Holdem Celebrity: J'Adore New York Giveaway and Interview with Isabelle Lafleche

Do you remember awhile back I reviewed Isabelle Laflèche's J'Adore New York? Well, since then I've had the opportunity to pose some questions to the first-time author who was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer. If you get a chance you should really check it out. Isabelle has also offered to gift two lucky winners with a copy of their very own--the seventh of our giveaways celebrating 400 followers!

You once lived in New York and had a career similar to J’Adore New York’s protagonist, Catherine, how much of you can we find in the book’s main character?

There is some of me in Catherine. I love fashion, I consider myself to be ambitious and have a pretty good sense of humour.

Reading the acknowledgements of your book it seems like you had a similar experience to one Catherine has in the book – a chance meeting with a psychic who encourages you to go after your dreams. Did you decide to pursue writing immediately after your encounter with the psychic in the street?

Not immediately. I did have a chance meeting with a psychic on the streets of Manhattan who told me that I was missing my calling as a writer and that I should be writing rather than practicing law. It took me a good eight months of soul searching to take her advice seriously. I always had artistic inclinations but never pursued them because of my career. I then decided to move back to Montreal and sign up for creative writing classes at a local university to find out whether there was any merit to what she had told me. Receiving positive feedback from my classmates gave me the confidence to start writing a novel.

Was writing always something you wanted to do, one of your passions?

Looking back now, I remember that I loved writing stories as a child. I would write fairy tales and read them to my grandmother. I put this aside for a long while after pursuing other interests, but I’m thrilled to be back doing what I love.

Perfumes and scents seem to have a pivotal role in the book. How important do you think fragrance is to a woman and which do you favour?

Coco Chanel once said that a woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future. I wouldn’t go that far but I think that wearing perfume is another way to express your creativity and your sense of self. I wore J’Adore by Dior for a while but am now wearing Idylle by Guerlain.

What can we expect next from Isabelle Lafleche?

I spent a week in Paris this summer doing research for my next novel. I have started working on my second book, which will be the sequel to the first.