Welcome to the fourth installment of (some of) My Favorite Authors! Cat Lavoie is my (much younger) twin, in that we both published our début novels on the same day. And since we've both just celebrated our two-year anniversaries of that date, today is a very appropriate time to introduce you to my friend Cat.Cat Lavoie lives in Montreal, Canada with her tempestuous cat, Abbie. Her début novel, Breaking the Rules, was published in August 2012 by Marching Ink. Her second book, Zoey & The Moment of Zen was published in October 2013. If Cat isn't reading or writing, she's most likely watching too much TV or daydreaming about her next trip to London.To find out more about Cat and her books, please visit www.CatLavoie.com and follow @Catenabi on Twitter.So Cat, welcome! And let me start with what might be a difficult question:What is the hardest thing about writing, based on your experience?
CL: The hardest thing about writing for me is actually sitting down to write. I'm easily distracted and prone to procrastination so I constantly have to fight the urge to check my email and Facebook and Twitter. (I don't often win that battle.) I usually get more work done when I'm writing during my lunch break or before heading off to work in the morning... When my time is limited, I have no choice but to focus.
I get that. The distractions are endless and require a lot of discipline to turn them off. Conversely, what is the easiest thing about writing?
CL: I wouldn't say it's easy, but the part I enjoy the most is editing. Give me a finished first draft, a red pen, and some Post-its and I am happy. (Mostly because the hardest part--actually writing the first draft--is over!) I'm so looking forward to getting to that point in my current WIP!
Do you use beta readers and what valuable feedback have you received from them?
CL: My first two novels were beta-read by my best friend, Mary. She's always very honest with me and isn't worried about sparing my feelings when giving me feedback. In my second novel, there's a scene where two best friends have a fight and, after reading the first draft, she told me "that's totally NOT how this fight would go down." So we recreated the fight (so much fun!) and I instantly knew she was right. Also, she's not a chick lit fan... so if I can make her like a chick lit story, it feels like a victory.
Cat has offered to gift a digital copy of Breaking the Rules to one lucky reader. And remember, everyone who enters ANY of these weekly contests is automatically entered to win the big prize at the end!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
