Mysteries and cats just seem to go hand-in-hand, don't they? Enjoy!
Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts
Berkley Prime Crime & Obsidian Feb. Releases & Cats
Today's video of the Berkley Prime Crime and Obsidian releases for February, from Penguin Group (USA) features guest appearances by two cats. I know people complained that last month's video lacked cats. You'll have to watch all the way to the end for Stormy's appearance, though. Enjoy!
Family Affair by Debbie Macomber
The cover of this little novella is the most attractive part of Debbie Macomber's Family Affair. Originally written in 1994 as a request to write a story about a cat, this book actually shouldn't have been republished. Although I normally love Macomber's books, this one doesn't do much for her reputation. Lacey Lancaster is still unhappy and insecure a year after her divorce from the husband who cheated on her. Although her friend, Jeanne, is pushing her to ask for a raise at the decorating business where she works, she lacks confidence in herself. But, when her cat, Cleo, mates with the neighbor's cat, Dog, and becomes pregnant, Lacey doesn't hesitate to tell her attractive neighbor, Jack, she expects him to take some of the responsibility for the kittens. Since Jack has been trying to get to know Lacey for quite a while, he readily agrees. But, Lacey sees Jack as just another two-timing man like her ex.
Unfortunately, this early effort from Macomber reads like an early effort. Jack is not well-developed, and Lacey comes across as a wimp, or, as she refers to herself, as a "worm." As I said, I'm normally a fan of Debbie Macomber's books. I'd recommend skipping this one.
Debbie Macomber's website is http://www.debbiemacomber.com/
Family Affair by Debbie Macomber. HarperCollins, ©1994, 2011. ISBN 9780061997129 (hardcover), 122p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me this book, in hopes I would review it.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me this book, in hopes I would review it.
Jim Born and My Christmas Gift
I'm sure you're curious as to how author Jim Born relates to my Christmas. Jim was the keynote speaker at the Desert Sleuths Write Now! 2010 Conference in August. He's the author of numerous books, including, under the name James O'Neal, The Human Disguise and Double Human. And, he's also a Special Agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Jim and I sat together during the conference. When he learned I had five cats he told me five is OK, but if I had seven, the cops would start taking note. I put that on my blog when I reported on his appearance at the conference.
My family remembered. Oh, did they remember! I had a cat-filled Christmas, with knickknacks, a sweatshirt, a pin, a plaque, and a shirt. So, here's my Christmas shirt. But, I still only have five cats!
Merry Christmas from the Holstine Home
 |
| Stormy Roy Ann Weatherly |
Dickens  |
  |
Josh and Jinx
Thank you to everyone who sent messages of love and concern all year. I appreciated every note. The cats and I will enjoy our Christmas, and we're looking forward to the new year.
Merry Christmas from our home to yours!
What Cats Want for Christmas by Kandy Radzinski
I was pulling books at the library the other day and found such a charming book that I have to share it with you. If you're looking for a Christmas book for the cat loving child or adult, it's hard to resist What Cats Want for Christmas by Kandy Radzinski. Fourteen enchanting cats write letters to Santa. Radzinski's illustrations are beautiful, showing every detail of the fur of each cat. And, each page is framed with Christmas decorations, ribbons or gingerbread figures, ivy and holly. But, children and adults need to pay attention to those decorations. For one cat, those gingerbread figures are gingerbread cats. Snowcats, instead of snowmen, ring one page. A gingerbread house has a mouse at the door.
Children will love the letters as well. Jade, a cat in a chef's hat, licking her lips, is surrounded by beribboned mice as she asks Santa for "A book on how to cook mice, flamingo burritos, peacocks and rice, sparrow-spaghetti and pelican pie, woodpecker pizza and pigeons on rye." I wish I could share all the illustrations, but look carefully at the cover. That's Paws, a cat who writes, "Dear Santa, I'm tired of being all alone. Can you find someone to love me and give me a home?" The final pages, and that cover, show Paws on Santa's lap, in Santa's sleigh. I think Paws may just find that home for Christmas.
As a cat lover, I fell in love with this book, but I don't want to disappoint dog lovers here, either. Radzinski's companion book is What Dogs Want for Christmas. I just didn't get to read that because it was the book I pulled for a patron's request. But, What Cats Want for Christmas is my selection for a picture book for this year's Christmas.
Kandy Radzinski's website is http://www.kradzinski.com/
What Cats Want for Christmas by Kandy Radzinski. Sleeping Bear Press, ©2007. ISBN 9781585363407 (hardcover), 31p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - Library book
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - Library book
Cat Coming Home by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
I think I'm where I'm at today in the world of books and crime fiction authors, partially due to Sandie Herron. Sandie gave me a start, introducing me to mystery authors, when I first started as Chair of the Authors' Programming for the Lee County Reading Festival about twelve years ago. So, when she asked if she could do a guest review, I jumped at the chance. It's not every day that someone of Sandie's stature and experience in the book business wants to do a book review.
Sandie's review was originally published in http://www.iloveamysterynewsletter.com/
CAT COMING HOME
By Shirley Rousseau Murphy
William Morrow, 2010 (10/26/10)
ISBN: 9780061806933 Price $19.99
CAT COMING HOME is an excellent addition to the mystery series featuring feline Joe Grey and his pals in a small town nestled among the hills next to the sea. Molena Point, California is home to a unique breed of cat, one that is capable of reading and speaking the human language. Please don’t jump to the conclusion that this must then be some implausible, cutesy tale of talking cats; it is not. The ability of Joe Grey, his lady love Dulcie, and their young friend Kit to speak is kept private and hidden from all but a few chosen humans. The cats choose to anonymously help the local police department using their unique skills and instincts.
Maudie Toola has just returned to Molena Point along with her orphaned grandson Benny. They are trying to start life anew following the horrible shooting deaths of Benny’s father and new stepmother. It is almost Christmas, but Molena Point is having trouble of its own: isolated individuals are being attacked in their homes. The lone women are then roughed up and their homes ransacked with the perpetrators fleeing just as quickly as they arrived. With nothing of substance stolen, Chief of Police Max Harper and his men can’t seem to get a handle on how to catch these criminals or get a clue on where they might strike next. They have determined that the attackers plan a diversionary break-in which captures the police’s attention while the invaders go on to attack their chosen victim. Trying to cover the entire town for both possibilities is stretching the small police force very thin.
Joe Grey and Dulcie are as frustrated as the police. After all, how can two cats survey the entire town at once? Kit is helping but is distracted by a large yellow tomcat who seems to know more about these crimes. Could he be another speaking cat? Where did he come from and why is he here?
Ryan Flannery is building a studio onto Maudie’s home where she can make her award-winning quilts. Ryan isn’t the only one worried about Maudie being alone with all those new windows through which she is so visible. Maudie has a secret, one that only reveals itself at sly moments when she thinks no one is looking. Maudie and Benny both admit that they did not see the killer in those brief flashes of gunfire yet, if the killer thinks otherwise, he could have followed them from Los Angeles, putting them at great risk.
Maudie is unclear who she can trust. Her sister and nephews live just up the street but they haven’t offered any assistance or support. Maudie has become fond of young teenager Lori who helps Ryan in construction. Yet Lori’s father is in prison for murder and one of Maudie’s nephews has just stabbed him in jail. Perhaps Lori is in just as much danger as Maudie.
Who is behind the vicious newspaper attacks against police chief Max Harper and the entire department? Ownership of the paper recently switched hands and what used to be news coverage has become twisted and opinionated quasi-editorials. Most residents read the paper, and some actually believe the drivel printed every day. Max needs to calm everyone down and prove he is still capable of doing his job. There is a particularly amusing scene when Ryan sneaks Joe Grey into town hall.
Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s writing has taken a step forward with her agility in twisting many storylines together. Plot lines that seem unrelated come together effortlessly. Mrs. Murphy has a way of weaving all the events together with strings of friendship. I suppose one of Maudie’s award-winning quilts could represent the various factions and plot lines patched together so seamlessly. I am certain that CAT COMING HOME will be an award-winning addition to this heart-warming series. It absolutely deserves to be on everyone’s “TBR” piles this fall. Just in time to celebrate the holidays along with Molena Point once Joe and pals help Max and his crew put the violence to rest. Highly recommended.
Sandie Herron
http://www.iloveamysterynewsletter.com/
Sandie's review was originally published in http://www.iloveamysterynewsletter.com/
CAT COMING HOME
By Shirley Rousseau Murphy
William Morrow, 2010 (10/26/10)
ISBN: 9780061806933 Price $19.99
CAT COMING HOME is an excellent addition to the mystery series featuring feline Joe Grey and his pals in a small town nestled among the hills next to the sea. Molena Point, California is home to a unique breed of cat, one that is capable of reading and speaking the human language. Please don’t jump to the conclusion that this must then be some implausible, cutesy tale of talking cats; it is not. The ability of Joe Grey, his lady love Dulcie, and their young friend Kit to speak is kept private and hidden from all but a few chosen humans. The cats choose to anonymously help the local police department using their unique skills and instincts.The Joe Grey series focuses on a different individual or family in Molena Point in each book. However, the community is still very much involved with their own set of skills. Each entry can stand alone yet the reader’s enjoyment is so much richer when the books are read in sequence. Even though this is 16th in the series, none of the charm has been lost with longevity, rather it has been enhanced as we watch how the people and cats interact and grow.
Maudie Toola has just returned to Molena Point along with her orphaned grandson Benny. They are trying to start life anew following the horrible shooting deaths of Benny’s father and new stepmother. It is almost Christmas, but Molena Point is having trouble of its own: isolated individuals are being attacked in their homes. The lone women are then roughed up and their homes ransacked with the perpetrators fleeing just as quickly as they arrived. With nothing of substance stolen, Chief of Police Max Harper and his men can’t seem to get a handle on how to catch these criminals or get a clue on where they might strike next. They have determined that the attackers plan a diversionary break-in which captures the police’s attention while the invaders go on to attack their chosen victim. Trying to cover the entire town for both possibilities is stretching the small police force very thin.
Joe Grey and Dulcie are as frustrated as the police. After all, how can two cats survey the entire town at once? Kit is helping but is distracted by a large yellow tomcat who seems to know more about these crimes. Could he be another speaking cat? Where did he come from and why is he here?
Ryan Flannery is building a studio onto Maudie’s home where she can make her award-winning quilts. Ryan isn’t the only one worried about Maudie being alone with all those new windows through which she is so visible. Maudie has a secret, one that only reveals itself at sly moments when she thinks no one is looking. Maudie and Benny both admit that they did not see the killer in those brief flashes of gunfire yet, if the killer thinks otherwise, he could have followed them from Los Angeles, putting them at great risk.
Maudie is unclear who she can trust. Her sister and nephews live just up the street but they haven’t offered any assistance or support. Maudie has become fond of young teenager Lori who helps Ryan in construction. Yet Lori’s father is in prison for murder and one of Maudie’s nephews has just stabbed him in jail. Perhaps Lori is in just as much danger as Maudie.
Who is behind the vicious newspaper attacks against police chief Max Harper and the entire department? Ownership of the paper recently switched hands and what used to be news coverage has become twisted and opinionated quasi-editorials. Most residents read the paper, and some actually believe the drivel printed every day. Max needs to calm everyone down and prove he is still capable of doing his job. There is a particularly amusing scene when Ryan sneaks Joe Grey into town hall.
Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s writing has taken a step forward with her agility in twisting many storylines together. Plot lines that seem unrelated come together effortlessly. Mrs. Murphy has a way of weaving all the events together with strings of friendship. I suppose one of Maudie’s award-winning quilts could represent the various factions and plot lines patched together so seamlessly. I am certain that CAT COMING HOME will be an award-winning addition to this heart-warming series. It absolutely deserves to be on everyone’s “TBR” piles this fall. Just in time to celebrate the holidays along with Molena Point once Joe and pals help Max and his crew put the violence to rest. Highly recommended.
Sandie Herron
http://www.iloveamysterynewsletter.com/
Winners and a Dewey Cat Contest
Congratulations to the winners of the two dog books. Janet Elder's Huck will go to Sandra H. from Sarasota, FL. Frank Z. of Pineview, GA won Spencer Quinn's To Fetch a Thief. I'll put the books in the mail tomorrow.
As promised, I also have a giveaway for cat lovers. I have three copies of Dewey's Nine Lives: The Legacy of the Small-Town Library Cat who Inspired Millions by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter. If you read my review earlier this week, you'll know the book relates two more stories about the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa. But, it also tells stories about other cats who changed lives. Cat lovers will appreciate the stories in this book.
As promised, I also have a giveaway for cat lovers. I have three copies of Dewey's Nine Lives: The Legacy of the Small-Town Library Cat who Inspired Millions by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter. If you read my review earlier this week, you'll know the book relates two more stories about the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa. But, it also tells stories about other cats who changed lives. Cat lovers will appreciate the stories in this book.So, if you'd like to win a copy, email me at lholstine@yahoo.com. Your subject line should read "Win Dewey." Your message should include your mailing address. Entrants only in the U.S., please.
Because I'l be at a library board meeting next Thursday, the contest will end Friday, Oct. 22 at 5 a.m. PT. The winners will be selected by random number generator. I'll notify the winners and mail the books the next day. Good luck!
Because I'l be at a library board meeting next Thursday, the contest will end Friday, Oct. 22 at 5 a.m. PT. The winners will be selected by random number generator. I'll notify the winners and mail the books the next day. Good luck!
Dewey's Nine Lives by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter
I'll admit, when I learned there would be a new Dewey book, I was afraid it wouldn't measure up to the first one about the library cat from Spencer, Iowa. But, Vicki Myron and her co-author, Bret Witter, have managed to put together a book that made me start crying on page 9, and I cried off and on throughout the book. Tomorrow is release date for Dewey's Nine Lives: The Legacy of the Small-Town Library Cat Who Inspired Millions. I have the feeling this book, with the two new Dewey stories, and seven other stories of cats and their people will climb the bestseller lists as well. So, here's a sneak peek at the book, the trailer for this new book of cats and the people who love them.When librarian Vicki Myron told the story of her relationship with Dewey Readmore Books, the cat who inspired a town, she never expected that Dewey's story would top the New York Times Bestseller List. And, she never expected to receive over 3,000 letters, some about Dewey, but many relating how a cat had changed someone's life. In the new book, she tells some of those stories about the special bond between a cat and a person, and how loving a cat changed lives. She tells of a Vietnam vet whose cat literally fell from the sky into his life. There's a story of a strong single mother in Alaska. There's a story of a church cat, named Church Cat. My favorite story was the one about Cookie, a New York cat.
For me, cats and cat books are summed up in one paragraph in this book. "We don't love cats out of need. We don't love them as symbols or projections. We love them individually, in the complex manner of all human love, because cats are living creatures. They have personalities and quirks, good traits and flaws. Sometimes they fit us, and they make us laugh in our darkest moments. And then we love them. It's really as simple as that."
Dewey's Nine Lives is a touching book in which a number of people share the special cats in their lives. If you'd like to share your own special story, you can enter a contest the publisher is holding, "I Believe in Dewey's Magic." You can tell your own story, and it might be selected for the paperback edition of the book. Enter here. www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/features/dewey/index.html Or, you can share your cat's picture with other cat lovers at Dewey's Magic Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pages/Deweys-Magic/111732485524854?ref=search.
Last week, when I launched the contests for dog lovers, I promised a future contest for cat lovers. Watch for Thursday night's contest, when I'll launch a giveaway of two copies of Dewey's Nine Lives. It's a book for all of us who have been lucky enough to share our lives with a special cat, or two, or five.
(If you'd like to read a Q & A with some of the contributors to this book, check below the publication information.)
Dewey's Nine Lives: The Legacy of the Small-Town Library Cat Who Inspired Millions by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter. Penguin Group (USA), ©2010. ISBN 9780525951865 (hardcover), 320p.
*****
Q&A with the Contributors to DEWEY’S NINE LIVES
Why did Dewey’s story inspire you?
Lynda Caira (Cookie Cat): Dewey's story inspired me because it is so unfathomable to conceive that a cat could change the lives of so many people. It makes me think, if we tried, how could people change each others’ lives?
Kristie Graham (Marshmallow): Dewey's story inspired me throughout his entire life. I have known Vicki since I was 2 years old. … Dewey's Magic is real. It has opened the door to my heart to make sure people know what they have done for me.
Bill Bezanson (Spooky): I wouldn’t say it “inspired” me so much as it touched my soul. I saw a LOT of the feelings Spooky and I shared throughout the story.
Barbara Lajiness (Sir Bob Kittens): I have always loved animals-- especially cats. So many things about Dewey spoke to me and my own experiences in life. Dewey was rescued, we rescued animals. Vicki only had one child, a daughter; I only had one child, a daughter; and many of those moments during teen years between a daughter and a mother were very similar to my own feelings as a mom of a teenager. Also the effects of poverty and alcoholism on my childhood were all themes I could easily relate to in Dewey. Although I didn’t know it at the time…I would also face my own battle with breast cancer. So as you can see my connection and inspiration to the book really happened on many levels, not just how deeply I can appreciate and relate to that significant bond and relationship with a cat.
Kim Knox (Church Cat): I know cats are known for having "nine lives" but I was really impressed by the toughness of that little kitten in the book drop off box. It's like he knew if he could just hang on, something so much better was coming his way!
Vicki Kleuver (Christmas Cat): Dewey's story inspired me because it is a story of Life. Not only Dewey's amazing life, but also Vicki Myron's life. Life can really throw us into the toilet or into a book drop on a frigid winter night, yet there is a spark, or a will to live that ignites within us to survive and thrive through the adversity of life. There were many similarities to the story of my “CC,” or Christmas Cat. … I was also amazed at the similarities between Vicki Myron's life story and my own.
What do you hope readers will take away from your story?
Barbara Lajiness (Sir Bob Kittens): That every one and everything, no matter how quirky or unusual, no matter if they are animal or human, has its place, meaning and value in the world. That we need to slow down, relax and realize how important all of us animals and humans, and even moments are. We all may be different shaped and colored pieces of a puzzle, but you need us all to make a complete picture.
Lynda Caira (Cookie Cat): What I hope that people see in my Cookie's story is that she was in a way, a life safer to me! I have had cats before and after Cookie, but Cookie just ingratiated herself into my life in a way that most people haven't even been able to do!
Kristie Graham (Marshmallow): I hope readers take away from my story that relationships are important. I think [my connection with my cat Marshmallow] was so valuable. He was always there. He was a symbol of my childhood. He was part of my identity.
Bill Bezanson (Spooky): If you relax the little guards we put up each day and let an animal just be itself, it will show you love and affection without boundaries. As humans we put up small (and even large) walls when dealing with each other. But an animal doesn’t have an ego. It just knows whether it likes you or not.
Carol Ann Riggs (Church Cat): Church Cat was "Special" to a lot of the members of the Camden United Methodist Church. She was a rescue cat and that made us happy too!
Kim Knox (Church Cat): You don't always know why God puts someone or "somepet" into your life and we shouldn't take something like that for granted.
Vicki Kleuver (Christmas Cat): I hope readers will gain from my story about CC a sense of understanding that love comes from many different sources in our lives, often when we least expect it and even at times from a source that we would never have considered, and we should approach each situation with an open mind. When CC came into my life, I didn't want a cat. I didn't even like cats! Or so I thought. CC was intended as a gift for my young daughter. Yet he turned out to be mine. Or as my mother says, I became "his people."
I also hope readers will find in themselves a desire to do something new or different, to live life to its fullest. Norman Vaughn said "dream big, dare to fail."
I would also like readers to come explore Alaska, the land of my people. It is a great land, enormous with cultural history, diversity, opportunity, adventure, and tranquility.
As your story and all the stories in Dewey’s Nine Lives show, the bond between humans and cats can be very special. Why do you think this is?
Barbara Lajiness (Sir Bob Kittens): I love all animals, but I really think cats have complicated personalities that create more complicated relationships with their owners. I have often heard that cats do not have owners, they have staff, which I think kind of sums up the playing field we are all on when building that bond with our feline friends.
Bill Bezanson (Spooky): I don’t think it’s any different between a human and any animal. In Spooky’s story there’s a story about Pierre, my raccoon. It shows the amount of love we shared. I’ve had foxes, skunks, deer, even opossums demonstrate love toward me. There were times in my life when I thought I’d never see real love in a person. But I found it in nature. I think that it would be a real healing point for veterans suffering the ugliness of PTSD to work with rescued animals and feel what that kind of love is like.
Lynda Caira (Cookie Cat): I think it depends on the cat and the person, and if they came into each others’ lives at the right time. I've had cats I've taken care of, and cats (strays) who I have felt that I HAD to take care of. My Cookie was the only cat who took care of me!
Carol Ann Riggs (Church Cat): Animals can become members of your family just like humans. Church Cat became a beloved member of our family when we brought her home with us.
Kim Knox (Church Cat): I have had a number of cats in my life and I don't think any two were ever alike! There is just something in their personality that clicks with your personality and next thing you know you're in love.
Vicki Kleuver (Christmas Cat): As I said to Vicki Myron several times, I believe God brings these little critters into our life so we can rescue them, while they help to rescue us too. Whether it's a cat or a dog or another animal, there can be a strong bond. Cats have very unique personalities. I particularly enjoy cats that are independent, like me.
What’s the most surprising or unexpected thing you learned from your cat?
Bill Bezanson (Spooky): Unrequited love. And I’m still learning and trying to lower my walls like my animals and really love again.
Lynda Caira (Cookie Cat): The most surprising thing I learned about Cookie was that she completely killed the stereotypical idea of how aloof cats can be. She had an actual personality! She treated people exactly the way they treated her! Another surprise was how for a small little cat that she was, she was more ferocious than a lion in her protection of me! If she thought someone was upsetting me or hurtling me, they had better watch out!
Kristie Graham (Marshmallow): The most unexpected thing I learned from Marshmallow is that he would leave such a legacy. I really didn't acknowledge the impact he made on my life and the power he would have on my future. When I told [my acquaintances] that I participated in [Dewey’s Nine Lives], it surprised me how many people knew how close we were and how "different" our relationship was.
Barbara Lajiness (Sir Bob Kittens): [I learned] that love comes in many forms and to enjoy every one. Sir Bob Kittens is not, nor will he ever be, the beloved lap cat Smokey from my childhood. He doesn’t sit on laps, and you can only tell he is purring if you are lucky enough to place a gentle finger on his throat at just the right moment. But he has his moments where he will look up at us with this look of happiness/love and very slowly, in unison, open and close his eyes; you can just tell he is trying to let us know he cares about us. And on those nights when he is lonely or nervous, he will come and snooze against my chest, face-to-face. It may sound funny, but I really believe that is his way of telling us he cares.
Kim Knox (Church Cat): Church Cat seemed very lost and somewhat needy when she turned up at the church office. I felt like she needed to be taken care of. This was true, but what was so surprising was how street savvy she was. She always looked both ways and made sure it was safe before she crossed! She may not have needed me nearly as much as I thought.
Mary Nan Evans (The Cats of Sanibel Island): [I was surprised to learn] that so many cats get along, and not a fight between them!
Vicki Kleuver (Christmas Cat): The most surprising thing I learned from CC is that I like cats! CC was loyal, loving, affectionate, playful. He was adventurous--it was that sense of adventure that landed him in the toilet that Christmas eve night, and it was his sense of adventure that cost him his life. Some people, some animals, become afraid when they have experienced trauma. Not my CC. Not me either. I like that. While it broke my heart that CC died at such a young age, I respect that he died while doing something he loved; it takes a bit of the sting out of our loss. Regardless if we're a cat or a humanoid, isn't life what we make of it?
Do you currently have a cat in your life?
Barbara Lajiness (Sir Bob Kittens): Yes Mister Kittens is still alive and well. Even though he attacks our ankles when we walk up the steps, and runs at us on his hind legs, sideways down the hall, he is a special spirit that is a very important part of my life, and my family’s. I have often told people that he is the one member of the household that no matter what, when he walks in a room, everyone says “Mister Kittens!” (Similar to when Norm would walk into the Cheers bar.) I am sure he thinks he is famous.
Lynda Caira (Cookie Cat): My Cookie died at the age of 19 , on July 31, 2009. I am blessed with another kitty named Chloe who is now Sweet 16, and I do have a wonderful little girl named Lucy, who was born in my garden two years ago, and has lived there ever since!
Vicki Kleuver (Christmas Cat): Sadly, right now I don't have any cats. Two years ago we adopted an older dog from the Kodiak Animal Shelter and right now, due to frequent travel, he is our only pet. It is our hope to adopt from the animal shelter this winter either a cat or another dog.
Kristie Graham (Marshmallow): I do not have a cat right now. I have a Red Fox Lab. My husband is a dog person. But I am a goal setter—I have a bucket list. Owning a cat is on the list.
Kim Knox (Church Cat): After we lost Church Cat's son ChiChi we were catless for a couple of years. We now have two orange tabbies named Marmalade (2 yrs) and Macaroon (3 months). Both are house cats and help make our house a home.
Bill Bezanson (Spooky): I have a dog and two cats. (Spooky and Zippo taught me that a cat needs another cat to pal around with. We humans have boundaries. Another cat doesn’t.)
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publicist sent me a review copy and two copies to give away, with no promises of a positive review.
*****
Q&A with the Contributors to DEWEY’S NINE LIVES
Why did Dewey’s story inspire you?
Lynda Caira (Cookie Cat): Dewey's story inspired me because it is so unfathomable to conceive that a cat could change the lives of so many people. It makes me think, if we tried, how could people change each others’ lives?
Kristie Graham (Marshmallow): Dewey's story inspired me throughout his entire life. I have known Vicki since I was 2 years old. … Dewey's Magic is real. It has opened the door to my heart to make sure people know what they have done for me.
Bill Bezanson (Spooky): I wouldn’t say it “inspired” me so much as it touched my soul. I saw a LOT of the feelings Spooky and I shared throughout the story.
Barbara Lajiness (Sir Bob Kittens): I have always loved animals-- especially cats. So many things about Dewey spoke to me and my own experiences in life. Dewey was rescued, we rescued animals. Vicki only had one child, a daughter; I only had one child, a daughter; and many of those moments during teen years between a daughter and a mother were very similar to my own feelings as a mom of a teenager. Also the effects of poverty and alcoholism on my childhood were all themes I could easily relate to in Dewey. Although I didn’t know it at the time…I would also face my own battle with breast cancer. So as you can see my connection and inspiration to the book really happened on many levels, not just how deeply I can appreciate and relate to that significant bond and relationship with a cat.
Kim Knox (Church Cat): I know cats are known for having "nine lives" but I was really impressed by the toughness of that little kitten in the book drop off box. It's like he knew if he could just hang on, something so much better was coming his way!
Vicki Kleuver (Christmas Cat): Dewey's story inspired me because it is a story of Life. Not only Dewey's amazing life, but also Vicki Myron's life. Life can really throw us into the toilet or into a book drop on a frigid winter night, yet there is a spark, or a will to live that ignites within us to survive and thrive through the adversity of life. There were many similarities to the story of my “CC,” or Christmas Cat. … I was also amazed at the similarities between Vicki Myron's life story and my own.
What do you hope readers will take away from your story?
Barbara Lajiness (Sir Bob Kittens): That every one and everything, no matter how quirky or unusual, no matter if they are animal or human, has its place, meaning and value in the world. That we need to slow down, relax and realize how important all of us animals and humans, and even moments are. We all may be different shaped and colored pieces of a puzzle, but you need us all to make a complete picture.
Lynda Caira (Cookie Cat): What I hope that people see in my Cookie's story is that she was in a way, a life safer to me! I have had cats before and after Cookie, but Cookie just ingratiated herself into my life in a way that most people haven't even been able to do!
Kristie Graham (Marshmallow): I hope readers take away from my story that relationships are important. I think [my connection with my cat Marshmallow] was so valuable. He was always there. He was a symbol of my childhood. He was part of my identity.
Bill Bezanson (Spooky): If you relax the little guards we put up each day and let an animal just be itself, it will show you love and affection without boundaries. As humans we put up small (and even large) walls when dealing with each other. But an animal doesn’t have an ego. It just knows whether it likes you or not.
Carol Ann Riggs (Church Cat): Church Cat was "Special" to a lot of the members of the Camden United Methodist Church. She was a rescue cat and that made us happy too!
Kim Knox (Church Cat): You don't always know why God puts someone or "somepet" into your life and we shouldn't take something like that for granted.
Vicki Kleuver (Christmas Cat): I hope readers will gain from my story about CC a sense of understanding that love comes from many different sources in our lives, often when we least expect it and even at times from a source that we would never have considered, and we should approach each situation with an open mind. When CC came into my life, I didn't want a cat. I didn't even like cats! Or so I thought. CC was intended as a gift for my young daughter. Yet he turned out to be mine. Or as my mother says, I became "his people."
I also hope readers will find in themselves a desire to do something new or different, to live life to its fullest. Norman Vaughn said "dream big, dare to fail."
I would also like readers to come explore Alaska, the land of my people. It is a great land, enormous with cultural history, diversity, opportunity, adventure, and tranquility.
As your story and all the stories in Dewey’s Nine Lives show, the bond between humans and cats can be very special. Why do you think this is?
Barbara Lajiness (Sir Bob Kittens): I love all animals, but I really think cats have complicated personalities that create more complicated relationships with their owners. I have often heard that cats do not have owners, they have staff, which I think kind of sums up the playing field we are all on when building that bond with our feline friends.
Bill Bezanson (Spooky): I don’t think it’s any different between a human and any animal. In Spooky’s story there’s a story about Pierre, my raccoon. It shows the amount of love we shared. I’ve had foxes, skunks, deer, even opossums demonstrate love toward me. There were times in my life when I thought I’d never see real love in a person. But I found it in nature. I think that it would be a real healing point for veterans suffering the ugliness of PTSD to work with rescued animals and feel what that kind of love is like.
Lynda Caira (Cookie Cat): I think it depends on the cat and the person, and if they came into each others’ lives at the right time. I've had cats I've taken care of, and cats (strays) who I have felt that I HAD to take care of. My Cookie was the only cat who took care of me!
Carol Ann Riggs (Church Cat): Animals can become members of your family just like humans. Church Cat became a beloved member of our family when we brought her home with us.
Kim Knox (Church Cat): I have had a number of cats in my life and I don't think any two were ever alike! There is just something in their personality that clicks with your personality and next thing you know you're in love.
Vicki Kleuver (Christmas Cat): As I said to Vicki Myron several times, I believe God brings these little critters into our life so we can rescue them, while they help to rescue us too. Whether it's a cat or a dog or another animal, there can be a strong bond. Cats have very unique personalities. I particularly enjoy cats that are independent, like me.
What’s the most surprising or unexpected thing you learned from your cat?
Bill Bezanson (Spooky): Unrequited love. And I’m still learning and trying to lower my walls like my animals and really love again.
Lynda Caira (Cookie Cat): The most surprising thing I learned about Cookie was that she completely killed the stereotypical idea of how aloof cats can be. She had an actual personality! She treated people exactly the way they treated her! Another surprise was how for a small little cat that she was, she was more ferocious than a lion in her protection of me! If she thought someone was upsetting me or hurtling me, they had better watch out!
Kristie Graham (Marshmallow): The most unexpected thing I learned from Marshmallow is that he would leave such a legacy. I really didn't acknowledge the impact he made on my life and the power he would have on my future. When I told [my acquaintances] that I participated in [Dewey’s Nine Lives], it surprised me how many people knew how close we were and how "different" our relationship was.
Barbara Lajiness (Sir Bob Kittens): [I learned] that love comes in many forms and to enjoy every one. Sir Bob Kittens is not, nor will he ever be, the beloved lap cat Smokey from my childhood. He doesn’t sit on laps, and you can only tell he is purring if you are lucky enough to place a gentle finger on his throat at just the right moment. But he has his moments where he will look up at us with this look of happiness/love and very slowly, in unison, open and close his eyes; you can just tell he is trying to let us know he cares about us. And on those nights when he is lonely or nervous, he will come and snooze against my chest, face-to-face. It may sound funny, but I really believe that is his way of telling us he cares.
Kim Knox (Church Cat): Church Cat seemed very lost and somewhat needy when she turned up at the church office. I felt like she needed to be taken care of. This was true, but what was so surprising was how street savvy she was. She always looked both ways and made sure it was safe before she crossed! She may not have needed me nearly as much as I thought.
Mary Nan Evans (The Cats of Sanibel Island): [I was surprised to learn] that so many cats get along, and not a fight between them!
Vicki Kleuver (Christmas Cat): The most surprising thing I learned from CC is that I like cats! CC was loyal, loving, affectionate, playful. He was adventurous--it was that sense of adventure that landed him in the toilet that Christmas eve night, and it was his sense of adventure that cost him his life. Some people, some animals, become afraid when they have experienced trauma. Not my CC. Not me either. I like that. While it broke my heart that CC died at such a young age, I respect that he died while doing something he loved; it takes a bit of the sting out of our loss. Regardless if we're a cat or a humanoid, isn't life what we make of it?
Do you currently have a cat in your life?
Barbara Lajiness (Sir Bob Kittens): Yes Mister Kittens is still alive and well. Even though he attacks our ankles when we walk up the steps, and runs at us on his hind legs, sideways down the hall, he is a special spirit that is a very important part of my life, and my family’s. I have often told people that he is the one member of the household that no matter what, when he walks in a room, everyone says “Mister Kittens!” (Similar to when Norm would walk into the Cheers bar.) I am sure he thinks he is famous.
Lynda Caira (Cookie Cat): My Cookie died at the age of 19 , on July 31, 2009. I am blessed with another kitty named Chloe who is now Sweet 16, and I do have a wonderful little girl named Lucy, who was born in my garden two years ago, and has lived there ever since!
Vicki Kleuver (Christmas Cat): Sadly, right now I don't have any cats. Two years ago we adopted an older dog from the Kodiak Animal Shelter and right now, due to frequent travel, he is our only pet. It is our hope to adopt from the animal shelter this winter either a cat or another dog.
Kristie Graham (Marshmallow): I do not have a cat right now. I have a Red Fox Lab. My husband is a dog person. But I am a goal setter—I have a bucket list. Owning a cat is on the list.
Kim Knox (Church Cat): After we lost Church Cat's son ChiChi we were catless for a couple of years. We now have two orange tabbies named Marmalade (2 yrs) and Macaroon (3 months). Both are house cats and help make our house a home.
Bill Bezanson (Spooky): I have a dog and two cats. (Spooky and Zippo taught me that a cat needs another cat to pal around with. We humans have boundaries. Another cat doesn’t.)
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publicist sent me a review copy and two copies to give away, with no promises of a positive review.
Cleo: The Cat Who Mended a Family by Helen Brown
The Herald Sun summarized this book the best with the quote, "From the start, this is an emotional journey for author and reader." If you're not prepared to cry over Helen Brown's international bestseller, Cleo: The Cat Who Mended a Family, don't pick it up. However, if you want a story of love, survival, and life, and you love cats, you'll have to read this book. Some blurbs have compared this to Marley & Me. If the love of an animal can be compared, then that's fine. Marley & Me, and Dewey are both special books about unique animals. But, this book is unique in the tragedy and change covered in one story.Helen Brown lived in New Zealand with her husband and two sons, Sam and Rob. She was a columnist for a local paper, and her husband, Steve, was a radio officer on a ferry, away from home for a week at a time. Although they were drifting apart, they both loved their sons. So, when Sam and Rob picked out a kitten, too young to bring home, and Sam named her Cleo, Helen and Steve agreed to take her in a few months, although they weren't "cat people."
Helen describes the day that changed their lives. She says days are so similar, they just become routine. "The twenty-first of January 1983 started out that way. There were no hints this date would slam down on us and slice our lives permanently in two." There's no way to review this book and not say that Sam died tragically at the age of nine. While Helen raged and cried, Steve shut down. And, Rob, at six, had witnessed his brother's death.
This was a family in trouble. So, when the owner of Cleo showed up to turn her over, Helen wanted to refuse the kitten. But, Rob immediately claimed "Sam's kitten." And, how can a mother who lost one son refuse the other? Rob had been sleeping in his parents' room since his brother's death. Now, with a kitten to care for, he wanted to return to his room, offering to share his room with the kitten, so she wouldn't miss "her brothers and sisters." Even so, when the new kitten tore the house apart, and caused havoc, Helen was ready to return her, until one day she realized that she and Rob had laughed at Cleo, laughed for the first time since Sam's death.
As anyone who owns a cat knows, they're always entertaining, with unique personalities. And Cleo seemed to have a special gift of communicating with Rob. And, as Cleo grew, she brought new people into their lives, from special neighbors to friends for Rob, to people that would change the family entirely. Cleo would never take the place of Sam, and there is no recovering from such a loss, but Cleo showed Helen and her family how to go on with life. Rob said of Cleo, "She said she comes from a long line of cat healers."
There is no doubt this book will make you cry. The author acknowledges that her life was changed forever by her son's death. But, this cat, who appeared when the family needed her, seemed to step in so many times to move them into another stage. When Helen considered suicide, there was the kitten, blocking her way. Cleo welcomed new family members, and approved of new additions. When Rob was ill, she was the healer. There was always a special connection between Rob, the boy who witnessed his brother's death, and the cat who came to stay.
Helen Brown's broken heart will never heal. But, her story of Cleo and her family says a family, and a heart, can be mended. This book is beautiful in the story of a cat, and a family. And, there's beauty in Brown's recognition, "Great joy doesn't obliterate grief. Both can be encompassed at the same time." Cleo: The Cat Who Mended a Family, was the cat who enabled her to realize the joy in life, despite the grief.
Cleo: The Cat Who Mended a Family by Helen Brown. Kensington Publishing, ©2010. ISBN 9780806533032 (paperback), 272p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publicist sent me an ARC so I could participate in a blog tour for this book.
Murder Past Due by Miranda James
Give me a cozy mystery. Set it in the South. Make the main character a librarian who owns a cat. If I could have given Miranda James the elements for a plot, all of my favorite features would have been used in the first Cat in the Stacks mystery, Murder Past Due. And, cat lovers are going to love Diesel, the cat in this book.Charlie Harris' wife and favorite aunt died within a few weeks of each other three years earlier. When he inherited his aunt's house, and her housekeeper, Azalea Berry, he returned to his hometown, Athena, Mississippi. Now, he divides his time between a cataloging job at the university library, and a volunteer position at the public library. And, he takes in boarders, college students. This year's is a freshman, Justin Wardlaw, taken in as a favor to a friend, Justin's mother, Julia.
It's another former classmate, Godfrey Priest, who stirs up the town. The bestselling author has returned home. He'll speak at the university, wants to give his papers to the library, but also has other reasons to be there. Charlie never liked Godfrey, but he didn't dislike him as much as so many other people do. So, when Godfrey ends up dead, Charlie isn't a suspect, even though Azalea's daughter, Deputy Kanesha Berry, thinks he interferes too much. She just doesn't know he's prying because her mother asked him to talk to people who might not talk to Kanesha. And, he has reasons to pry. His boarder is at the top of the suspect list.
Charlie also has an easy way to talk to people. He walks his Maine coon cat, Diesel. And, Diesel is welcome everywhere, from the library to the bookstore and the bakery. Diesel gives Charlie a way to start a conversation. It seems there are a number of people who actually wanted Godfrey Priest dead. But, whose emotions led to murder?
I feel sorry for Charlie Harris. Despite his friendships, he's a lonely man. His amateur sleuthing gives him the opportunity to talk to people. And, I felt even sorrier for this likable man at the end of the book, when the killer was revealed.
As much as I liked librarian Charlie Harris, though, the star of this book is Diesel. And, he's no more than a cat. He's not a talking cat, or a mystery-solving cat. He's a big, lovable cat, with a purr as loud as a motor, hence the name. Read Murder Past Due for the mystery, and an enjoyable amateur sleuth. And, it's fun to recognize Charlie's favorite mystery authors. But, as much as anything, you'll find yourself wishing for the next book to catch up with Diesel.
Murder Past Due by Miranda James. Berkley Prime Crime, ©2010. ISBN 9780425236031 (paperback), 304p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me the book, in hopes I would review it.
Penguin Group (USA) & July Book Releases
I have a treat for some of the readers who appreciate the book chats featuring Penguin's Berkley Prime Crime and Obsidian. The chat with the forthcoming books for July features Jinx. I don't know how many people have told me they enjoy the book chats, but they really enjoy it when one of the cats has a featured role.
Today's chat stars Jinx, the youngest cat, and eleven new mysteries. Enjoy!
Today's chat stars Jinx, the youngest cat, and eleven new mysteries. Enjoy!
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