Interview with Catherine Ryan Hyde

Hey readers! This is our first interview!!! Yay! We're definitely excited about this. Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of Chasing Windmills, (see the review below) among many, many others (just wait until question #12 for the full list). Since we've recently read that one, we'll start off with some questions concerning that:

1) In Chasing Windmills Maria gives Sebastian the nickname Tony and continues to call him that for the rest of the book. Which do you call him: Tony or Sebastian?

I call him Sebastian. Because I think the "Tony era" had a sense of unreality about it. When two people fall in love, especially when they do it suddenly, they tend to try to remake each other. In the end, I think he continues to be sebastian.

2) When you came up with the idea for Chasing Windmills did you know you were going to connect it so much to West Side Story? Or was the story an idea first and then you added that piece in?

Neither, I think. I didn't have it in mind in advance. But I didn't purposely find a place for it. The story just seemed to develop in that direction.

3) Which do you prefer: Romeo and Juliet or West Side Story?

I'm not a big Shakespeare fan. He's a bit obtuse for me. West Side story I can at least understand, since I was alive during that era.

4) Who is your favorite character in Chasing Windmills?

I'd have a hard time deciding between Sebastian and Maria. I think Sebastian would be an easier person to know in real life. But my heart goes out equally to both of them. Also, I'd love to meet Delilah in real life if such a thing were possible.

Now--since some of you haven't read Chasing Windmills (you definitely should)--there are some general questions:

5) Do you prefer to type or handwrite the first draft?

I always work on a computer. At all phases.

6) Do you use a system of organizing the books on your bookshelf? What is it?

Organization? What's that?

7) If you could team up to write a book with anyone, who would it be?

Maybe Kurt Vonnegut, if it weren't already too late.

8) When did you first realize that you wanted to write?

My sophomore year of High School. Thank you Mr. Horowitz.

9) Where is your favorite place to write?

In my studio, overlooking the coast.

10) Is there one book in the world that you wish you had written? What is it?

There are many. I guess Flowers for Algernon might top the list.

11) What's your answer to our May poll? Bookmark, dog-ear, or memorize the page number?

Definitely bookmark! It drives me crazy to watch people dog-ear pages of a book on purpose.

And last is the best question ever:

12) What is your favorite question to be asked during an interview? What would be your answer?

I like to be asked about the total body of my work. So many people know about Pay It Forward and maybe one or two others. I like a chance to say that I have ten published books (and one fothcoming as of this writing). They are: Funerals for Horses (adult), Earthquake Weather (story collection), Pay It Forward, Electric God (adult), Walter's Purple Heart (adult), Becoming Chloe (YA but strong adult crossover), Love in the Present Tense (adult), The Year of my Miraculous Reappearance (YA), Chasing Windmills (adult but strong YA cross-over), and The Day I Killed James (YA but suitable for grownups). Forthcoming is the YA novel Diary of a Witness.


Thanks again to Catherine Ryan Hyde for providing us with our first interview! It was a lot of fun! And thanks to all of you out there reading this.

♥Heather and Caroline

(p.s. Add Catherine on myspace here)