The Originals Blog Tour: Author's Animal Antics with Cat Patrick

It has been a long time since I posted an Author's Animal Antics post but I've always enjoyed them so I was really excited when Cat Patrick offered to share a couple of animal related stories for The Originals blog tour. I loved Cat Patrick's debut novel Forgotten (read my review here) so I couldn't wait to read her latest book The Originals. She always comes up with such unusual stories and the idea of three clones living together and pretending to be one person fascinated me. I'll be posting my review of The Originals later today but I'll tell you right now that it is such a fun read and one I'd definitely recommend.

I glance at the three baby portraits in thick wooden frames.
I feel a familiar prickling on the back of my neck.
Because I know there's another picture somewhere- and the baby in that photo looks identical to the babies on the wall.
Somewhere, there's a photo of the Original.

Ella, Betsey and I look like sisters: triplets, you might think.

But that's not all.

We are clones in hiding. We split our lives and exist as one person in the outside world. And we've always been happy.

But now I've fallen head-over-heels in love . . . and that changes everything.

Because, to let love in, I need to be allowed to be Me.

Visit Cat Patrick's website for more information.

Now please give a very warm welcome to Cat Patrick!

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Cat Patrick

(Image linked from the author's website)

Animal Antics with Cat Patrick, author of The Originals

Thanks for having me on the blog today. As someone with an allergic husband, my family doesn’t have pets, but I do have two animal stories to share. The second is a scaredy cat story—the Cat in the story being me—and the first is related to my book, The Originals, which is about three identical clones who live as one person to hide from the world.

Dumptruck the Dog

A friend teased me about the name of Sean Kelly’s dog in The Originals—Dumptruck—so I thought I’d tell you where it came from.

One of my twins is named Lucy. She’s smart and quirky and likes things her way. We moved to a new town and met a neighbor’s dog for the first time: an adorable Dachshund who also happens to be called Lucy. Two at the time, my Lucy proclaimed that the dog Lucy could clearly not share her name. “Lucy is a girl name, and that is a dog, and she needs a dog name…like Dumptruck.”

The nickname stuck—we call Lucy the dog Dumptruck to this day—and when it came time to describe Sean’s four-legged friend in the book, that’s who was on my mind.

(Note from Sarah: This isn't Cat's picture of Dumptruck, 

it's just an image I found online to give you an idea of what he looks like)

Don’t Bite My Toes

One year when I was very small, my older sister got a kitten for Christmas. The kitten was called Jenny, and she looked like black and white tiger. She was very cute, though not nearly as cute as my yellow lab, Sam.

At the time, my sister and I shared a small bedroom in the back of the house. My bed was the trundle that pulled out from under hers, cause she was older and got to claim things like beds with stationary legs. The only problem was that the trundle was broken, and sometimes either the head or the foot would collapse without warning in the middle of the night. So, for example, when the foot side went, I’d slide out of bed and end up a tiny pile of kid on the floor. (Thanks, Mom and Dad.)

Cute as she was—though not as awesome as Sam—turns out Jenny Kitty was actually kind of a jerk. She was a foot biter. The moment I’d put my feet under the covers at night, Jenny would pounce on them like they were mice, biting and batting at them until they stopped moving. And she had sharp teeth! Living in fear of the tiny kitty, my nighttime regime went something like this:

• Brush teeth
• Run to bed
• Shove feet under covers as quickly and efficiently as possible
• Don’t move a muscle for entire sleeping duration
• Never ever get out of bed

The nighttime hours became all about avoiding a cat-tack. And I got pretty good at it, until one night, all hell broke loose. (Or as much hell as a four-year-old can conjure.) I’d followed the regime. I was stiff as a board, barely breathing. Jenny Kitty was prowling the room like a tiger looking for a lame zebra. But, committed to being still as Han Solo in carbonite, I was winning.

Then the bed broke.

It was the head of the bed that time, and let me tell you: It’s challenging to stay still when the top half of your resting body suddenly plummets to the floor.

My feet moved.

Jenny pounced.

I screamed.

My sister laughed.

If there were a superhero movie about me, and I, Cat, battled villain cats, that night on the trundle bed with the toe cat food would be my origin story. Because, my friends, on that fateful night, I began to fear felines. A few years later, the evil Siamese that attacked my ankles after school when I just wanted to go inside my friend Brad’s house and eat gingerbread cookies smelled my fear. My brother’s cat Nancy hisses because she really is plotting to eat my face off: She just hasn’t made her move yet. The black cat at my friend’s house last night knew I would be powerless when he tried to eat my carrots and ranch dip, so I let him, shaking in terror on the inside.

Irony is sharing a name with something you most fear in life. I guess it could be worse, though. I could be called Airport Bathroom.

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Thanks for a fabulous guest post Cat! I did wonder how you came up with the name Dumptruck for Sean's dog - it's such an unusual name for a dog LOL. As you can probably tell from my blog header I love cats, I do know that they have a special ability for sensing people's fear of them though. It's funny how cats are always drawn to people who are either scared or allergic to them!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour and drop back later today to read my full review of The Originals.

Author's Animal Antics - Justin Somper + International Giveaway

* UPDATE - THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED - Winners announced here *

Author's Animal Antics is a regular blog feature here at Feeling Fictional where I'm very excited to have some fantastic authors come and chat to us about their pets or share animal related stories.  I haven't had as much time to organise this feature recently so it's been a while since the last post but I'm thrilled to introduce Justin Somper as my guest today...

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Justin with Bella & Bailey

Bailey & Bella

When I was asked how influential my two dogs, Bailey and Bella, have been on the VAMPIRATES books, my first reaction was to say… not much, really! I’ve never been tempted to write Vampirate dogs into the books. I’ve done Vampirate cowboys and I’ve done Vampirate highwaywomen but I think Vampirate dogs really would be a step too far! Nor have I drawn on either dog’s personality to develop a character based on them – though I inherited Bella from previous owners and one of her former names was Lola! How spooky is that? I’m glad that when I got her, she was already responding to Bella. It would have been too weird for me crying out “Lola!” as I walked around the woods in the morning.

Bailey

If anything, I’m tempted to say, my dogs – much as I love them - are a positive hindrance to the creative process. Not least when I have my huge chapter-grids laid out on my office floor and they come in and sit on them or make off with one of my vital post-it notes!

Bailey "helping" with the writing process!

Is that a reward for Bailey's writing skills?

But actually thinking about it, they are a part of the writing process. Pretty much every morning, I take them for a walk first thing – around the woods or across the heath near where I live in North London. This walk is quality time with them. You only have to spend time with dogs to see that a walk isn’t just about physical exercise – it’s complete mental and sensory overload for them! But for me, the morning walk, serves another purpose. It can be a meditative start to the day and it’s certainly a great opportunity to ponder where I’m at in the book and any niggling problems regarding the plot or characters. It’s amazing how beneficial repetitive exercise is for resolving such conundrums. I’m often asked how to prevent or combat “writer’s block” and my two answers are 1) to plan out the story in advance (hence my chapter grids) and 2) if you get stuck to go for a walk or a swim etc.

Bella with Justin

Justin with Bailey

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Thank you so much for visiting today Justin, I love all the pictures of Bailey & Bella - I have to admit the ones with the reinder antlers are my favourites!  Justin is currently taking part in a blog tour to celebrate the release of the final book in the Vampirates series, Immortal War.  If you haven't yet discovered this series it really is one you should check out!  Don't forget to check out the other tour stops too (you can find a list on my sidebar).  I'll be posting my review of Immortal War later today but I'll tell you now that I thought it was my favourite book in the series and rounded things off really well.

The Vampirates Series:

The Final Battle . . .

A bloody war is raging across the oceans, with the Pirate Federation and the Nocturnals allied against the renegade Vampirates let by Sidorio and a heavily pregnant Lady Lola.

Meanwhile, Connor and Grace Tempest each have their own important roles to play - he as a pirate warrior at the heart of the battle, she as a powerful healer working with the war-wounded. As the twins face their greatest challenges yet, old allies and formeer foes return for the ultimate battle . . .

Find out more about Justin and his work here - The Vampirates Website / Twitter / The Vampirates Facebook Page

For more information about the Author's Animal Antics feature click here

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Giveaway Details:

This is such a fab series that I've decided to include an international giveaway.  The winner can choose any book they like from the Vampirates series (either Demons of the Ocean, Tide of Terror, Blood Captain, Black Heart, Empire of Night or Immortal War) so whether you're new to the series or you're desperately waiting for the final installment you can still enter.

• I will be ordering the winner one of the Vampirates books from the Book Depository so the giveaway is international as long as Book Depository delivers to you (check here to make sure you can enter)
• I'm keeping this giveaway really simple so all you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post for Justin.
• You have until the 17th of June to enter and the winner will be announced on my blog soon afterwards.
• The winner will have 1 week to contact me with their address and their book choice so I can order their prize or a new winner will be chosen.
• If you're under 16 you are welcome to enter but you will need to make sure you have a parent or guardian's permission and if you are the winner you must get them to contact me with an address to send your prize to.
• There are no extra entries for spreading the word or for following my blog but if you choose to do either I'd really appreciate it :o)

Author's Animal Antics - Karen Mahoney + International Giveaway

Author's Animal Antics is a regular blog feature here at Feeling Fictional where I'm very excited to have some fantastic authors come and chat to us about their pets or share animal related stories.  I'm thrilled to introduce the lovely Karen Mahoney as my guest today...

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Feline Muses by Karen Mahoney

It’s so nice to be asked to write a blog post on something other than my book – it makes a change. Thank you, Sarah!

Sarah asked if I have any pets, to which I can proudly reply: yes! I have two cats, Felix and Logan, who are now six years old. We’ve had them since they were very tiny kittens, and they’re brothers… even though they don’t look it. They really are from the same litter…

Even though Felix (named because he’s always up to some kind of mischief) is considered by most people as ‘my baby,’ I also have a strong bond with Logan (named after Wolverine from the X-Men because of his long claws). Logan had to have one of his back legs amputated when he was three, after a terrible accident, but he has bounced back amazingly well. He’s such a fighter, so he definitely has the right name!

While he was recovering from his operation I was actually writing the very first draft of The Iron Witch, and Logan would lay behind me on the radiator so I could reach over and touch him every so often. I’m sure he helped me to write the book – I was even going to put him in the Acknowledgements, but I thought that was probably unfair to Felix. I couldn’t leave him out… ;)

Especially for Sarah and her blog readers, I dug out some of my old photos of “The Boys” (as we call them) from their life growing up as Mahoney Cats. Enjoy!

They both like to climb:

But that can get pretty exhausting…

The birds have to be very careful, too!

Although Christmas is always entertaining…

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Thanks so much for your lovely guest post Kaz, your boys are adorable!  I love their names too Felix looks just like the scamp in the adverts and I love the name Logan - it would suit my cat perfectly if she was a boy as she definitely has the Wolverine claws!  Thanks for letting me share these wonderful pictures :o)

Freak.

That's what they call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood at Ironbridge High School.  A horrific fey attack that killed her father when she was just a child left Donna branded with iron tattoos that cover her hands and arms - and magically enhanced strength, that she does all she can to hide.

Now, after ten years of wishing for a normal life, Donna finally accepts her role in the centuries-old war against the darkest outcasts of Faerie - the dark elves.  Aided by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout, Donna must save her best friend's life - and that means betraying one of the world's greatest secrets and confronting the very thing that destroyed her family.

Karen Mahoney's debut novel The Iron Witch was released in the UK and the US in January and is the first book in her new Iron Witch series. This is a fantastic debut with a strong heroine and a very hot love interest and I would highly recommend you check it out.  You can read my full review of The Iron Witch here

Find out more about Karen and her work here - Website / Blog / Twitter

For more information about the Author's Animal Antics feature click here

Giveaway Details:

I loved this book so much that I bought an extra copy of the limited edition Waterstones version (with lovely gold shiny edges to the pages that match the cover perfectly) for a giveaway.  Kaz very kindly signed this extra copy for me at the RHCB blogger brunch. 

• I'm keeping this giveaway really simple so all you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post for Kaz.
• The giveaway is international so anyone can enter
• You have until the 20th of March 2011 to enter and winner will be announced soon afterwards on my blog.
• The winner will have 48 hours to contact me with their address or a new winner will be chosen.
• There are no extra entries for following or spreading the word but if you choose to do either I'll appreciate it :o)

Author's Animal Antics - Julie Kagawa

Author's Animal Antics is a regular blog feature here at Feeling Fictional where I'm very excited to have some fantastic authors come and chat to us about their pets or share animal related stories.  I'm thrilled to introduce the lovely Julie Kagawa as my guest today...

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Hello, my name is Julie Kagawa, author of The Iron Fey series.  As a full-time writer, I'm often asked what I did before I was published.  The answer to that question is: a lot of things.  I worked as a clerk in a bookstore (which didn't go over so well; apparently, the managers frown upon reading books instead of shelving them), I was a pet store employee, I worked the desk at a veterinarian's office, and most recently, I was a dog trainer.

You might notice that most of my jobs either involved books or animals.  And you would be correct.  I love animals.  This probably comes from growing up on a farm and having every kind of pet imaginable: horses, rabbits, dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, ducks, cows, goats, and so on.  I've trained everything from horses and dogs, to parrots and cats.  Including a very special cat who helped me in my dog training classes and ultimately became the inspiration for Grimalkin.

He was a big, pure black cat named Shinobi (which is another word for "ninja".").  We adopted him from a rescue organization to keep our other cat (Sniper) company.  It quickly became clear that this cat was much smarter than your average feline.  I wondered how smart he really was so I decided to find out.  Using lunch meat and a clicker, I started short little training sessions with him.

It became quite clear that I wouldn't be able to train him the way I would a dog.  For one, while he was quite eager to work for lunch meat and pepperoni, it was only when he wanted to.  I couldn't force him to do anything, and when he decided we were done, we were done.  Still, he caught onto things faster then any dog I'd ever trained; he learned Sit in one session, Roll Over, Jump, Down, and Wave in a day.  I even got him to walk on a leash.

The greatest triumph came in one of my training classes, however.  I was working with a roomful of noisy, barking dogs, trying to explain the basics of clicker training, when one of the students asked, rather dubiously, if it would really work.  I brought Shinobi out, and in front of a dozen barking dogs, he performed all his tricks perfectly.

No one ever questioned me after that.  And people started coming into the store just to see the "trained cat."  Unfortunately, after a few weeks of this, Shinobi decided he'd had enough and simply stopped performing in public, no matter how much I begged.

So now he lives a life of luxury at home, playing with Sniper and our two dogs, his few weeks of fame behind him.  Sometimes, though, just for fun, I'll wave at him, just to see if he remembers.  And every so often, he waves back.

For more information on the Iron King and to find out about forthcoming releases from Mira Ink visit www.miraink.co.uk

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Thank you so much for visiting today Julie, I'm so impressed you managed to get Shinobi to perform on command - especially in front of a room full of dogs!  I know how stubborn my cats are and I can't imagine them doing anything like that.  I'm very tempted to go out & buy a clicker and give it a try though :o)  Grimalkin is one of my favorite characters in The Iron King so it was really nice to find out more about the cat who helped bring him to life.

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny - one she could never have imagined ...

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six.  She has never quite fitted in at school...or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar and her little brother is taken, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

She could never have guessed the truth.  Meghan is the daughter of a faery king and a pawn in a deadly war.  Now Meghan will have to choose between a normal life and her magical destiny - and between her best friend and a darkly dangerous prince.

It's time for Meghan to enter the faery world...

Julie Kagawa is the author of the popular Iron Fey series that took the US by storm when it was released last year.  I've been wanting to read the series for what feels like forever so I was incredibly excited when book 1 The Iron King was released by Mira Ink in the UK in January.  Let me tell you now I really enjoyed the book (I'll be posting my full review later today so make sure you check back for more information) and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.  Luckily we don't have too long to wait book 2 The Iron Daughter will be out in the UK in April and book 3 The Iron Queen will be released in August.

If you'd like a chance to read a free ebook of The Iron King the Sunday Express is giving 1,000 copies away to UK readers.  Make sure you get hold of your copy quickly before they run out - you can find all of the details here.

Find out more about Julie and her work here - Julie's Website / The Iron Fey Website / Blog / Twitter / The Iron Fey Facebook Page

For more information about the Author's Animal Antics feature click here

Author's Animal Antics - Beth Revis

Author's Animal Antics is a regular blog feature here at Feeling Fictional where I'm very excited to have some fantastic authors come and chat to us about their pets or share animal related stories.  I'm thrilled to introduce the lovely Beth Revis as my guest today...

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I've always named my pets after characters I've loved, starting with a beagle puppy I named Meg, after the heroine of A WRINKLE IN TIME, one of my all time favorite books.  Around the same time I got married, my husband and I adopted a black Lab puppy.  We both adored the little guy, but he definitely needed a name we could yell at him when he ate (another) door handle or chewed through (another) wall.

The problem, though, is that my husband isn't a fan of Harry Potter.  And, well...I am.  Given my habit of naming pets after characters, and given the fact that the puppy was a BLACK Lab, I knew I wanted to name him Sirius, after my favorite character in HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN.  But I knew the husband would never approve of this name.

Fortunately, the husband also knew I loved astronomy.  So, I got out my star chart, pointed to the constellation Sirius, and told my husband that I wanted to name the puppy after the dog star.  He agreed, thinking I was being quite scientific about the whole process.

Eventually, of course, the husband made the connection between Sirius the puppy and Sirius the character...but by then, it was too late to change his name!  Now I've just got to figure out a way to write my destructive dog onto my spaceship, and Sirius's infamy will live forever

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Thank you so much for visiting today Beth, I love the fact you named your dog after one of my favorite Harry Potter characters!  How sneaky to manage to get your husband to agree by saying you wanted to name him after the dog star, I'll have to remember that tactic in the future :o)

Amy has left the life she loves for a world 300 years away

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed. She expects to wake up on a new planet, 300 years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, Amy's cryo chamber is unplugged, and she is nearly killed.

Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, his rebellious and brilliant younger heir.

Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she? All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.



Beth Revis' debut novel Across the Universe was released in the US in January and will be released in the UK on the 3rd of March.  It is the first book in a science fiction trilogy and if it's not already on your wish list then you should definitely add it.  I will be posting my review later today and I can't wait to read further books in the series!  If you'd like to read the first chapter while you're waiting for the release date you can find it online here.

Find out more about Beth and her work here - Beth's Website / Across the Universe Website / Blog / Twitter / Across the Universe UK Facebook Page

For more information about the Author's Animal Antics feature click here

Author's Animal Antics - Curtis Jobling

Author's Animal Antics is a regular blog feature here at Sarah's Book Reviews where I'm very excited to have some fantastic authors come and chat to us about their pets or share animal related stories.  I'm thrilled to introduce the lovely Curtis Jobling as my guest today...

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You'd think with four children I wouldn't have time for pets, but that's where you're wrong (cue evil laughter).  We have two cats in Casa Bling, a pair of Bengal brothers named Eric and Ernie.  We used to have a dog too, Samwise (yes, named after the short fat hairy footed fella) but he now lives with my Aunt in Blackpool.  Sam actually got to be a "ringbearer" for me when I proposed to my now-wife halfway up a Welsh mountain; I'd attached the engagement ring to his collar so that when Emma let him off his lead it would fall into her hand.  She actually dropped it when she took the lead off which led to me crawling through the wet grass on all fours, feverishly trying to find the thing while dodging sheep droppings and cowpats.  I know, I'm an old romantic aren't I?

Eric and Ernie are named after two famous comedians who your younger readers may (criminally) not know about.  May I direct you to your grandfather or dad for that matter and ask him about Morecambe and Wise at the earliest opportunity?  I thank you.

Samwise and Eric

Well, as Bengals they can be a little wild.  They're only six generations away from a wild Asian Leopard Cat, and have still got a bit of that attitude in them.  They're not afraid of water (used to swimming in the wild) and used to frequently go fishing for Koi in our old next door neighbours garden.  Great cats, aren't they?  Fish isn't the only thing they like to hunt.  Birds, rats, frogs, mice - on one occasion they dragged a young rabbit through the catflap which promptly squeezed under the sofa we were sat on.  Cue two cats and a dog frantically circuiting the settee like some deranged episode of Scooby Doo.  Yes, cats are great, especially when they bring still-living wild animals into your home, the bigger the better.  I'm just waiting for the day they haul a fresian cow through the toilet window...

Sadly poor Ernie had a nasty encounter with an idiot with an air rifle a couple of years ago, the result being that he had to have his tail amputated.  He's still an adorable, affectionate little fellow, but he's no longer the perfect example of the Bengal breed that could have won competitions (if we'd ever been bonkers enough to enter one!)  Instead he now looks like the stunt double of one of my other creations, Frankenstein's Cat, my mixed up moggie that appeared in his own picture book and animated series.

Ernie

Eric and Ernie are both very vocal chaps, letting us know when they want to come in.  Their constant MAOWING at the backdoor is frequently a delightful distraction for me as I'm trying to crunch illustration and writing deadlines.  And typically, they miaow when they want in and then miaow because they want out again!  I'm all for cats being independent as opposed to dogs but would it really hurt for them to learn how to open the patio door?

So yes, I'm a pet lover.  We would probably have more if we had a bigger house but for the time being the Chinchillas will have to wait.  Hope you dig Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf, in fact I hope it excites and scares the pants off you in equal measures - do follow the adventure on the official website http://www.wereworldbooks.com/ and keep up to speed on the Jobling blog - http://badablingthing.blogspot.com/!

Enjoy the petting, reading and Bada Bling!

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Thank you so much for visiting today Curtis, I can't believe how close Ernie is sitting to Sam in that picture, I've never met a Bengal cat before but they look big (very cute too).  What a lovely way to propose to your wife too, although it sounds like you're lucky you didn't lose the ring!

'YOU'RE THE LAST OF THE WEREWOLVES SON. DON'T FIGHT IT . . . CONQUER IT.'

When the air is clear, sixteen year-old Drew Ferran can pick up the scent of a predator.

When the moon breaks through the clouds, a terrifying fever grips him.

And when a vicious beast invades his home, his gums begin to tear, his fingers become claws, and Drew transforms . . .

Forced to flee the family he loves, Drew seeks refuge in the most godforsaken parts of Lyssia. But when he is captured by Lord Bergan's men, Drew must prove he is not the enemy.

Can Drew battle the werecreatures determined to destroy him - and master the animal within?



Curtis Jobling is the animator who gave us Bob the Builder (I'm not sure if my international readers will know who that is but I'm sure all the Brits will!) and his debut novel Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf was released on the 6th of January.  I've seen some fantastic reviews for Wereworld but unfortunately my copy appears to have been lost in the post, I've got another copy on the way though & can't wait to read it.  I'll get my review posted as soon as I can.

Find out more about Curtis and his work here - Website / Wereworld Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook

For more information about the Author's Animal Antics feature click here

Author's Animal Antics - Cat Clarke

Author's Animal Antics is a regular blog feature here at Sarah's Book Reviews where I'm very excited to have some fantastic authors come and chat to us about their pets or share animal related stories.  I'm thrilled to introduce the lovely Cat Clarke as my guest today...

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Lots of my writer friends have cats. I have cats. So what is it about cats and writers? I mean, cats can be REALLY annoying when you’re trying to write. They step all over your keyboard, albeit in a dainty, elegant feline fashion. They sit on your lap, which means you can’t sit close enough to your computer. It’s an ergonomic disaster waiting to happen. They sit on whichever piece of paper you happen to working on...

Cute? Yes. Irritating? Definitely. This is Jem, my lovely three-and-a-half-legged friend. She’s possibly the cutest cat in the universe (I admit to being slightly biased on this matter). Her partner in crime is Scout, who is the second cutest cat in the universe...

Jem and Scout were rescue cats. They’d been abandoned on a shop roof when they were tiny little kittens. (Don’t even get me started on this subject... I get VERY angry). They’d been in the shelter for over three months. Nobody seemed to want them. The staff at the shelter said it was down to two things: their colouring and Jem’s gammy leg. Shelters across the country are often left with black cats. Some people are very strange – black cats are the coolest. Anyway, I saw a picture on the internet and knew they were the cats for me. I was right.

I wouldn’t be without Jem and Scout, even though they interrupt my writing ALL THE TIME. Hmm... perhaps that’s one reason I heart them so much. They provide a welcome distraction from the darkness of my writing. Especially when they pose like this...

If anyone has any other reasons why cats and writers are a match made in heaven, please let me know!

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Thank you so much for visiting today Cat, Jem and Scout are adorable but I can completely relate to how they are always getting in the way - my 2 cats are the same!  I really don't understand why some people are so against black cats, how could anyone resist those cute little faces?

Cat Clarke's debut novel Entangled is released in the UK in just 3 days time on the 6th of January.  I was lucky enough to get hold of an advanced copy and I have to say I absolutely loved it, I'll be posting my review later today.  I'd definitely recommend getting hold of a copy as soon as possible!  Doesn't it just have the most beautiful cover?

Find out more about Cat and her work here - Website / Blog / Twitter / Goodreads

For more information about the Author's Animal Antics feature click here