VANITY AND VETERANS

What do you think about me now? I know how to give the right look, the right purr and the paparazzi go crazy over me. I know it is the younger, cute kitten side, but hey, if it sells books?

You can read the entire article on Judy's Blog.

Judy and I are in limbo. The manuscript has been sent off to the publishers at Createspace. They are editing the manuscript, designing the cover, and creating promotional text for GOING HOME WITH A CAT AND A GHOST. The projection for publication is the end of October.

 INVISIBLE HEROES, book number three, involves a lot of interviews with veterans, dog trainers, as well as inmates who are also involved in the training of service dogs. If we get enough press about the book I might get lucky enough to meet Tuesday, Luis Carlos Montalvan’s service dog. Judy read Luis’s book, UNTIL TUESDAY, to me. It moved me and educated me and I am excited that Judy has become involved. As our men return from Iraq, more and more veterans are diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Check out Luis’ book at www.luiscarlosmontalvan.com You will not be sorry.

 

And if the opportunity to touch paws with Tuesday doesn’t manifest itself, perhaps I will rub fur with Dean Koontz’s golden retriever, Trixie, whom he acquired from Canine Companions for Independence. http://www.cci.org who have a local chapter in Oceanside, Ca.

Koontz’s book, A BIG LITTLE LIFE, is also an eye opener about service dogs. You can find Dean’s book at www.deankoontz.com ) who knows? Anything’s possible.

 

For now I lounge around a lot enjoying the lull. I sneak on the computer and prowl the Internet when Judy sleeps. She is so involved, I feel compelled to begin research for our trip to Florida in November. She freaks if I lay a paw on the keyboard, so I wait until the early morning hours.

 

During my research I began corresponding with Krishna the Cat. This poor cat from India has inherited a large sum of money but needs an American bank account number before he can get the money he needs so desperately. He says he’s been forced to sleep with fleas, and hide in alleys to avoid animal control. It sounds like he has a really miserable life. He sent this picture. He is on his last leg and if I don't help....well you can see he's in bad shape. He says he just can't go on.

 

 Stories like this make me glad I’m an American cat. I am thankful for the American soldiers who have given everything just for me to have the privilege to beg for treats, sleep in air conditioning, and be able to plan an consider an extended adventure sniffing and chasing bugs and birds all across this great country. God Bless our veterans.  I only hope the vision we have for our book INVISIBLE HEROES will become all we hope it to be.

 

We sent the manuscript off to the publisher today. I know I don't look excited , but inside I am. Now maybe we can have some fun. I heard Judy make reservations for camping, so I am even more excited. But first a nap.

I dreamed about my friend Tika. Her e-mails describe her adventures in Oregon and Washington where the air is cool but she rarely sees the sun. There is always the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, so as jealous as I am of Tika's adventures I know my time will come to experience the Oregon coastline and the forests of Washington.I heard Judy tell Tika's mom, "Next summer for sure. Well be there."

The real reason I want to visit with my friend is she told me about the new additions to their traveling entourage. 

Tweety Bird and Birdy Bird., a canary and a cockatiel. 

Boy! I can't wait to travel with them. I wonder if they like cats, because I like birds. I can  never get up close to them. They fly off. But Tika assures me they are right there, inside her motor home. "Mom doesn't let me chase them, but I can reach out and put my nose up to their house. Really! And you can too, Sportster. When you get here, you can come in and see them."

I can't wait to meet Birdy Bird and Tweety Bird. But for now I just have to wait while mom gets all the details taken care of with the publisher. We have to decide on the color of the paper in the book, the Font, and the cover. Oh I can't wait to see the cover!

Don't forget to click on the link below. Last week Judy was interviewed by the Press Enterprise. That's the newspaper that serves the Inland Empire here in Southern California. She is really excited about the press.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/menifee/menifee-headlines/20120820-menifee-author-turns-loss-rv-adventure-into-book.ece

I can't wait to tell you about our camping  trip.  A little down time in which Judy can scratch my belly and take me for walks. I'll make sure she takes lots of pictures.So until then, have a great week. don't forget to let me know what you think of the article in the newspaper.

SO MANY BOOKS!

I have so so much reading to catch up on. Besides Jeri Westerson's book, TROUBLED BONES,Troubled Bones I have S.Kay Murphy's newest release, THE DOGS WHO SAVED ME. (Kay is donating the proceeds of this book to the local animal shelters)

The Dogs Who Saved Me

 

And of course don't forget to watch our new book trailer for GOING HOME WITH A CAT AND A GHOST

SPORTSTER GETS HIS WAY.

I did it! 

I purred and meowed. I rubbed and I cuddled.  

I'm in the book trailer!

THE BOOK IS FINISHED!

We wrote the last chapter, the last paragraph, the last line to GOING HOME WITH A CAT AND A GHOST. We’re done! …if a book is ever – Done.

I am excited. Judy spent hours today showing me possible photos for the book cover. She admitted she never anticipated the job of publishing and marketing when she sat down to write those first words of her first book,COAST TO COAST WITH A CAT AND A GHOST. Since then we discovered that writing a “great American novel” is the easy part, the fun part. Judy laughed, “If I had only known.”

WE'RE  DONE!

When no one is around Judy complains a lot. I’ll bet you didn’t know that about her. I don’t think she’s really complaining, it’s her way of sorting out all the commitments she makes, the book signings, workshops, conferences, and panels. 

Me, I loved it when we went on the road with our book tour last summer. How many states did we cover? Let’s see, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming. We were in Idaho for thirty minutes, just passing through, then South Dakota, Colorado, and New Mexico. What a summer.

The first week at Ruby’s Campground in Bryce National Park, Utah, Judy flipped out when she looked up from her chaise lounge. She was resting after a horseback ride through the park. I remember she told me about the couple she’s met from Sherwood Forest. Really? I always thought that was a fictional place. Not so. I did not go with Judy on the horse adventure. I would not have gone even if she invited me. I’ll stick with keeping company with Shitzus, and Min Pins. (My friend Tika is a Min Pin- short for Miniature Pincher: a little dog with a big attitude - kinda like me.)

So that day I slept the hours away. The high altitude made me more laid back than usual. When Judy returned, I smelled the scents she brought home and I have to say, they made me shiver and my hair spike on my spine. The odors of the strange creatures that had rubbed onto Judy took me back to Tombstone, Arizona. Do you remember the scene in our first book, COAST TO COAST WITH A CAT AND A GHOST? (The cat is me.) Page 29 in the second edition, check it out. I’ll never forget those horses pulling the stagecoach.

After sniffing every inch of her clothing, I proceeded to tell Judy I missed her. Since I am without words I use action. (You do the same with writing, don’t tell, show.) I rubbed against her and followed her from the couch, to the kitchen, to the bedroom, the bathroom and back again to the living room...all not even a hop, skip and a jump. In a motor home its only one jump from place to place.

Judy collected her brochures and coffee and we went outside to relax in the pine scented air. I get excited when its my turn to do the tourist thing. After a few sniffs here and there, I plopped down and rolled on my back, on my side, my other side, feeling totally in touch with nature.

. “SPORTSTER!” I was jarred from my ecstasy.

Judy grabbed me so quickly I didn’t know what was happening

.

“What have you done? Just look at yourself.”  

Before I could twist or turn in protest, she whisked me to the bathroom, past the full length mirror on the closet door.

I didn’t recognize the reflection. 

The cat I usually saw in the glass was quite a handsome cat. A beautiful white strip between his eyes leads to his pink nose that is also a furry pure white. His left leg, the color of cotton does not match his right which is grey with black rings of fur. Observing this cat in the mirror, I was alarmed. It was not the same cat. There had never been another cat in our home, except the prideful one I mentioned.  I tolerated that cat since he seemed to know his place. He never ventured further than the closet door.

THE PRIDEFUL CAT IN THE MIRROR

This cat was red, dirty red – the same color as the ground with which I had just communed. He must have been a stray. Believe me my heart goes out to the homeless, but still. The glimpse of this poor creature was just a split second  before Judy threw me in the shower and began to hose me down. “What?” How am I supposed to commune with nature when I smell like lavender? “Hey!” I yelled louder. It was obvious Judy didn’t understand. These are the times I long to be articulate.

It seems I digressed. I never saw that cat again. I hope he found a nice, loving home despite his disarray. But what I started to say is I love going on the book tours in the motor home. Judy loves it too. I hope now we get to do another with this book, GOING HOME WITH A CAT AND A GHOST. I love my public.

GOING HOME WITH A CAT AND A GHOST
BOOK TRAILER