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.

Guest Post: Cat Lavoie

On Saturday I shared my review of Breaking the Rules by Cat Lavoie. I'll give you a quick recap in case you missed it: I freaking loved it. LOVED it. Today, Cat was kind enough to write a guest post for Books Etc. Because I knew that Cat had published her novel with Marching Ink, which is run by the fabulous author Samantha March, I was curious to see what her writing journey was like. Read on to find out how it went for her!

My Journey to Publication

When I stop and really think about it, my journey to publication began with a single blog post. I was in the throes of major writer's block at the end of November 2009 and I felt as though I couldn't write another word of Breaking the Rules. That's when I decided to start a blog—Catenabi Chronicles. I knew that I had to keep writing in order to get out of my funk. My other 'trick' to beat writer's block—stepping away from the computer and taking a break—had backfired because I stepped away for far too long and found it more enjoyable than sitting in front of my computer. So if I couldn't write my novel, I had to write something. So I used my new blog to post pictures of my cat Abbie and chronicle my attempts to finish the first draft of Breaking the Rules by midnight on December 31, 2009. Blogging actually helped me beat the block and I made my deadline with only ten minutes to spare.  

With the first draft done, I thought that the hard part was over. All I needed to do was whip that draft into shape. The rest had to be easy, right? Wrong. What followed were several months of querying agents and editors and those months quickly turned into two years of relentless rejections. Some rejections were quick and surprisingly painless. Others were long and drawn-out in a series of emails and—even though there was a bit of interest—every time I thought my foot was in the door, it eventually led to disappointment. At one point, I thought Breaking the Rules was destined to line the bottom of a drawer. I started working on a second novel and—even though I liked where it was headed—I couldn't get Breaking the Rules out of my head. I decided to self-publish it. During that process, I met fellow author Samantha March who told me about the publishing company she'd started, Marching Ink. I was really overwhelmed by her reaction to Breaking the Rules and her subsequent offer to publish it through her indie press. I was so happy to connect with someone who loved this story as much as I did and who wanted to work with me and send this novel out into the world. Signing with Marching Ink felt right; I knew Breaking the Rules had finally found its happy home.

A few months ago, I got to announce the news I'd been waiting so long to post on the Catenabi Chronicles. My novel had a publication date and cover art and it would be a real book instead of a pile of marked-up pages on my desk. That post was the exact opposite of the very first post I'd written a few years back. Instead of a rant on writer's block and tons of self-doubt, I was able to celebrate some of the best news I've ever had to share. And even though the journey was bumpy at times, I was able to look back and be thankful for the rollercoaster ride that brought me to that moment.

The fact that I can now hold a physical copy of Breaking the Rules in my hand feels extremely surreal. And I'm happy that—after more than two years of posting adorable pictures of Abbie on the Catenabi Chronicles—I was finally able to post a picture of her being adorable… next to a pile of my novels.

Isn't she sweet? I love this picture. Thanks for sharing it - and this post - Cat! Stay tuned for an interview with Cat coming up on Books Etc. on Wednesday!

Happy reading :)

CLP Blog Tour: Breaking the Rules

Prepare yourselves. I am about to make a bold statement. Breaking the Rules by Cat Lavoie might be one of the best books I've read this year. I'm so happy I decided to take part in this CLP Blog Tour!

Here's the synopsis for this fabulous novel:

When twenty-seven year old Roxy Rule’s best friend and roommate accepts a glamorous new job overseas, she expects their relationship to continue as it’s always been—carefree and easy—until they share a heart-stopping kiss moments before his departure. Overcome with mixed emotions, she fights the urge to over analyze the situation and resumes back to her normal life in New York City, working for an intolerable boss at a dead end job, creeping further and further away from her own dreams of becoming a professional chef. 

While things become more complicated between her and Ollie, Roxy is sure that nothing can come between two lifelong best friends—not even mild jealousy over a thriving career or a silly little kiss that meant nothing. In fact, it was such a meaningless and forgettable kiss that she convinces herself that it’s not even worth mentioning to her fiancé, although it is all she can think about. 

Roxy’s already topsy-turvy life only gets more complicated when her sisters Steffi and Izzie suddenly become her roommates. Steffi is six months into a pregnancy she refuses to discuss and Izzie is in the throes of a premature midlife crisis. Roxy tries to take control of her career, her love life and her sisters – but can she really handle it all? And can the Rule family keep it together – or break under the pressure?

I did not want to put this novel down. I was sucked into Roxy's world and I loved reading about her life. Her life had hit an interesting rough patch and it was a lot of fun to read about what was happening and trying to figure out how she was going to handle everything.

I'm also a bit of a sucker for the "girl and boy are friends and suddenly one realizes they have feelings for the other" stories - as long as they're original in some way or another. Or at least fun and well written. I felt like this novel had both. There was also a crazy twist at the end that I was not at all expecting. Though I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. It's borderline too strange to wrap my head around but I realize that it's sort of a reflection on families these days and it's really not a deal breaker for me in any way. Yes. That is all very vague. Read the book and you'll understand :)

I loved all the characters that showed up in this book. Except maybe Roxy's boss. Oh, and Ollie's girlfriend. They're both kind of crazy but that just added to the fun! :) Steffy and Izzie, Roxy's sisters, were great and really helped Roxy through everything, just as she was helping them through their issues. She has some awesome friends and, I admit, I may have a little bit of a crush on Ollie!

I don't know if I can really put my finger on what I loved so much about this book. The writing was good, the story was great, the characters were fun. I guess the main thing is that everything worked well together. Sometimes I pay too much attention to the way things are worded, the writing style of the author, and so on. Usually I know a book is great when I don't necessarily pay attention to those things. It means I've gotten sucked into the story and that's what I love about reading. I want to be 100% involved in the story and the character's life. If I feel too disconnected or if I'm thinking too much about how I'd edit or change the book then I'm not loving it. I didn't find myself critiquing anything with this novel. I was able to become completely immersed in Roxy's life without worrying about anything else.

And can I just say how much I love the cover? So cute and fun and bright and wonderful! :)

Like I said earlier in this post, I'm so glad that I was able to take part in the blog tour for Cat Lavoie's debut novel Breaking the Rules. I think that any chick lit lover would love it just as much as I did and I can't recommend it enough. I can't wait to see what Cat comes out with next!

Stay tuned for a guest post and interview from Cat next week!