WHAT THE *BLEEP* IS A CAT WRITER? by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer

Today is the final day of the 25^th Annual Cat Writers’ Association Conference, and I’m sad for it to end. The time went by fast, with presentations, networking, and good meals among old and new friends. People won awards, made connections, and learned things about cats and cat writing. I enjoyed it all, from the fiction panel in which I participated to the book sales and signing event. If you are a cat writer, artist, blogger, photographer, or pursue any creative aspect of the cat, you, too, might consider joining the Cat Writers’ Association. It has been very helpful for me. (And fun, too!)

But what exactly is a cat writer, you ask.

When you Google Cat Writer, you really don’t get a whole lot of joy. Most of the links go to various paws of the CWA. But there you have it: If there is a Cat Writers’ Association, then it logically follows that there are cat writers. That these fur-tive storytellers are difficult to define makes perfect sense when you consider the mysterious and unique nature of the animal they emulate.

It’s really very simple: cat writers write cat-centric books and stories. They write both fiction  and non-fiction, anything that features felines in a majority of the content. (A cat on the book cover or sitting on Grandma’s lap in chapter seven does not a cat book make.) Cat non-fiction includes but is not limited to cat memoir, cat help, cat poetry, and cat behavior. Cat fiction can be just about anything: cat mysteries, cat cozies, and cat sci-fi are only a few of the more popular sub-sub genres.

Why write cat? What is it about the feline species that propels it to such literary popularity? When did writers first begin to introduce cats as a vital part of their stories? Why do readers lap them up like a saucer of cream?*

Do you have a favorite cat book or cat writer? If so, let me know, and I will do my best to reply. (Be aware that I’m still having problems with that. For some reason, no matter how many times I log in to Blogger, it doesn’t recognize me and my comments just disappear! I’ve tried everything short of a new computer, which isn’t going to happen. Sometimes it works perfectly though, just to drive me crazy.)

*(PS: milk products, including cream, are not good for adult cats and will likely cause diarrhea)

Check out more blogs by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer at:

Mollie Hunt: Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and more

Happy reading!

THE SCARY THING ABOUT CAT EDITORS, by Mollie Hunt

Editor Cat-There are Days, by Rogena Mitchell-Jones Manuscript Service

Tinkerbelle is looking at me from her bed behind my monitor where she does her best editing. She knows what I’m thinking. She knows I don’t have a clue what I’m about to write, and she knows I’m going to fudge my way through in spite of that. Cats know these things, but…

How do they know?

 

Tinkerbelle, Prime Editor

I turn slightly and see Tink is not alone; Little is also watching. She wants to see what I do next. She looks exceedingly smug, knowing that if she doesn’t like it, she will drift her feathery fur across my touch screen and make it all disappear in a fizzle of pixel-fire.

 “No, Little, no! It can’t be that bad. Can it?”

Little, Hands-on Editor

There has been a lot of buzz on the internet lately about cat editors. You think we’re kidding? That the phrase, cat editor, is just a cute way of saying we like to work with a cat on our laps? Not true. Cats know a good story when they hear one, and since they are essentially telepathic, they often know a writer’s work before the writer does.

Tinkerbelle is purring as she pushes me for full disclosure. Okay, I admit my title is misleading: I don’t find cats scary, and certainly not my own little clowder.

Keep Writing or the Claws Come Out, by Jordan L. Hawk

No, I’m not afraid of cats or their arsenal of arcane abilities. Bring them on, the more the better! (Limited only by my finances and how many litter boxes I can clean in a morning.) Their talent for reading my mind and at times, influencing it, is a good thing; after all, what would a cat writer be without cats?

The fact that my books revolve around cats doesn’t seem strange to me.

When sometimes I find myself writing from their perspective, well, that isn’t so weird, is it? Someone needs to tell their stories.

When I have crazy cat lady dreams and wake up with a cat on my head, that’s just normal, right?

But sometimes when I close my eyes, I begin to purr…

 

Be afraid! Be furry afraid!

 

Tinkerbelle, the black floofy female with one white whisker, is a 15 year old rescued stray who until recently worked with me as a therapy cat. Little, also female, black (with a pendant), and a rescue, is 9 and sassy. Big Red, the orange tabby male, adopted me. His age is thought to be around 12.

 

 

Check out more blogs by Mollie Hunt at:

Mollie Hunt: Crazy CatLady Mysteries and more

 

Happy reading!