Click on the image to visit Cait's Meet & Greet with VBT Cafe.
I'd like to introduce Cait to you today. But first a little about her passion for writing.
Cait Lavender is a twenty five year old wife and stay at
home mother of one in Central California.
Living on a cattle ranch and raising her daughter doesn’t afford her much
leisure time, but when she has a spare minute or two she loves riding horses,
baking and reading everything she can get her hands on. She grew up loving the
written word and creative writing and finally decided to work on her dream of
becoming a published author.
She has two short stories, Cowboy Moon and Fool Moon which is included in the Cupid Painted Blind anthology, and a full-length novel, Hunter Moon, both available on Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. She’d love to hear from you on her Facebook author page, @caitlavender on Twitter or on her blog, www.caitlavender.com
Louise: Cait, welcome to my blog! I’m so excited you could
join me for a chat. When did you first decide to submit your work to be
published? Tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step.
Cait: It was about a year ago. The main thing that got me
started was seeing all the other indy pubbed authors that were doing so well!
It was so encouraging knowing others had breached the gap and survived without
the big publisher’s backing them up. With the help and encouragement from some
very lovely ladies in my writer’s group, I finished my first book and published
it.
Louise: Please tell us a little about your new release Hunter Moon without giving too much of a
spoiler away.
Cait: It’s a paranormal romance set in a small town in Central California.
Shelby Flint is a cattle rancher, struggling to make ends meet. Her cousins are
trying to take her land away, someone has set up shop and is growing pot on her
land somewhere, sabotaging her property and trying to kill her. And worst? A
gorgeous game warden is poking his beautiful nose into her business and getting
under her skin.
Bawling cattle tore Shelby Flint from her bed. With lawyer
fees to pay in her struggle to keep her ranch from the clutches of her greedy
cousins, she couldn’t afford the loss of even one calf. When she sees a large
wolf circling her cows, she aims and fires. While the wolf escapes, Shelby
can’t seem to get away from her troubles when a marijuana grower sets up shop
on her land, sabotaging her property and eventually coming after her. Adding to
that, a handsome game warden is poking his nose into her business and working
his way underneath her skin. Shelby will have to fight harder than she ever
fought before to keep from losing her heart and everything she ever loved.
Louise: Do you plan all your characters out before you start
a story or do they develop as you write?
Cait: I have a rough idea of who they are, but they really
do grow and evolve as the story progresses. Characters I was only using to fill
a need turned into something more, making me like them and give them a more
prominent role than I had intended. A few I’ve liked so well I’ve written
shorts just to get more from their perspective.
Louise: How much research do you do for your books? Have you
found any cool tidbits in your research?
Cait: I have made some great contacts with the California
Game Wardens, a large animal veterinarian, a Iraq war vet. The trick about
getting the dog drunk is totally true! (Read it and you’ll know what I’m
talking about)
Louise: What is your writing process? Do you outline, write
by the seat of your pants (Pantser) or a combination of both?
Cait: I’m mostly a pantser. I start with a general idea of
the protagonists, antagonists and basic plot and pretty much make up everything
else in between.
Louise: Do you write full time? What did you do before you
became a writer or still do?
Cait: I am a full time mom, part time cook and laundress and
when I’m finished doing all that, if I’m lucky, I’ll have a few hours to spare
for writing before I drop into my bed from exhaustion.
Louise: Do you have a ritual when it comes to writing?
Example….get coffee, blanket, paper, pen, laptop and a comfy place.
Cait: Not really. Like I said, I don’t get as much time for
writing as I’d like, but I do have a spot on my couch that I take over when I’m
writing.
Louise: Describe a typical writing day for you.
Cait: Well, most of my day is taken up by chasing my kiddo
around the house and cleaning up the trail of destruction behind her. My
writing day starts at about 8 pm, her bed time. I crawl on my couch, grab my
laptop and start writing until I either can’t think anymore or I start to fall
asleep, which is usually around 1 or 2 am.
Louise: Please give us a sneak peek at your future books.
What’s on the horizon?
Cait: Well, I’m working on a book in a new series. It’s set
in the same world as the lupine moon series but revolves around the more
unsavory aspects of it. There’s a hot Knight, a nerdy but cute college girl and
some evil witches. I’m hoping to have it out by the end of summer!
Louise: What is your favorite genre to read and who is your
favorite author?
Cait: If it’s fantasy, I love it. Always have. As for
favorite author, that is just impossible to do. But I love Terry Pratchett,
Karen Marie Moning, Jane Austin, Christopher Moore to name a few.
Louise: Is there anything else you would like to tell the
readers we have not touched on?
Cait: Enjoy! I wrote these books to make you laugh and I
hope I’ve done that. I want to take you away from your life for a few pages and
take you somewhere funny, surprising and hopefully entertaining!
Louise: Where can the readers learn more about you and find
your books on the web?
You can buy Hunter Moon on:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Louise: Cait, thank you again for visiting my blog. Reader's, Cait is featuring an eBook giveaway of Hunter Moon to one lucky commenter. Comments will close 11 PM PST tonight, so be sure to let Cait know you stopped by and good luck in the drawing!
Cait, thanks again for visiting my blog!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview Cait and Louise!
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me, Louise!
ReplyDelete