Meet the Mewse

 

I'm amazed by the number of writers who have playlists they listen to while writing. I am not one of them. I have to have silence when I write; any noise distracts me, even music. Well, there is one sound that doesn't bother me - the purring of a cat. Those purrs are provided by Molly, my muse - or as I prefer to call her, my "mewse".

Miss Molly, mewse extraordinaire

 Due to the recent passing of our oldest kitty (Delilah), Molly and her brother Desmond (Dez for short) are now the old lady and old man of the house at 12 years of age. (They were named for the couple in the Beatles song Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.) Dez is a bit of a fraidy cat but Molly is much more mellow, a nice trait in a writing partner. When I sit down to write, Molly climbs into my lap and quietly demands attention. Once an acceptable amount of affection has been supplied, she curls up in my lap and purrs. For the most part, I couldn't ask for a better writing buddy. Molly is well generally well-behaved and stays off of my keyboard. She does occasionally get annoyed when I insist on doing things such as using my arms/hands and will pop off to her cat tree for a bit. But, once I'm forgiven, she comes back for more cuddles.

Molly and her nemesis (my pen)

Lest you think my mewse is "purrfect" I can assure you she is not. As I said, she stays off of my keyboard but, when it's time for pen and ink edits, all bets are off. As soon as the pens come out, the games begin and my formerly well-behaved mewse goes bananas, swatting at and chewing on the pen. Oh,well. I guess a girl's just gotta have fun.

Until next month, take care and happy reading!

Sign up for my newsletter here:  http://madmimi.com/signups/112968/join

Amazon Author Page:  http://amazon.com/author/isabellanorse

Website:  http://www.isabellanorse.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsabellaNorseAuthor/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/isabellanorse/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabellanorseauthor/

The Kitten of the Apocalypse

Some people collect stamps or coins, my family collects cats. It's not an intentional thing, it just is. We used to call it "The Cat of the Year Club" because another cat cat would show up every year, usually in June or July. Even our vet says that we have an invisible sign in our yard telling cats to come to us for a good home. My family "blames" me. Apparently, my super power is attracting cats. However, our newest family member comes courtesy of my husband.

Dear readers, meet Kota.

Several weeks ago, my husband went outside to do a few things before we left for work and heard something yelling from the far side of our back yard. Being the good man that he is, he donned gloves and went in search of the source. A brief search and chase later, he came in carrying a small gray kitten. At some point during the ensuing conversation, I said something along the lines of "It's just a kitten; it's not even one of the four kittens of the apocalypse." And thus, the name Kota (Kitten Of The Apocalypse) was born.

Our original plan was to find a home for Kota, but one thing lead to another and, as so often happens, Kota's furever home is with us. However, no many how many strays we take in, there are always more that need homes and help. 

My love for animals makes its way into my stories which all feature animals and animal rescue. Like my fellow Fire Star Press author Mollie Hunt, I am working to change the world one book at a time. In addition to hoping to raise awareness through my stories, I also donate a portion of the proceeds of all of my books to animals in need. 

My newest mewse is already hard at work walking across my keyboard in an effort to put her own spin on my stories. My brain is also busily chasing plot bunnies (or maybe they are plot kittens) while it tries to work out the details of a story about the kittens of the a-purr-calyse.

Please, share a picture of your fur-baby in the comments. Furry faces make every day better!

I'm always glad to meet new friends, you can find me here:

Sign up for my newsletter here:  http://madmimi.com/signups/112968/join

Website:  http://www.isabellanorse.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsabellaNorseAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorIzzy

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/isabellanorse/

Happy "Mew" Year

Happy "Mew" Year, every one! New Year's is a time for new calendars, blank pages, and fresh starts. However, even as we step out with a new spring in our step, some things don't change and I'm okay with that. For example, I hope that I will always have a "mewse" in my life.

Cricket, Toots, and Delilah are always up for a reason to celebrate and help their mom show off her mad Photoshop skills. ;-)

You see, like many writers, I'm a cat lover. I'm not sure why there seems to be such a natural bond between authors and felines, but I suspect it is because most writers are introverts.which means that we need solitude to recharge our batteries. Our furry companions are okay with this because most of them prefer one-on-one interactions as well. It may also have something to do with the fact that a writer in the act of writing becomes a bit of a captive audience. After all, by sitting down we made a lap. Obviously, we made it just for them, right?

When I first began writing, I used a desktop computer. I sat sideways in front of the desk so that my lap would be available for Tess, my earliest mewse. When Tess left us for the Rainbow Bridge, other cats were waiting in the wings to take her place. Over time, I gave up the desktop for the freedom of a laptop. I now spend my writing time in a recliner or on my bed, depending on the noise level in the house and the location of said noise. I will be as far from the sound as I can possibly get since I need peace and quiet in order to write.

In my house, the opening of my laptop has much the same impact on my cats as opening a can of tuna. As soon as my fanny hits my seat and the laptop is open, there is a cat in my lap. While I love their company, it sometimes makes writing physically difficult. For example, Busby, my current mewse, is a large cat weighting approximately twenty pounds. When Busby is passed out on my lap, he is usually lying on my arms, making typing difficult. However, we make it work as this post proves. (He is "helping" me now.)

Busby sends his love!

However, my mewses don't limit themselves to physical interactions. One mewse, a cat named Zombie, became the inspiration for my sweet paranormal romance series set in the fictional town of Kudzu Korners, Georgia. Dial V for Vampire, the first book in the series, will be published by Fire Star Press in 2016. *squee* Expect to learn more about Zombie closer to release date.

My cats have played such an important role in my life that it seems only natural that all of my stories contain animals, especially cats. All of my cats are rescues so I also donate a portion of the proceeds from my book sales to help animals in need.

I'm looking forward to 2016 with my mewses. I can't wait to see what we accomplish together!

Tell me about your furry family in the comments. Dogs? Cats? Rats? Even better, post pictures!

About the author:

Isabella Norse scored major "cool mom" points by playing the same video games as her sons and their friends. In these virtual worlds she slayed demons and destroyed machines bent on galactic extermination while simultaneously wooing cocky assassins and sexy aliens. She fell in love with the make-believe worlds and rich characters that inhabited them and now writes her own tales of love, romance, and adventure.

Still a gamer – and still cool – Isabella lives in Georgia with her husband and a herd of rescue cats. She loves to hear from readers and can be found here:

Website:  http://www.isabellanorse.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsabellaNorseAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorIzzy

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/isabellanorse/