Meet Cate Touryan: Insights from the Author of Turning Toward Eden

As far as I can tell, one of the best uses of social media is meeting someone who you connect with. That was the case with Cate Touryan, author of the award-winning debut novel, Turning Toward Eden. I met Cate on Author Media, Thomas Umstattd, Jr. social platform. It turned out that we were both writing clean-reads historical fiction with teenage protagonists. And although we’re on either sides of the U.S. and our novels are very different, we’ve developed a friendship through our books that appeal to adults as well as to teens.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

To celebrate the release of Turning Toward Eden as an audiobook, Cate gave me this wonderful interview.

CAROL: Turning Toward Eden is a complex book. How did you come up with the ideas for the plot?

CATE: Thank you for the compliment—it is a compliment, right? The word complex can mean many things, and not all favorable. But for me it suggests layered characters, emotional depth, multiple themes, and an unflinching honesty, that is, a revealing of things as they are, in all their dimensions and peculiarities—features I strive for as I write. 

My novel certainly didn’t start out that way. When I began the story nearly three decades ago, I knew the who, the where, and the what—a 14-year-old girl landing wrong side up in a remote coastal town, saddled with her severely disabled brother when her father walks out. But I didn’t know the then what or the how. Only as I drafted did the narrative arc emerge. And only with the exceptional guidance of my developmental editor did the novel find its full range.

My stories rarely arise from plot ideas. Instead, they arise from characters and the choices they make. It’s people I love to write, and if I do that well, these people will write the plot. They need to—I haven’t nearly the imagination I’d like. But I do have an endless fascination with the intricacies of the human heart. To help readers navigate the novel’s many facets, I’ve included discussion questions for parents, teachers, and book clubs.

CAROL: Yes, that is a compliment! I’m in awe at the emotional depth of your characters which you captured on the page. Is there anything autobiographical about the story?  

CATE: To an extent, yes. That is to say, I write out of my life, but I don’t write my life. (At least not yet!)

So, yes, Eden’s story includes elements drawn from my own, threads woven from my younger years—growing up in the early 1970s on California’s Central Coast, the Cold War casting a chill over summer fun, my father a university professor, my mother a nurse. Harford Beach is modeled on Avila Beach, a ten-minute drive from my home, though I reshaped the geography to create the shantytown of Gulch Run and the estates of Vintage Heights.

Avila, California. Circa 1960 and 1970.

Both Raven and Dex are spun from actual people, Raven from a mysterious (to me) high-school classmate, Dex from my disabled half-brother, to whom I dedicate the novel. Though rooted in the real, they quickly unfold as the imagined. 

When I moved to the Central Coast in 1970, I learned that AT&T had installed a transcontinental cable system off a nearby road, with rumors that the underground network was designed to survive nuclear fallout and maintain communications after a Soviet strike. Whether true or not (and the information is classified), Cold War tensions were palpable, fueled by suspicion, secrecy, and fear of the other. By weaving in that global unease, I intended to amplify the emotional landscape of the story. The decades since have done little to diminish fear of the other, as we’re reminded daily, giving the novel contemporary relevance.

CAROL: That is fascinating back story! You did an excellent job of weaving that unease into the story. To me, that is one of the things that I enjoy the most about historical fiction; showing readers true events through fictional characters who lived through them.

What has your publication journey been like? What have been the bumps along the way?

CATE: It’s been a journey fraught with disappointment and revelation—one many debut authors know well—the novel coming so close to being picked up by traditional publishers but then meeting its demise with the inevitable pub board question: Where does it fit on the bookshelf? 

Where indeed? Is it YA or adult? Secular or faith-informed? Literary or commercial? Should it be shoehorned with mysteries or histories? Tucked against Southern gothic or California groovy? Is it a coming-of-age, a family drama, or an adventure? 

The novel seemed to fit everywhere and thus nowhere, a market risk that publishers weren’t willing to take—despite championing the story. “Destined for the Island of Misfit Toys,” I began muttering to friends, though I took heart when one reviewer kindly described the book as “delightfully enigmatic to classify.” In addition, as a debut novelist, I had no substantial platform, no wide social media presence, no surefire campaign strategy for a rapidly changing market.

That was the disappointment—multiplied by eight years. The revelation was that had I gotten my wish for a large traditional publisher, I’d likely be sorry now—just as the adage warns—and looking for an off-ramp. With the rise of indie publishing, a surprising number of my traditionally published friends have left the large houses to forge a path of their own, citing deadline pressures, marketing expectations, and a lack of creative control—and without the earnings to offset the stress.

Small presses and indie publishing are giving the large houses a run for their money. My publisher,Winged Publications, is a small traditional press. They saw merit in my work and offered a contract, one I negotiated to allow my full involvement in the process, from cover design to formatting to editing. Only now am I discovering the vast resources, contests, networks, and author communities supporting indie and small publishing. 

A postscript to my publication journey: Turning Toward Eden won the 2025 IAN Book of the Year award for Cross-Genre Fiction and also ranked as a finalist in General Fiction. 

At last, a place it fits! 

(IAN stands for the Independent Author Network, a community that hosts an annual competition for indie and small publishers.)

CAROL: Congratulations! I’m so happy that your book is getting the recognition it deserves. Now, here’s the big question. You and I both have written young adult books that are attracting more of an adult than teen audience. Why do you think your book is resonating with adult readers? Do you have plans to market your book toward teens? If so, what are you planning on doing?

CATE: When I began the novel, I intended to write a fairly simple story for teens like my older daughter, at the time 15. I didn’t expect to put the draft on hold for decades while I worked and raised a family, nor did I anticipate the dramatic shift in reading habits and tastes of teens today.

When I was growing up in the ’70s, few bookstores had YA shelves. Teens primarily read adult fiction, classic sci-fi, literary fiction, and children’s books that trended older. For example, S.E. Hinton’s book The Outsiders was YA but shelved in the adult section. Libraries and school book lists shaped teen reading; tenth graders read To Kill a Mockingbird, A Separate Peace, The Catcher in the Rye, and similar heavyweights. Literary language posed little challenge, stories unfolded more slowly, plots were woven with moral and philosophical themes, and readers appreciated ambiguity and quiet endings. 

Today, YA is a massive industry churning out thousands of titles per year, with influencers and BookTok guiding teens’ choices much more so than librarians and parents. Teens buy what they want, and what they want is fantasy, dystopian, romance, and thrillers. They primarily seek entertainment and escapism with intense, fast-paced, plot-driven, easily readable stories. Graphic novels cater to their quest for instant, exciting, and visual.

My novel is anything but that. What I’m finding is that adults—baby boomers, in particular—crave stories that take them back to their youth, that remind them of a simpler, more carefree time, the retro vibes familiar, comforting, the nostalgia welcome. Along with Eden, they remember their own coming-of-age journey, relish the small-town setting with its crusty characters, and delight in the lyrical prose. 

Unless a young influencer happens along who loves retro cross-genre stories, or the YA market makes a radical pivot toward slower, character-driven reads, it’s unlikely Turning Toward Eden will appeal to more than the most classically educated teens of today. In short, I wrote for the teen I was in the ’70s, my novel is just the kind of book I would have plucked off a library shelf as a 15-year-old. And the reality is, it’s just the kind of book I’d pluck off the shelf now as an adult, taking me back to the literary novels of my youth. My hope is that out there somewhere, others are longing for the same.  

CAROL: That makes a lot of sense. My readers are often seniors who remember the 50s—the period in which Half-Truths is set. I think our readers resonate with what they knew and experienced. On behalf of both our books though, I hope they make it into the hands of teen readers who want to explore a different time and place.

Now, please tell us about your recently released audio book. How you found your narrator, what you’re excited about in releasing it, or anything about that process you want to share.

CATE: If the novel breaks into the YA market at all, it will likely be through the audiobook. In fact, it was my younger daughter who insisted I release an audiobook, citing her own reading habits as a 20-something. Recent surveys show that listening has overtaken reading for the first time among both teens and adults. Audiobook consumption continues to grow, revealing a burgeoning market. 

You can tell you’ve landed a good narrator, I’ve decided, by how often she makes you laugh while reading your own words aloud. After a disastrous first go-round with my original narrator, I found Leonor A. Woodworth, and once I did, I refused to let go until she said “yes” and squeezed the novel into her packed schedule. Her reading is fabulous, her voices wonderfully true to the characters, her pacing and interpretation spot on. As my daughter said, “I could listen to her on loop.” Audiobook listeners are in for a treat! 

CAROL: What did you do before you became a full-time author?

CATE: I’ve taught writing my entire life. That’s what I am – a writing instructor from home school to university to professional trainings. Every kind of writing (almost). I have a BA and MA in English, JD in law, decades teaching on college and university campuses as well as for government agencies. 

CAROL: What’s next?

CATE: A middle grade cross-over. Here’s the blurb:

Who names a kid Siroun Hartoun Looney Tune Baboon anyway? Okay, maybe the last part comes courtesy of Joey, school pest, but leave it to Armenian parents to pillage a grave for a name. So what if her great-great-great aunt was intrepid and shrewd, heroic and revered? All it’s gotten Siroun is trouble, with Joey trumpeting her shortcomings—and Armenians are nothing if not short. Short, nearsighted, plump as sarmas, and mathematical dunderheads.

That’s it! Her name! She’ll change it. With the stroke of a pen, Siroun
becomes Scherazade, clever teller of 1001 Armenian tales. In the telling, she discovers not only her own tale but also Joey’s—and, as it happens, ours.

CAROL: Thank you for this wonderful interview, Cate! I appreciate the work you put into this intimate portrayal of a young woman wrestling with being free to be herself yet struggling to take care of her disabled brother at the same time she tries to keep her family afloat. The character’s voices are pitch-perfect, the beach town setting is portrayed with sensory detail, and the intricate relationships in the book make it worthy of all the five stars you received on Goodreads!

GIVEAWAY

Cate is offering TWO giveaways! Please indicate in the comments if you prefer the physical book (U.S. only) or a download link to the audiobook (international.) The giveaway will end on December 22, so enter soon! Make sure you leave your email address if you are new to my blog.