Author Interview: Cat Lavoie

It's another stop on the CLP Blog Tour for Cat Lavoie's novel Breaking the Rules. Today's post features an interview with the lovely author herself. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did. I had fun learning that Cat and I have very similar tastes!

First, some fast and furious favourites (hey, that's pretty catchy. And alliterative. I like it!):

Books Etc.: Favourite movie?

Cat Lavoie: Love, Actually.

BE: Favourite author/book? 

CL: It's so hard to choose just one but Pride and Prejudice is definitely at the top of my list of all-time favourite books.

BE: Favourite (or dream) travel destination?

CL: London. I've been there twice already and I can't wait to go back.

BE: I know you currently live in Montreal so I'm curious about what made you decide to set Breaking the Rules in New York City and have one of the characters move to London?

CL: I've always loved New York City and—when I visited the Big Apple in 2003—it was my first time traveling outside Canada. The following year, I took a plane for the first time and went to London. Both cities are very close to my heart so I knew I wanted to include them in my novel.

BE: How much of yourself do you see in Roxy?

CL: We definitely share a passion for food and cooking—but, sadly, she's the only one with talent. I think we are both a bit insecure and—like Roxy—I've definitely had moments where I felt like my dreams were completely out of reach.

BE: How did you come up with the names for your characters?

CL: I have a book of baby names that I flip through for inspiration. Also, I like to scan the credits at the end of TV shows and movies in case an interesting name pops up. I really enjoy the process of finding a name that feels 'just right' for a character.

BE: Are you an outliner or a write by the seat of your pants author?

CL: Definitely an outliner. I like to know where I'm going before I start a chapter or a scene.

BE: Do you have a particular writing routine? A favourite place to write or time of day to get work done?

CL: I usually write in the evenings or during my lunch breaks at the office. I don't have a particular routine but, when I'm writing at home, the TV needs to be tuned to either a cooking show or a home improvement show. Even if it's muted, it needs to be on or—for some reason—I have a hard time focusing.

BE: How did you come up with the idea for Breaking the Rules?

CL: It all started with a conversation I had with a male friend. We were discussing whether men and women can be 'just friends.' I started thinking about what would happen to a lifelong platonic relationship if the fine line between friendship and love was crossed for a brief moment.

BE: What kinds of things do you like to do when you're not writing?

CL: If I'm not reading or writing, I'm usually either trying to cook without setting off the smoke alarm or watching way too much television.

Author Bio:

Cat Lavoie was born in the small town of Jonquière in Québec, Canada. At the age of nineteen, she packed up her things (mostly books) and moved to the big city of Montreal where she currently lives with her tempestuous cat Abbie—who is both adorable and quite possibly evil.
An incurable Anglophile since her university days where she studied English Literature, she can often be found daydreaming about her next trip to London. Since she’s an expert at the art of procrastination, Cat is easily distracted by cooking and home improvement shows—even though she’s not particularly good at either.
Cat grew up watching soap operas and legal dramas and—had she not decided to be a claims analyst by day and write chick lit by night—she would have probably become a designer suit-wearing lawyer. Or a character on All My Children (which is what she really wanted to be when she was twelve). Cat is not sure whether she’s a geek or a nerd—and is afraid she might be both. Breaking the Rules is her first novel.  

Connect with Cat:
Cat blogs about the writing life and posts adorable pictures of Abbie over at the Catenabi Chronicles. Come say hello at: www.CatLavoie.com and follow @Catenabi on Twitter.