Interview and Excerpt: Don't Let Me Go by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Thanks to Catherine Ryan Hyde for stopping by with a Q&A and excerpt from Don't Let Me Go. Please visit her tour page at CLP Blog Tours for more information and to win a $25 Amazon gift card!
**Interview**
When did you know writing was for you?
When I was a sophomore in high school. I had a wonderful English and creative writing teacher, Lenny Horowitz. He not only told me I had talent, but he told just about everybody else in the school as well. I wasn't used to being told I was good at things. Every day somebody tended to point out the opposite. What I sucked at. So his praise made a huge impression on me. I wrote a little essay about it for the Random House website, and it's also on my blog at: http://www.catherineryanhyde.com/blog/2009/4/3/i-owe-it-all-to-lenny-reprint.html Thank you for giving me a chance to share it with even more eyes.
How would you describe your books?
I like to think they live in that slight overlap between literary and mainstream/commercial. Many call them women's fiction, and I'm fine with that, but I tend to get a good reaction from men as well, though not in the same numbers. For years I wrote Young Adult, because I was told that my coming-of-age characters were so deeply felt, so key to the heart of each book. But I never really felt like I found my audience in YA. Now I think of myself as writing adult fiction, usually with strong coming-of-age themes. It's rare for me not to have a child or teen in one of my books, even if it's a just long piece of the story going back to the time when the character was a child.
I don't write genre fiction. I don't write paranormal, vampires, zombies. I don't write intricate, convoluted plots with tons of big action. I write about people, about what they want and need. About the human condition. I try to write character-based stories from that magic "sweet spot" where all humans can relate to all other humans. Because, deep down, we all want the same things. We want to be happy, safe, loved. And we want the same for the people we care for. All the other differences are about 1% on the surface of a person, in my opinion, and I love to write diverse characters and then cut right through the diversity to the common humanity. For me, that makes the whole process worthwhile.
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
I'm pleased to say I've been having great luck with it lately, but the hardest part is going from not having an idea (for a novel) to having one. Because that's the part that's not entirely in the author's control. Once I have an idea, I can refine it with my brain. Once I have a draft I can go almost completely left-brained and polish it until it shines. I love that part of the process because it's so predictable. But to start a germ of an idea requires pure imagination, and there's no switch to turn it on. You can't force imagination. You can encourage it. But it always rests a little outside our understanding. This is why no author has ever satisfactorily answered the question, "Where do your ideas come from?" We're not holding out on you. We really don't know. Harlan Ellison answered that question by saying, "Schenectady." Which I guess is as good an answer as any.
What are your favorite genres to read?
Well, I really don't read in genres, if we're using the word the way it's most commonly used these days. I like to read realistic contemporary fiction, character-driven fiction that can make me care about its characters. Because, no matter how dramatic the plot, if I don't care about the people involved, it's not going to hold me. I like books that shine a realistic but somewhat hopeful light on what it means to be human.
What do you want readers to take away from your story?
The fact that probably don't need to be as afraid of each other as we are. And that we're not so different as we think. If someone looks different, or speaks a different language, that's often all we know about them. Because it's all we see. So I think we fall into a trap of thinking the world is full of people who are completely different from us, through and through. I don't think that's true, and I hope readers will feel less separate from others, less afraid of others, coming out of this novel, or any of my novels. I also like to explore what our responsibility is to help each other. Obviously there's no mandatory responsibility to help anyone, but most people feel some sense of humanity towards others, and I like to help stretch that a bit in readers, if they're willing.
How important do you think social media is for authors these days?
I'd say about as important as water and sunscreen if you're walking across the desert. It's how I form bonds with readers, and how they can know me if they choose to. It's a lot like what authors used to try to do at bookstores when our publishers used to send us out on tours. Only much, much better. In addition to its being important to my career, I also find it gratifying, fulfilling and fun.
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Don't write in a vacuum. It's easy to want to guard your work because the feedback hurts. But if you're writing for publication, the feedback will find you. Even in this age of digital indie publishing, you're still opening up your work to readers, and they will still tell you what they think. Better to thicken your skin early on, and use the more on-target comments to hone your craft. I think writers' critique groups and beta readers are hugely important. Not always fun, but a necessary part of the plan if you really choose writing for your career.
Thank you for the great questions, thanks for hosting me on your blog, and thanks for spreading the word about Don't Let Me Go!-Catherine
**Excerpt**
He sat gingerly on the very edge of one rusty chair, leaning over the railing, looking down at the little girl’s head from maybe three feet above her. “A gracious good evening to you,” he said. “Hi,” she said, in a voice like a soprano foghorn.
Catherine has 4 backlist titles that will be available for Kindles coming in October! Check out:
Funerals for Horses
Earthquake Weather
Electric God
Walter's Purple Heart
And When You Were Older (available now in the UK) will be will be on sale in the US in November - print and eBook!
Author Bio:
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of 18 published and forthcoming books.
Her newest releases are When You Were Older, Don’t Let Me Go, Jumpstart the World , When I Found You and Second Hand Heart. Forthcoming is Walk Me Home (Transworld UK, Spring 2012).
Other newer novels are Becoming Chloe, Love in the Present Tense, The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance, Chasing Windmills The Day I Killed James, and Diary of a Witness.
Both Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List. Jumpstart the World was chosen as a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards, received a third place Rainbow Award for Young Adult/Coming of Age Fiction and a tie for first place in Bisexual/Transgender Fiction.Love in the Present Tense enjoyed bestseller status in the UK, where it broke the top ten, spent five weeks on the national bestseller list, was reviewed on a major TV book club, and shortlisted for a Best Read of the Year Award at the British Book Awards.
Older works include the story collection Earthquake Weather, and the novels Funerals for Horses, Pay it Forward, Electric God, and Walter’s Purple Heart.
Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt, chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than 23 languages for distribution in over 30 countries. The mass market paperback was released in October 2000 by Pocket Books and quickly became a national bestseller. It is still in print, and was rereleased in a trade paperback edition in April of 2010.
More than 50 of her short stories have been published in The Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, The Sun and many other journals, and in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts and the bestselling anthology Dog is my Co-Pilot. Her stories have been honored in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the Tobias Wolff Award and nominated for Best American Short Stories, the O'Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Three have been cited in Best American Short Stories.
She is founder and former president (2000-2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation. As a professional public speaker she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with Americorps members at the White House and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.
Connect with Catherine!
My website: http://www.catherineryanhyde.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/cryanhydeFacebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/crhydeFacebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catherine-Ryan-Hyde/55974126195Google+: https://plus.google.com/104995498482118293003/posts Tumblr blog: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/catherineryanhydePinterest: http://pinterest.com/cryanhyde/
Buy the Book!
ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Me-Go-ebook/dp/B00896POTO paperback: https://www.createspace.com/3909105
**Interview**
When did you know writing was for you?
When I was a sophomore in high school. I had a wonderful English and creative writing teacher, Lenny Horowitz. He not only told me I had talent, but he told just about everybody else in the school as well. I wasn't used to being told I was good at things. Every day somebody tended to point out the opposite. What I sucked at. So his praise made a huge impression on me. I wrote a little essay about it for the Random House website, and it's also on my blog at: http://www.catherineryanhyde.com/blog/2009/4/3/i-owe-it-all-to-lenny-reprint.html Thank you for giving me a chance to share it with even more eyes.
How would you describe your books?
I like to think they live in that slight overlap between literary and mainstream/commercial. Many call them women's fiction, and I'm fine with that, but I tend to get a good reaction from men as well, though not in the same numbers. For years I wrote Young Adult, because I was told that my coming-of-age characters were so deeply felt, so key to the heart of each book. But I never really felt like I found my audience in YA. Now I think of myself as writing adult fiction, usually with strong coming-of-age themes. It's rare for me not to have a child or teen in one of my books, even if it's a just long piece of the story going back to the time when the character was a child.
I don't write genre fiction. I don't write paranormal, vampires, zombies. I don't write intricate, convoluted plots with tons of big action. I write about people, about what they want and need. About the human condition. I try to write character-based stories from that magic "sweet spot" where all humans can relate to all other humans. Because, deep down, we all want the same things. We want to be happy, safe, loved. And we want the same for the people we care for. All the other differences are about 1% on the surface of a person, in my opinion, and I love to write diverse characters and then cut right through the diversity to the common humanity. For me, that makes the whole process worthwhile.
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
I'm pleased to say I've been having great luck with it lately, but the hardest part is going from not having an idea (for a novel) to having one. Because that's the part that's not entirely in the author's control. Once I have an idea, I can refine it with my brain. Once I have a draft I can go almost completely left-brained and polish it until it shines. I love that part of the process because it's so predictable. But to start a germ of an idea requires pure imagination, and there's no switch to turn it on. You can't force imagination. You can encourage it. But it always rests a little outside our understanding. This is why no author has ever satisfactorily answered the question, "Where do your ideas come from?" We're not holding out on you. We really don't know. Harlan Ellison answered that question by saying, "Schenectady." Which I guess is as good an answer as any.
What are your favorite genres to read?
Well, I really don't read in genres, if we're using the word the way it's most commonly used these days. I like to read realistic contemporary fiction, character-driven fiction that can make me care about its characters. Because, no matter how dramatic the plot, if I don't care about the people involved, it's not going to hold me. I like books that shine a realistic but somewhat hopeful light on what it means to be human.
What do you want readers to take away from your story?
The fact that probably don't need to be as afraid of each other as we are. And that we're not so different as we think. If someone looks different, or speaks a different language, that's often all we know about them. Because it's all we see. So I think we fall into a trap of thinking the world is full of people who are completely different from us, through and through. I don't think that's true, and I hope readers will feel less separate from others, less afraid of others, coming out of this novel, or any of my novels. I also like to explore what our responsibility is to help each other. Obviously there's no mandatory responsibility to help anyone, but most people feel some sense of humanity towards others, and I like to help stretch that a bit in readers, if they're willing.
How important do you think social media is for authors these days?
I'd say about as important as water and sunscreen if you're walking across the desert. It's how I form bonds with readers, and how they can know me if they choose to. It's a lot like what authors used to try to do at bookstores when our publishers used to send us out on tours. Only much, much better. In addition to its being important to my career, I also find it gratifying, fulfilling and fun.
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Don't write in a vacuum. It's easy to want to guard your work because the feedback hurts. But if you're writing for publication, the feedback will find you. Even in this age of digital indie publishing, you're still opening up your work to readers, and they will still tell you what they think. Better to thicken your skin early on, and use the more on-target comments to hone your craft. I think writers' critique groups and beta readers are hugely important. Not always fun, but a necessary part of the plan if you really choose writing for your career.
Thank you for the great questions, thanks for hosting me on your blog, and thanks for spreading the word about Don't Let Me Go!-Catherine
**Excerpt**He sat gingerly on the very edge of one rusty chair, leaning over the railing, looking down at the little girl’s head from maybe three feet above her. “A gracious good evening to you,” he said. “Hi,” she said, in a voice like a soprano foghorn.
Catherine has 4 backlist titles that will be available for Kindles coming in October! Check out:
Funerals for Horses
Earthquake Weather
Electric God
Walter's Purple Heart
And When You Were Older (available now in the UK) will be will be on sale in the US in November - print and eBook!
Author Bio:
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of 18 published and forthcoming books.
Her newest releases are When You Were Older, Don’t Let Me Go, Jumpstart the World , When I Found You and Second Hand Heart. Forthcoming is Walk Me Home (Transworld UK, Spring 2012).
Other newer novels are Becoming Chloe, Love in the Present Tense, The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance, Chasing Windmills The Day I Killed James, and Diary of a Witness.
Both Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List. Jumpstart the World was chosen as a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards, received a third place Rainbow Award for Young Adult/Coming of Age Fiction and a tie for first place in Bisexual/Transgender Fiction.Love in the Present Tense enjoyed bestseller status in the UK, where it broke the top ten, spent five weeks on the national bestseller list, was reviewed on a major TV book club, and shortlisted for a Best Read of the Year Award at the British Book Awards.
Older works include the story collection Earthquake Weather, and the novels Funerals for Horses, Pay it Forward, Electric God, and Walter’s Purple Heart.
Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt, chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than 23 languages for distribution in over 30 countries. The mass market paperback was released in October 2000 by Pocket Books and quickly became a national bestseller. It is still in print, and was rereleased in a trade paperback edition in April of 2010.
More than 50 of her short stories have been published in The Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, The Sun and many other journals, and in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts and the bestselling anthology Dog is my Co-Pilot. Her stories have been honored in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the Tobias Wolff Award and nominated for Best American Short Stories, the O'Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Three have been cited in Best American Short Stories.
She is founder and former president (2000-2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation. As a professional public speaker she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with Americorps members at the White House and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.
Connect with Catherine!
My website: http://www.catherineryanhyde.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/cryanhydeFacebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/crhydeFacebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catherine-Ryan-Hyde/55974126195Google+: https://plus.google.com/104995498482118293003/posts Tumblr blog: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/catherineryanhydePinterest: http://pinterest.com/cryanhyde/
Buy the Book!
ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Me-Go-ebook/dp/B00896POTO paperback: https://www.createspace.com/3909105
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