Today I'm talking with debut author Cavanaugh Lee on her upcoming release Save As Draft (Simon and Schuster). Her debut novel follows young attorney Izabell's search for love in the e-harmony, twitter, e-mail, blogging, facebook (geez how many social networks are there?) age. It's already been a hit with critics and is truly delightful, just like Cavanaugh! You can read an excerpt from Save As Draft here. It comes out February 1st so make sure you pick up a copy at your local bookstore. A side bonus - the cover is designed to look like a laptop, it even props up!

Hi Cavanaugh! Thanks for being here.
Thanks for having me!

Save As Draft (SAD) is unconventional in that everything takes place over some form of social media. What inspired you to write a love story in this format? I mean kissing just isn't as hot over webcam. 

Exactly, kissing isn’t as hot over webcam!  And, that’s part of what inspired me to write SAVE AS DRAFT.  I wrote the book in the aftermath of a broken engagement, and the catalyst was when I went back and re-read all of my old emails to/from my ex-fiance (masochistic, I know).  What I noticed from those emails was that my ex and I had spent the majority of our relationship on-line, not in-person, and that was what caused its demise.  Because of work, responsibilities, and life in general, we didn’t spend time together and instead took the easy route – emailing, texting, twittering, and posting on each other’s Facebook walls.  We lived together, but we barely spent “real time” together!  Worse than that though, what I also noticed from my Gmail folder was how many emails were stuck in my Draft folder – emails that I never had the guts to send him.  Emails like “I’m scared” or “We’re moving too fast” or “I need to see more of you.”  That was pretty startling, to say the least.  It was those emails in particular that compelled me to write the novel, because I had a feeling that other people’s relationships suffer from the same lack of a genuine connection in favor of a “wireless connection.”

Do your own personal experiences influence what you write?

Yes, definitely!  See my answer to #1 above! For me, it’s hard to write about what I don’t know because… well… how would I write about it if I don’t know about it?  Perhaps, I just don’t have a very vivid imagination.  This is why I greatly admire writers such as J.K. Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, and Suzanne Collins.  They seem to write from their dreams while I write from reality. 

Can you describe your path on getting an agent and publication?

When I finished writing SAD, I sent it to 10 pre-readers (friends and family).  I told them I was going on vacation to Paris for two weeks and when I returned they better darn well have given me some critical comments!  And, thankfully, they did just that.  After I incorporated most of their edits, I spent a month crafting the “perfect query.”  This is the most important part of the process, because this may be the only thing agents ever read about your book.  It’s not an understatement to say that I put almost as much blood, sweat, and tears into my query as I did my actual book.  When I was satisfied with it (after a zillion re-writes and word-smiths), I went on the website www.agentquery.com and found the agents that might be interested in SAD.  I emailed about 200 queries (maybe more).  Almost immediately, I started receiving rejections, but there were a few “bites” from agents wanting the first three chapters, too.

Around the same time, a friend of a friend put me in touch with Erin Malone at William Morris Endeavor.  (Side note: back when I was struggling actress in Hollywood my dream was to have a William Morris agent, but to no avail, so I was pretty excited at the possibility of a William Morris literary agent.)  Luckily, Erin loved the book and wanted to rep it.  I went with her (duh).  She gave me about two pages of edits (all of which were spot-on), and I worked on them for a month.  By then, it was ready to submit, and she held an auction.  Several publishers bid on it, and I went with Kerri Kolen at Simon & Schuster.  Kerri completely “got” the book.  And, it’s been a dream team ever since.  

Describe your writing in three words.

Heartbeat.  Bittersweet.  Realistic. 

Your day job as a prosecutor must making finding time to write difficult. How do you balance the two careers without developing a heavy caffeine addiction?

Believe it or not, I gave up caffeine in December.  I kid you not.  I went to China for two weeks (Dec. 7-18), and all I drank was tea, tea, tea.  I bought all of this cool tea in Beijing and have been drinking it ever since.  Let’s see how long this lasts…

In answer to your question though, I work my day job from 8:30 AM to 5 PM (unless I have a trial in which case I work from 6 AM to, well, 6 AM).  I write every night from 7 PM to 11:30 PM and then about five to eight hours on the weekends.  People have been asking me: “Would you quit your day job as a prosecutor if you had the opportunity?”  And, my honest answer is that I cannot imagine not practicing criminal law.  My day job is a privilege – I get to make our streets a safer place, I get to serve justice.  My night job is just plain fun.  I don’t know what I would write about if I didn’t live my life, you know?  I think there’d be… a boring void.  So, while it’s sometimes hard to balance, I wouldn’t have it any other way.     

What are you working on now?

I’m working on two books:  the sequel to SAVE AS DRAFT and a legal drama.

What's the biggest mistake an aspiring author can make in the biz?

Giving up.

What other writers/books have influenced you?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, BRIDGET JONES DIARY, and DONA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS.  My favorite books of all time are TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and ATLAS SHRUGGED.  I’ve just finished THE HUNGER GAMES, and that was, I mean, seriously, BRILLIANT.

Johnny Depp or Matthew McConaughey?

Neither.  How about Kiefer Sutherland?  Or, I should say “Jack Bauer.”  “We’re running out of time!”

Fried Pickles or Sushi?

Definitely sushi.  Spicy tuna roll, fresh salmon, and crunchy roll, to be exact.

Favorite quote from SAD?

A reader actually posted my favorite quote on-line just the other day so I should give her credit for that (http://him.tinamats.com/2011/01/12/sparkle/

“You and I are made of the same grain, and we’ve got one thing that most people don’t have:  sparkle.  It’s 50% of us.  So, if someone takes away our sparkle – there’s only 50% left of us, and that’s not much.  If Peter takes away your sparkle, as I’m afraid he may be doing, then you’re not my Izabell anymore.  You’re someone else.”

My dad told me this not so long ago.  I’ve never forgotten it, and it obviously has a special meaning for me.

Most ridiculous thing that's happened since you sold your book.

Several months back, I got a “rejection” email from an agent.  I had sent her my query over a year ago.  Normally, I would never respond to a rejection email, I mean, everyone is entitled to his/her own literary opinion, right?  But, I had to respond to this one.  A year to reject me???  So, I sent her a very polite email that “no worries, the book will be released on Feb. 1, 2011” and that “I appreciated her spending so much time deliberating on my query.”  It made me laugh out loud, because the exchange pretty much summed up the theme of SAD!  Maybe my query got stuck in her DRAFT folder all those months!!!