Cat Lavoie

About the author:  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.

Interview with Cat Lavoie

You’re an author! How does it feel to have your book published?  It feels so awesome! These last few months working on edits and getting everything ready for Breaking the Rules’ release have been really exciting.

Facebook or Twitter?  Both. I left Facebook for a few years and—for the longest time—my only social media outlets were Twitter and my blog. But now I’m back on Facebook and I love how I’ve connected with readers and other writers in such a short time… so now I’m trying to balance both.

Did you always want to be a writer?  As far as I can remember, I’ve loved stories and books. When I was in grade school, I used to beg my teacher to let me stay inside during recess so I could read at my desk. Being a writer was definitely one of my dreams when I was growing up.

What is your snack and/or drink of choice when writing?  Oh no. This is the part of the interview where I reveal my crippling addiction to Lays Salt & Vinegar potato chips and Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate bars! But I also drink a lot of water (with tons of ice cubes) when I’m writing. So it’s not all bad!

Where did you get the idea for “Breaking the Rules?”  I was having a conversation with a male friend about the age-old question: can a man and a woman really be just friends? Then I started asking myself: what if a lifelong platonic relationship got really complicated, really fast? The characters and the rest of the story just grew from there.

How long did it take to write it?  I worked on it on and off for a few years, taking notes, doing research and outlining. But once I decided to focus on completing my first draft (i.e. stop working on the outline and actually write the story) it took me a little under a year.

What was your writing/experience like?  Painfully slow. I tend to edit as I write and I have trouble moving on with the story until I feel the sentence/paragraph/chapter I’m working on is ‘perfect.’ It was definitely a challenge to silence my inner editor long enough to finish writing the first draft.

When your book was published, how did you celebrate?  I seem to recall a horribly uncoordinated happy dance in the middle of my living room that scared Abbie (my cat) and sent her hiding for cover. Then I had a celebratory dinner with my best friend. (Followed by another happy dance when I got back home.)

Paperback or eBook?  Why?  Mostly eBooks. As a tech geek and a shopaholic, I love the fact that I can carry all my books with me everywhere I go and that I can go from wanting a book to owning that book in just a few simple clicks.  But I still love the look and feel of a physical book, though. When I really love a novel, I usually end up buying a copy for my bookshelf.

What authors inspire you?  That’s a tough one because there are so many! I’d have to say my main inspiration is Sophie Kinsella. Reading “Confessions of a Shopaholic” helped me find my voice. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to write chick lit. And I love authors like Marian Keyes who combine humor with more serious issues.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?  The best writing advice I’ve ever been given is: “write the book you want to read” and “write.” For the longest time, I was talking about writing, thinking about writing and even writing about writing… but I wasn’t really writing. So that advice really hit home.

Are you working on anything now?  If so, would you like to share anything?  I’m currently working on the first draft of my second novel called Zoey & the Moment of Zen. It’s the story of a woman who gets sent to an island resort by her friends and family to help her get over an ex-boyfriend. Hopefully, hilarity will ensue.

**Contact Cat!:  Cat blogs about the writing life and posts adorable pictures of Abbie over at the Catenabi Chronicles.  You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter!

**Click HERE to read my 5 star review of Cat’s debut novel, Breaking the Rules!