Author Interview & Giveaway: Hidden – Catherine McKenzie

We have Catherine McKenzie with us today chatting about her release, HIDDEN.  It’s an awesome book that deals with a very difficult subject, but one I think Catherine pulls off wonderfully (you can read our review of HIDDEN here).  Help me in welcoming Catherine to Cocktails and Books.

Tell us about yourself.

Um, how long do you have? Actually, I kind of hate talking about myself, but that’s the nature of the beast. So, I’m a writer/lawyer from Montreal, Canada, where I was born 40 (!) years ago. I have red hair. I like to run but my knees are protesting that lately. I’m married. I have this amazing group of friends that I’ve been friends with for twenty years. I’ve known my best friend my entire life and we’ve never had a real fight. That should be enough to get started, right?

What three things about you might surprise your readers?

I am not a robot.

Asking me how I have time to write and be a lawyer makes me feel like a freak.

I watch an insane amount of television.

Is there a particular genre or genres that you might like to tackle in the future? Do you have a story in mind? How would the jacket copy read?

I’d love to write a YA book that rivalled John Green. And the jacket copy would read: Catherine McKenzie is a fantasist.

Seriously, I have a YA book idea in mind but I cannot reveal it. Not even under pain of torture.

Tell us about Hidden.

While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is struck by a car and killed. Two women fall to pieces at the news: his wife, Claire, and his co-worker Tish. Reeling from her loss, Claire must comfort her grieving son as well as contend with funeral arrangements, well-meaning family members, and the arrival of Jeff’s estranged brother, who was her ex-boyfriend. Tish volunteers to attend the funeral on her company’s behalf, but only she knows the true risk of inserting herself into the wreckage of Jeff’s life.

Told through the three voices of Jeff, Tish, and Claire, Hidden explores the complexity of relationships, the repercussions of our personal choices, and the responsibilities we have to the ones we love.

That’s the jacket copy, but honestly, I couldn’t have said it better.

Hidden tackles some difficult subjects. An extramarital affair. The death of a spouse and father… and illicit lover. Yet, you handle each with tact and a delicacy that allows the reader to connect without necessarily condoning. From where did your inspiration come? Was the writing process difficult?

Thank you! Inspiration came from a lot of places. A friend of mine died years ago and a lot of people found out in an email. There was that mine disaster where the guy had a wife and a girlfriend and I kept thinking that the only way she’d known about it – the girlfriend I mean – is because it was all over the press. Some other stuff. I’d read a lot of books about infidelity and there was always a good guy and a bad guy and I liked the challenge of making it just three people in a mess.

What do you think readers will like/love about Jeff, Claire and Tish? Or not like? Do you have a favorite?

I hope what they like or love about them is what I do. They’re just people. Flawed, real. And I can’t pick favorites!

Which scene in Hidden is your favorite?

Okay, maybe I can pick favorites. I love the scene where Seth is reading the poem at the funeral, and then how that folds back into the next chapter from Tish’s perspective. Also, when Tish takes Zoey golfing. The little moments.

Who are some of your book “boyfriends”?  What draws you to them? Do you find yourself developing these same attributes in the male or female characters you create for your novels?

Mr. Darcy. Henry from my first novel, Spin (I know, right? But I did get to write him.)

I think in a well written novel you fall in love with the main character when they fall in love. I don’t consciously model my characters after other people, fictional or real. But that feeling, that feeling of falling in love along with your characters is always what I’m looking for.

If you had to pick a favorite cocktail, what would it be?  (It can be non-alcoholic too)

I do love my cosmopolitans. I am actually one of those people who tried it one night because I love Sex and the City. What? They’re delicious.

What’s next for you?

I have a novella sequel to Spin coming out soon called, wait for it, Spun.

While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is struck by a car and killed. Not one but two women fall to pieces at the news: his wife, Claire, and his co-worker Tish. Reeling from her loss, Claire must comfort her grieving son and contend with funeral arrangements, well-meaning family members and the arrival of Jeffs estranged brother, her ex-boyfriend Tim. With Tish’s co-workers in the dark about her friendship with Jeff outside of the office, she volunteers to attend the funeral on the companys behalf, but only she knows the true risk of inserting herself into the wreckage of Jeff’s life. Told through the three voices of Jeff, Tish, and Claire, Hidden explores the complexity of relationships, the repercussions of our personal choices, and the responsibilities we have to the ones we love.

Read our review of HIDDEN here.

Catherine McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. A graduate of McGill University and McGill Law School, Catherine practices law in Montreal. An avid runner and skier, she’s the author of the international bestsellers SPIN, ARRANGED, FORGOTTEN and HIDDEN. Hidden will be released in the US April 1, 2014. Catherine is currently searching for another one-word title so she can start work on her next novel.

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