Debreviews Presents: C.Lee McKenzie Author of Sliding on the Edge
I had the pleasure of actually meeting my Deb at the Asilomar writer’s conference back in February and got to hold her precious last ARC. Her YA novel Sliding on the Edge is available now, so when you’re done reading all about her, you can run out and pick up your own copy.
Shawna Stone, sixteen, can handle anything from a Las Vegas hustle to skipping out on the rent. Scarred inside and out, she's survived with a tough, hardened attitude. Yet she's thrown when her mother abandons her in Vegas with only a bus ticket and the name and number of a stranger to call. Now this troubled, desperate teen finds herself on a Northern California horse ranch with Kay Stone, her steely, youngish, disillusioned grandmother, who overwhelms Shawna with rules and daily barn chores. Shawna will baffle Kay with her foul mouthed anger and shrugging indifference to everything--except the maltreated horse on the ranch next door. But it's worse than even Kay suspects: Shawna's driven to cut herself by that strange voice inside her head,which at times has been her only steady companion. Kay, brittle from the loss of her marriage and her only son, struggles to keep the ranch going with only Kenny, the broken down drifter she hired, to lean on. Wondering what secrets hide behind Shawna's barricade, Kay fears that unless she somehow helps this troubled girl, she could lose her last living family member. And Kay's own secret is the very one that's kept Shawna and her mother away for all these years. As this unlikely pair struggles to co-exist, will they overcome their inner suffering to build a bridge to each other, and together find the strength to transcend the past?
First things first - what do you like people to call you? C. Lee is a little mysterious.
Lee is fine, and I'm glad you asked because everybody is puzzled about how to get my attention. I always wonder if F. Scott Fitzgerald had the same issue. "Should we call you F.? Should we call you Scott? Or should we call you F. Scott? :-)
Shawna has such an interesting background and character - did you have any particular inspiration for the book?
The first idea for my book was a newspaper article with this heading: "Nearly 1 in 5 [Ivy League Students] Surveyed Say They Have Purposely Injured Themselves."
Wow!
I couldn't imagine a young person hurting so much inside that they had to cut or burn themselves to "feel" something or to gain control over their emotional pain. That's when I created a character I thought might do just that. Shawna's not easy to like at first, but readers tell me she grows on them and then sticks inside their heads. Perfect. I wanted readers to become aware of the problem, and I wanted teens who self-abuse to identify in some way with Shawna.
I was really drawn to the setting - a ranch in a small town outside of
Sacramento. Did you have to research the setting, or were you already
familiar with rural life?
I had a former mining town in the Sierra Foothills in mind when I wrote about Sweet River. My fictional town isn't the same, but I think it has the flavor of Auburn, California. And, yes, I'm familiar with rural life. I'm definitely a country bumpkin and love it.
Which character do you identify with most?
I suppose since I'm way past 16 I could say I identify with Kay who has all those regrets; however, I really connected with Shawna. She spoke to my heart, but I heard her in my head constantly.
Titles are always so hard, and yours is so different. How did you come up with the title?
Awk! Not the title question! I'm horrible with titles. My working title was The Fourth Horse. (Too esoteric, my editor said.) My second stab at giving this book a name was Bad Ass Attitude (Too likely to offend, my editor said.) Finally, we agreed on Sliding on the Edge. I now title my books X, Y, and Z while I'm writing them.
Do you think Shawna will get to live happily ever after? Do you ever wonder
what happens to the characters after the book ends?
Shawna will live a good life after the book. I just know it. I see her heading toward that red barn, her pockets filled with apple chunks, and Magic there to greet her.
Do you do anything special when you are getting ready to write? Listen to
music?
I'm not sure they're special, but here are my pre-writing "techniques"-- usually when I don't have anything except a germ of an idea and I'm feeling like I'll never be able to cough anything up onto a piece of paper I 1) hide under the bed covers 2) crouch at my desk with my hoodie pulled over my head 3)beg the cat for some sign that he cares I write or that he has a way to start my next book.
What book made you decide you wanted to be a writer? Have you had any
writing mentors?
I can't identify any one book or any one person. I can't even remember making a decision to write. It just happened. That's not a great answer, but it's true.
Do you have any advice for us Tenners as our release dates approach?
Get some sleep before your release date. Seriously.
What are you working on right now?
First, I'm waiting to hear from my editor about my option book. Second, I'm working a YA with a male protagonist. So far this book is in that "beg-the-cat-for-help" stage, so I don't have much to say about it until he comes up with some guidance.
Give us a few little-known facts about Lee.
I'm very sentimental, but I hate to admit it. I think I have every card anyone has ever sent me. Sentiment can take up a lot of space in a closet, let me tell you.
Thanks so much for the interview Lee. We can’t wait to see what’s up your sleeve for next time!