The Writer’s Cat …. And The Other Cat

Many  authors are known for their love of cats .  For writers, cats are unbelievably inspiring, not least because they are creatures of sophistication, forever youthful but alarmingly wise, affectionate on their own terms, and masters at flitting between ‘bonkers,’ ‘distant’ and ‘intense.’

My cat, Hendricks, has just turned two, he looks like a little tiger. He is soft, cuddly and adoring, yet will shoot me a steely-eyed look if I’m too soft and adoring back. He enjoys being the lone kid of the house, lapping up as much attention as he wants from my husband and I.

Hendricks - Top Cat 

This week, we brought home a tiny seven-week-old bundle of fur from the Animal Rescue Shelter. We’ve called her ‘Saffie’ (short for ‘Sapphire.’) Saffie is beautifully strip-striped like Hendricks but her nose and paws are jet-black instead of pinky-orange. On his first journey home, Hendricks was tense and shy, whereas Saffie punched at us through the gaps of the cat box, squeaked and fought at the air. 

Once home and fed, Saffie jumped onto my chest, squawked in my face several times with full force, before snuffling in my hair, climbing back onto my lap and sleeping there for over six hours as I sat writing at my desk. 

She is just perfect. Between food and play, Saffie nestles on me or behind me as I write, or she places her paws on the edge of the desk and stares at the computer screen. Occasionally, she’ll venture up onto the desk to take a swipe at a word she doesn’t like, or dance across the keyboard.  I have never known such confidence in an animal so small. Often, she’ll jump onto my chest, stare right into my eyes before cuddling into my neck.

The integration progress with Hendrix is slow. On day 1, Hendricks hissed at Saffie and hid; Saffie was unperturbed. On day 2, Hendricks glared at Saffie from a distance; Saffie just wanted to play. On day 3, Hendricks  touched Saffie's nose with his own and then glared at her from a lesser distance. 

We reassure Hendricks he is ‘top cat’ and he’ll come over for a cuddle but whinge like a teenager. He’s taken to sitting in a shoe box in a huff; I soothe him and whisper ‘I understand,’ or ‘it’s ok’ and Hendricks will forget himself, climb out of the box for a cuddle, before stomping back into it to pick up his sulk. It’s a slow, slow process but we’ll get there.

Saffie - New Addition to the Family 

Some great pictures of famous writers and their kittie kats 

My eBook novel with cat character 'Cinko' is 'The First Sense'

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Friday 23rd August 2013. I've Published 'The First Sense' Novel… What Now?

It was a long time coming. It wasn’t just an itch I had to scratch, but a deeply painful sensation that became more intense, the more I ignored it. I'm talking about my fictional eBook The First Sense, recently released on Amazon Kindle , Barnes & Noble and Apple iBookstore. 

Do I make the writing of 'The First Sense' novel sound painful? Well it was really painful at times, as well as really enjoyable, but if you’re a writer or artist, I’m sure you will say some of your best work has come out of huge bouts of pain.  

It was not like I suddenly got ‘the burn,’ just the burn just became more intense. I've been writing all my life since I was ten, but the kind of writing where I scribbled ideas onto my hands, onto the back of chewing gum wrappers, napkins, paper bags, schoolbooks, post-it-notes – on every type of paper you can imagine, and all those pieces of paper were dumped into drawers. I simply had to write.

When I couldn't comprehend something or understand the enormity of a situation, when I had to celebrate a feeling, record an experience or explore a theory, or when I had to work through a business and marriage, or finalise a divorce, I wrote.  

Not only were these pieces of paper and notebooks, filling up my drawers, but there was a reoccurring theme amongst the more recent scribbles: my search for fulfillment. 

So I weaved many scribbles into a project and that, essentially, is what ‘The First Sense’ e-Book is. It is about three, unusually gifted characters’ lives in a future British city;  they have to trawl through their emotions and deepest fears to make sense of what it is they need to stop feeling so empty. Several readers of The First Sense novel said they strongly identify with the unusual characters, well I am really pleased that they do, because that is where a lot of my life’s scribbles went.      

Like many novels, writing ‘The First Sense’ took a lot of time, research, plotting, redrafting and editing; there were constant interruptions (several day jobs and moments of self-doubt), but I had some wonderful encouragement.  

As a self-published author I know the really hard work has just begun, there is much marketing and networking ahead, but the beauty of our time is it’s very easy to find more experienced, like-minded and helpful people out there.  I must not get so caught up in the marketing side that I forget to write, but deep down, I know I won’t, writing is why I put myself here in the first damn place. So, I’m writing my next novel and yes, I am feeling both the pain and pleasure.  

I would love to hear from you about your own writing experiences and inspirations. 

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