Today I’m talking about some awesome writerly advice from Orson Scott Card - Never Do What They Want.
I’m happy to say that Mystic Storm is really done. Whew! I’m going to take a mental break for a day or two, then I’m off to plot another story or two.
Have wonderful weekend! And enjoy the adorable photo of my cat.
Happy Friday! Want to hear more about Mystic Storm? Please join me today at the 7 Scribes and find out why I say – When in Doubt, Throw in a Flying Monkey . . . or Three!
Also, our new cat Nene has settled in nicely. Here she is on my lap.
I won’t lie. I’ve been avoiding writing this post for a while. If you’ve visited my site regularly than you know that my family has lost several of our beloved pets. See here and here.
And I’ve also written about my two cats.
I’m sad to say that we lost Madeline. When she was diagnosed with thyroid disease a few years ago, we knew that sooner or later her kidneys would fail. In this case, they did along with her heart. It was swift and sudden. One minute she was fine, the next not. And with cats, because they are predators, it’s in their nature to never show weakness until it’s too late to do anything about it.
The vet laid it out straight. She was suffering and she wasn’t going to get better no matter what we tried. We made the painful choice to say goodbye to her. Once again, we found ourselves in our vets “private” room saying goodbye to another member of our family.
After losing four pets in two years, we had decided no more new pets.
Until we were faced with the reality of that choice. Pepito (Maddy’s brother) was our only pet. Younger son missed his lap cat. His lovey girl. While we love Pepito, he’s not a cuddler. I think he missed having other cats around too.
As fate would have it, we happened to be in our local PetSmart when we decided to check out the cats. PetSmart has a partnership with with a local cat rescue group and supports adult pet adoption.
That’s when we met Nene.
She was abandoned by her owner to a New York pound and landed on the “death” list. Luckily, she was rescued by Mary’s Kitty Korner.
Because Pepito is fourteen, I didn’t want a kitten or another male. Nene was perfect. Calm, affectionate and four years old. The volunteers at Mary’s were fabulous, letting us spend time with her and assuring us that no matter what happened (if it didn’t work out) they would take her back. They are a no kill shelter and will keep cats forever if they need to. And they vetted us carefully to be sure we would provide her with a safe happy home.
I’m happy to say Nene and Pepito are getting along fine (it was tough at first because cats need time to meet each other, not like dogs where you can introduce them immediately). As you can see below, she and squirrels hit it off.
We have always adopted our dogs and this was our first adult cat adoption. Nene seems to be happy and I can tell that someone loved her because she is very cuddly and seeks out human company. She chatty, loves to play and purrs, purrs, purrs.
We still miss Madeline, Ollie, Sparky and Oreo, but we still have a lot of love to give and we’re happy to share it with Nene too.
Happy Friday everyone! Today, I have a guest – J.D. Revezzo, here to share her latest project – Dark Things II: Cat Crimes. All proceeds for this book will go to various cat charities.
Don’t forget to visit me at the Scribes – where J.D. answers our interview questions.
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Like any little girl, I was enamored of cats. I had several growing up, though all my furbabies are over the rainbow now. What I learned in those years, I could call into …
Top Four Traits of Cats….and some debunking:
1. Cats always land on their feet.
True. I’ve seen some jump from impossible heights, twist in the air and indeed, land on their feet.
2. Cats are graceful
Fact, I used to have cat that was so graceless, we called him a buffalo in a cat’s body. Case in point, cats are supposed to be lithe on their feet, right, able to leap tall counters in a single bound—and yawn at you while doing it? Not so our Baby Buffalo. He would leap up onto a counter, and knock every dish, container, and spoon to the floor as he slid along the surface. (He’d also jump up onto full dinner trays and knock them over. )
3. Cats are cautious of strangers.
Again, not so. See, I have allergies to cats. I kid you not, it seems whenever I am in a room with a cat—any cat—the animal will seek me out, and do its darndest to rub itself in my face. *searches for Claritin*
4. Cats are stealthy. I had one that not only snuck its way into my house on a winter’s night without anyone seeing her, but she ended up in my bed with me.
These are just the ones I observed. Some of these tied into my story, “What Sekhmet Keeps” which you’ll find in Dark Things II: Cat Crimes. It is an anthology of dark and mischievous cat tales,
Dark Things II: Cat Crimes
A collection of tales featuring feline mayhem, murder and dastardly deeds. Vampire cats. Scoundrel cats. Daring cats. Killer cats. Cats you don’t want in your worst nightmares and cats you might want on your side against evil. Authors include Mary V. Welk, Patty G. Henderson, Patricia Harrington, Jim Silvestri, Ken Goldman, Shanna Germain, Anna Sykora and dozens more. Intro by Robert W. Walker. All proceeds from sales go to several cat sanctuaries across the USA. Enjoy over twenty-one “cat tales” and support a cat charity!
And for my story:
“What Sekhmet Keeps”
by J.D. Revezzo
Betrayed by a false lover, cat shifter priestess Onfalia Mau lost her lioness soul and freedom to her lover’s treachery and Sekhmet’s wrath. Now, after three thousand years, Donquar has returned with one thing in mind: to steal the goddess’s scepter. Onfalia knows that to do so means to unleash Sekhmet’s unholy, bloody Slaughter on the world and she’ll stop at nothing to foil Donquar’s plans.
I hope you’ll check it out, and enjoy these fabulous stories!
All proceeds from the sale of our anthology will go to Cat House on The Kings, a no-kill cat sanctuary in California.
Their URL
http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/
Buy links for the anthology:
In Kindle and paperback at Amazon
And in Epub at Lulu.
About J.D. Revezzo:
J.D. Revezzo has long been in love with writing, a love built by devouring everything from the Arthurian legends, to the works of Michael Moorcock, and the classics. Her short fiction has been published in Dark Things II: Cat Crimes, The Scribing Ibis, Eternal Haunted Summer, Twisted Dreams Magazine and Luna Station Quarterly.
You can learn more about her works at:
Her site:
http://harshadpassion.wordpress.com/
or if you wish, follow her on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/JD-Revezzo/233193150037011
Or on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/juliannewrites/
Thanks for being my guest today, J.D.
Got your own cat myth to debunk? Or if you’ve got questions or comments for J.D. – fire away!
. Meet Pepito!
Happy Friday! Don’t forget to visit me over at the Scribes today – A Legend In Your Own Mind.
...and Madeline. Kitty in a box!
Today, I thought I’d try something different. All of my other pet blog posts have been after my beloved babies passed away. So rather than wait. . .
. . . I’d like you all to meet my two lovely cats, Madeline and Pepito. And yes, they are named after characters in the children’s book, MADELINE by Ludwig Bemelemans.
I’m happy to say these two are alive and well. The thirteen year old brother and sister pair keep me on my toes.
Anyone with cats will tell you that they never really get too old to play or get into things. I can’t count the number of times I’ve woken up to find my pens and pencils all over the place . And yarn, watch out! It must be hidden away lest I find it wrapped around every chair leg in the house.
Every Sunday, Pepito and I tussle over the newspaper. I try to read it and he tries to sit on it. See how that works?
I am the King of the Newspaper.
And there isn’t a plastic bag that Pepito doesn’t like . The one below is from Pier One Imports. Both Maddy and Pepito loves to lick plastic bags. Does anyone else’s cats do this?
Plastic bag, anyone?
Like all cats, they think they own the house and, by extension, me. Pepito tends to get in my face while I’m at my computer for my day job. Once the day job is over, they switch off and Madeline becomes my new velcro attachment.
She thinks that my writing chair at the dining room table is hers. I’ve written many things while sharing half of my chair with her. Honestly, she is so cute. Sometimes I can’t kick her off…
This is my chair!
They are the only two pets that have made it into one of my books – Ascension. Two cats bear a striking resemblance to my kitties. Because I write paranormal, there is more to them than meets the eye. Sorry, but you will have to read the book to find out what the secret is.
One of the things I love about cats is that they tend to leave you alone, unless they want something. And they sleep for hours on end. Some days I wish I could do that too.
Ahh, the life of a kitty....
Tell me about your four legged friends. And, seriously, does anyone else’s cats lick plastic bags?
For all the good news I’ve had in the last few weeks, it was invetiable that something bad would come along. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is sometimes. At least in my life, the good is always tempered with the bad.
For the last 18 and half years, I’ve had a beloved furry companion – my cat Ollie. It seems like he has always been in my life. In fact he was a year older than my first born son. And yes, I did say was.
Earlier in the week, we were told that he had a terminal condition. You know the kind that can’t be fixed. So we took him home, made him comfortable and gave him even more love than he normally received already. But today, he told us he was ready to go. And, even though it was so hard, we did.
Ollie didn’t pass alone. We were there for him, petting him, telling him we loved him. I’m proud of my fifteen year old son, he stayed too. My oldest declined to come. But that was okay. He was there when our 13 old dalmatian, Sparky, died last October. I’m proud of my sons. I know at their age, I wouldn’t have had the courage to stay in that room and watch a beloved pet die.
I wish I could say I won’t have to do this again. But, I will. At least three more times. We still have two, 12 year old cats (brother and sister, no less) and another 13 year old Dalmatian. And I expect it will still hurt, just like it did for all our other departed pets (Nestlè, Dottie, Captain).
But, that’s what love is – staying together – good moments and bad. And I wouldn’t trade any of those 18 and half years. They were all great and worth these moments of pain I’m feeling now.
See you on the other side, buddy!
Ollie - I'll miss you!
