Our Featured Book is Save as Draft by Cavanaugh Lee

In her debut novel - told entirely through emails and text messages - Cavanaugh Lee tells the story of a quirky lawyer and the two guys who love her!

Save as Draft is a novel told entirely through the emails and text messages (both sent and unsent) of a quirky female lawyer and the two guys who love her as they struggle to say what they mean and mean what they say, leaving us wondering if the things left unsaid –or, rather, unsent – could have changed the story of their lives.

Through the maze of cyber-dating, Izabell, a quirky young lawyer, meets “The One” – Marty – or so she thinks. Problem is she also meets another “The One” – Peter. The reader is granted full access to the inboxes of not only Izabell, but also her two suitors! Through the emails, the reader follows the characters’ lives as they experience break-ups, make-ups, new jobs, engagements, family turmoil, and everything else that comes along with dating. Better yet, the reader also has access to each character’s “draft folder.” These unsent emails offer a revealing look into why it’s so darn hard to find “The One” in this electronic day and age when people are unwilling – or unable – to say what they mean and, so often, had the emails left “Save as Draft” been sent instead, it would have made all the difference!

CommitmentNow.com:  Save as Draft is a novel about fun-loving 30-year-old Izabell Chin and her complicated love life.  The book is written exclusively as a series of emails and the occasional Facebook posting.  Where did you get such an original idea for a novel?

Cavanaugh Lee:  The idea came to me in the aftermath of a break-up. After I called off my engagement to be married, I went back and re-read all of my old emails to/from my ex-fiance (masochistic, I know). There were hundreds of emails back and forth, and I realized that we had conducted our entire relationship on-line (even though we actually lived together for a portion of the time). Then, when I looked closer I noticed there were a lot of emails in my Draft folder (which is right underneath one’s Sent folder if you use Gmail). My drafts were even more telling – and honest – than my Sent mail: they contained all of the things I should have said to my ex-fiance (“I love you,” “We’re moving too fast,” etc. and so forth). That’s when I came up with the idea to write the book in “electro-epistolary” style.” Because I thought – we all live our lives on-line and people could probably relate to my mistakes.

CommitmentNow.com:  Like Izabell, you are a practicing attorney.  Are you finding it difficult balancing of your careers in law with your new writing career?

Cavanaugh:  Yes and no. I’m a federal prosecutor by day, and I absolutely love my day job. It’s a rare gift to love one’s day job. At night, I’m a writer, and I absolutely love my night job – another rare gift. So, whenever I feel like it’s a struggle to balance it all, I remind myself how darn lucky I am. 

CommitmentNow.com:  Save as Draft was a lot of fun to read!  Did you enjoy writing it?

Cavanaugh:  At first, writing Save as Draft was a therapeutic experience for me.  I wrote it to get over a painful break-up. Once I healed, however, it started to become fun.  The book took on a life of its own!  I will always be grateful to my very first book because it gave me two important things: 1) the power to heal, and 2) well, duh, my first book!

CommitmentNow.com:  In the acknowledgement section, you thank “Peter” and “Marty,” presumably the two men on whom you based Izabell’s love interests.  In addition, you, like Izabell, worked as a “wactress” (waitress/actress) and are a successful attorney!  How much of Save as Draft is based on your life experiences?

Cavanaugh:  Save as Draft is loosely based on real-life events. It’s semi-autobiographical. It’s not a memoir, because there is a good amount of fictional elements in it.  And memory has a way of editing facts.  My purpose in writing the book was two-fold:  to provide closure to two special relationships in my past, and to provide entertainment to my readers for a few moments out of their otherwise crazy high- tech lives.

CommitmentNow.com:  The ending of Save as Draft really leaves the reader hanging!   What happens to Izabell next?

Cavanaugh:  I can’t tell you that!  You have to read the sequel!  ;-)

Cavanaugh Lee was raised in San Francisco and received her undergraduate degree from UCLA's School of Theater. After graduation, she worked steadily as a "wactress" for four years. True love (or so she thought) led her to the Deep South of Mississippi, and when the relationship imploded she stuck around South and received her law degree from UNC. By day, she is a prosecutor in Savannah, Georgia and by night she is searching for true love and working on the sequel to SAVE AS DRAFT.

To purchase Save as Draft, click here.