of emotions. You very easily could have been describing me.  You've hit your target audience to a bullet point. How much of "Anne" came from your friends and from yourself and how much came from research?

CM: Again, thank you. I don’t generally research characters – other than those who have a specific job, like Anne’s therapist or the marriage broker she meets. On the other hand, I also work hard not to base characters in my books on my friends. Every once in a while, someone around me will utter a great line of dialogue and I’ll ask if it’s okay for me to use it in a book. As to whether Anne is based on myself, I think, inevitably, any author who writes first person narratives has to be ready to have people assume that the main character is them. Example: Katie, the main character in Spin, goes to rehab. I can’t remember the number of times I’ve been asked whether I went to rehab since the book came out. Since I look a bit like Anne – we have the same colouring anyway – I’m sure this assumption will rear it’s head again, but while we might have some similar opinions, I really try not to be the main character in my books. I’m in there somewhere, though.

KH:- I've been waiting to hold off on the question that I know everyone must have asked, but what was the first inspiration for the whole novel? 

CM: Actually, the first question most people ask is whether or not Anne is ethnic – i.e. not a white girl from North America. That being said, it’s hard to pinpoint one thing that led to that “aha” moment. I do know a few people who’ve had arranged marriages, and have watched my share of The Bachelor etc. This kind of information – and questioning of who would undertake either – was floating around my brain hopper and Arranged is what it spat out.

KH:- Therapy, has made an appearance in both your novels, as part of the narration.  Do you feel that in modern society we rely too much on what others think of us and how easily led some of us can become?

CM:Deep question. I use therapy for two different purposes in the books. In Spin, she had to be in therapy since a large part of the book is set in rehab. Since this was the case, I used it as a device to let us know more about Katie. In Arranged, I added the therapy aspect as a way for Anne to talk out the idea of going through with an arranged marriage without it all being in her head. I’m also not sure that therapy is about what others think of us, but rather, how to overcome caring about that, if that’s holding you back in your life.

KH:- Another series of stories plays more then a few notes in Arranged,  that being Anne of Green Gables.  What made you decide to pick that as a backdrop for the mother?

CM:So many books these days are based on or have a nod to the works of Jane Austen. I love Jane Austen, but that has been done – literally in some instances – to death. I thought it would be fun to work in another favourite author. Julie Buxbaum also does this with The Secret Garden in her book After You (Another book I’d recommend). I also wanted to explore the whole consequence of believing that your life should turn out like the books you read. I think too many of us grow up expecting that perfect ending, and end up disapointed when it doesn’t materialize.

KH:- In your first novel Spin, you used music to decorate the story, I noticed in Arranged you used other books in the same way. (On The Road really sets the foreshadowing for Jack) Was there a conscious decision to do this?

CM:There certainly was in Spin; I always envisioned that book as a musical, if that makes any sense. I think it was less consciously done in Arranged, other than the fact that since Jack and Anne are both writers, it’s natural for them to be interested in – and to discuss – books that are important to them.

KH:- Margaret is this fabulous minor character who is just so rounded and full of colour. She manages to sweep you along in her scenes making you forget she's just a character in the book. She's also the opposite of Anne.  Did you create her just  for that balance ?

CM:Thank you. And pretty much. Anne is so full of doubts, so self-questioning, that I thought it was important to have someone who took the opposite approach. Plus she was really fun to write.

KH:- To me, the philosophy in Arranged is that without a strong series of friendships, nothing solid in life can really be obtained. Do you feel that in our society people are forgetting what truly matters?

CM: I think what I was trying to get across – within the boundaries of something that is supposed to be, ultimately, a little bit of fun fantasy – is that believing that there is only one person out there for everyone – a soulmate – can be limiting. I think that we choose to go in certain directions in our romantic lives, but those are choices. I guess I don’t believe in predestination when it comes to love.

KH:- Without giving away the ending,  I have to say I was not expecting it to end in the tone it did.  There almost seemed to be a moment when I thought either the characters of Richard and William would have a stronger role. What made you decide to leave them as minor elements? 

CM: Again, within the boundaries of what I was writing, I wanted to keep people guessing how it would end until the end. So, I’m glad you were not expecting it to end the way it does. Not sure I can say more without revealing too much.

Thanks for the great questions!

KH: Always a great pleasure. 

Arranged by Catherine McKenzie

Plot: Anne Blythe is a talented writer working at a magazine while putting the finishing touches on her first novel. Her latest relationship has just fallen apart, finding out the man who she's trusted was cheating on her.  Anne then begins to bump into a few more of her ex boyfriends, all whom are now married.  She discovers a business card for what she thinks is a simple dating service and after hearing that her best friend is engaged, decides to try it. Anne soon learns that they are more then just a dating service, but a company that performs arranged marriages. Anne turns this chance discovery into a new column for the magazine, her research leading her to join up herself. The matchmakers pair her up with a man who could be considered perfection, only to find out he's not what he seems after the wedding.


Is love by chance or illusion?  In this case it's both.
Once again, Catherine McKenzie offers up vivid characters who have a sense of witty sadness to them, that makes them very real.


I'm at a loss for words on this one folks. I can't review this book without comparing it to my own life. Which means once again Catherine McKenzie has hit the nail perfectly on the head, she knows her audience with a bullet point. 

The situation that the character Anne is in- in her 30's unmarried, a writer, a redhead, who's past boyfriends have moved on while she's still stuck- it's as if the author Catherine McKenzie were exposing pieces of my own life. I kept reading hoping she had a solution for me, then I remembered this was a novel. A beautifully sculptured piece of fiction that just happens to ring true.

The character of Anne's mother, who is currently on the edge of her own reality and not really paying too close of attention to Anne,  was a brilliant element of distance. (Also too close to home for my nerves.) Even though she's a minor character, the mother was a fresh view, given most mothers in modern fiction are too involved, too annoying.

There are moments when you find yourself wanting to slap the character of Jack and then give him the benefit of the doubt.  From the scene where he takes Anne boating you're left with this sense of menace that melts into a feeling of "maybe they got it right this time". I can not tell you how many times I sighed thinking if only there were more real men like this. 

In this day and age,  almost everyone has used the internet to meet someone, so the idea of falling for someone you've never really met is not as shocking as it first might have appeared. This gives an added weight to the element of Anne going to the matchmaker in the first place. Which I thought was mixed perfectly with the minor characters that Anne interviews who have had their own arranged marriages.
Too much in modern society is hinged on how we look, how we present ourselves and not enough on the real person.

Catherine McKenzie manages to take something as simple as eating lunch and deliver every emotion, every scent, every taste with such clear intent that it's no wonder her characters are so easy to identify with.

If you liked her first novel Spin then you're going to devour Arranged. (click here to browse inside the book)
Check out Catherine McKenzie on the Savvy Reader the official blog for Harper Collins Canada

March 1 2010

Hey, just to let everyone know, the contest closed today for the copy of "Spin" by Catherine Mckenzie.

Someone will be getting ahold of the winner in the next day or so.

This also means that I will be back later this week with a few updates to the blog. I know, it's been silent for the past month. I just did not want the contest and interview to get too lost in the shuffle, not too mention, the past month has been chaos in my personal life to say the lest.

But congrats to the winner of the book, and I will be back in a day or two with a few things to pump life back into this blog.

Interview with Catherine McKenzie

I had the chance to talk with Catherine McKenzie about her debut novel Spin. Which you can read a bit of on the sidebar, just click the "Browse this Book" link.

Don't forget about the giveaway that is going on and the review

Me :- The first question I am sure everyone has asked, but is the story fiction or semi-autobiographical?

Catherine McKenzie : Yes, I have been asked that question before and the answer is: no. I have not gone to rehab, undercover or otherwise. The story is fiction, with the exception being of course I was inspired by some real-life celebrities who were going in and out of rehab as the premise for the story. That being said, those guys on the roof – The King and his acolyte – are inspired by two guys I actually met. Oh, yeah.

Me-You made direct reference to two Jane Austen stories, were you reading/watching those two during the writing of this book or are they just some of your personal favourites?

CM :The two references you refer to are Mansfield Park, my least favourite Jane Austen novel, and Persuasion. I wasn’t reading either during the writing of this book, though I have read them both multiple times, but I did see the BBC production Persuasion I refer to while I was writing the book. It was one of those kismet elements that happen when writing sometimes – I had already decided to poke fun at the running that happens in romantic comedies when I saw this production. I screamed in disgust, and then I smiled with glee. I had the perfect place to express my feelings!

Me: I felt the undertone of both stories at different points in the novel (when Henry and Katie are together in the woods while Amber and Connor were covering in the game room, I thought about the scene in Northanger Abby when Morland and Mr. Tilney are chatting while Miss Tilney is courted by her lover)

CM :Interesting. That was really not intentional, but you don’t always know what you’re influenced by.

Me - Katie is in denial for most of the book about her own addiction, what was the deciding factor that prompted you to let her realize she might have a problem after all and that working the program was her best bet?

CM: In my mind Katie isn’t a full-blown alcoholic, just someone who is starting to let alcohol interfere in their life. Others might feel differently (some reviewers for instance), but I thought it was realistic for her to be in denial for a long time, but not for the whole time. Main characters in novels have to arc and learn and change a little (generally) and so this became part of Katie’s arc.

Me -The playlist that you have Katie listening to throughout, was that on purpose (deep emotional response for the characters and readers) or was that what you were listening to when you wrote it? It seemed to me, as if you were trying to express the surrounding characters and environment just that much deeper?

CM: Absolutely, thank you for getting that. Soundtracks are used so often in movies to help express the feel and tone of a scene, but more rarely in books. I wanted to fold in that extra dimension if I could. Really, I was kind of trying to write a musical, if that makes any sense.

Me - You have half your characters without real names, was that to show the level of personal interest Katie had with the other patients, or were you commenting on how many of us go through society? (and the way we communicate through gossip)

CM: I think I was trying to do several things. First, I admit I found it kind of funny and reflective of Katie – she doesn’t take things seriously, even when she should. More practically, in a book with that many characters, it’s really hard to make them all stand out individually – but calling them by their profession automatically gives them some personality.

Me- You used all the elements in modern culture -fashion/music/movies/tv/internet/magazines - as both a backdrop and for a form of communication, were you trying to show simply how obsessed we as a whole have become with escapism or where you expressing (mirroring back to us) how easily we as a whole can be led?

CM: Yes, yes, yes. I was trying to root this in the now, now, now but also to comment (gently) on our fanaticism with celebrity. There are large groups of people who look to and believe celebrities’ opinions on things as serious as autism instead of doctors. Why? How did we get this way? And isn’t it funny?

Me: What inspired you to make Katie a music writer?

CM: I honestly don’t know where that came from. Sometimes details just appear on the page. But I knew I didn’t want Katie to be a girly girl and to me a music obsessive is sort of the opposite of a girly girl.

Me - Hamlet. What I picked up from the use of Hamlet in your story was the underlining idea that things are not always how they seem. Comparing the madness of Hamlet and Ophelia to the drug addictions of both Connor and Amber. And the way their relationship is doomed to the way the lovers in Hamlet's relationship is doomed, was that your intention?

CM: You are smarter than me. Seriously. I wish I had thought of that.

Me-There is a scene where Katie realizes after she returns home, that her roommate is dating one of her friends. The fact she does not think of it as it is unfolding in front of her, was that to express how quickly things can change/grow or was that to express how self absorbed Katie was before rehab?

CM: Again. You are smarter than me. No, seriously, I was trying to soften Joanne a little and show a transition from her old life to her new.

Me -The character of Candice, I thought was a brilliant move. The idea of a person who could not accept that they had their time in the spotlight and needed to move on, was she based on anyone particular ? What was the underlining reason for having her almost disappear after her "performance"?

CM: She was not based on anyone in particular. She disappears after that because she had served her purpose. It’s just not possible to pursue each and every story line to its conclusions. Unless you’re Stephen King. He can do the 1000 page book. And John Irving.

Me: Thank you so much for your time Catherine.

CM: Thanks for the very thoughtful questions!

Her next book is set to be released early 2011

Give away -Spin by Catherine McKenzie

I am doing my first giveaway. It's for SPIN by Catherine McKenzie.

By now you have all read my review and had a chance to browse the book by the sidebar link and now you have a chance to win a copy.

All you have to do is leave me a comment with your email address saying why you might like this book.

This is for CANADIAN readers only.

You have until March 1st 2010 then one person will be picked by random.

Spin by Catherine McKenzie -Review

Plot: Katie is a music writer about to turn 30. On the eve of her biggest job interview for her dream job, she parties a little too long with her friends. The morning of the interview then becomes the morning of hangover hell.

But all is not lost, as Katie is offered a job in the company for their gossip magazine. The one catch, she needs to go to rehab to get the story.

Katie's life is about to change in more ways then one when she meets her fate in the form of Amber and Conner, the two biggest movie stars in rehab.

I read this book in 2 days. It clocks in at just over 400 pages but breezes through. It's witty, fun and just what the doctor ordered.

I found myself nodding to a lot of the situations Katie was finding herself in. Not knowing how to handle herself around men, feeling different from her family, reaching for her dream no matter how low she had gotten. All things I could identify with myself.

Growing up is never easy, and it seems to hit women harder then men.

The social commentary of how we treat people was a main theme throughout. The lead character seems to have a nice balance between seasoned journalist and fan, (something I personally still don't have a handle on) which makes her befriending the very people she is suppose to be spying on very believable. Even the "playlist" she carries around in her iTouch throughout the story lends itself to the building blocks of the personalities around her.

Catherine McKenzie has the Austen touch in this novel, (it helps that there is a direct mention of Northanger Abby and Persuasion) making you able to view the society the lead character finds herself in from the same quiet nobility that Anne Elliot does, or Catherine Morland's dreamy view of reality (in Northanger Abby Morland reads about fantastic lives where as in Spin Katie watches on television celebrities)

This is one story that makes you sit up and take notice of not just the characters but of yourself. Having the subplot being rooted in rehab (finding one's core truth) had me walking away from it and thinking about my own life and goals.

Can you dig into the dirt of your own vices and not come away clean?

I will be having an interview with the author Cathreine McKenzie later in the month on Jan 27th. Please come back then for more on Spin.

Just a Note

I just want to drop a reminder that I will be having a Q&A with the author of "Spin" soon.

Stay tuned here for more details. I will be updating everything later this weekend.

Mail Day

My doorbell rang, and I was thinking, "who would be coming here this time of day?"

I had forgotten with all that has been going on in the last two weeks that I was getting Spin by Catherine McKenzie.

I will be part of the blog tour later next month.

I have been having some personal issues and have to apologize for being behind on a few reviews.

I still have to finish reading Jolted by Arthur Slade and Cheers by Nicholas Pashley. I will try to have them up before the end of next week.

All are Harper Collins Canada books.