TALES FROM THE REWRITE, by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer

Last week when I was at the beach, I worked on reading (aloud) the proof copy of Cat Winter, one of my latest WIPs and the 2^nd book of the Cat Seasons Tetralogy. The manuscript has been through several edits, a beta reader, and a trip to my editor, so I went into it thinking, with a few tweaks here and there, the book would be ready to publish. The first pages came off without a hitch; then the red lines began. The way I proof is to mark directly in the proof book with a red pen—soon there were more pages with red lines, circles, and arrows that not.

Okay, that's pretty normal—for both Cat Café and Cosmic Cat, I slogged through two full proofs before I was happy. But then I ran into a bigger conundrum: you see, Cat Winter, like all the Cat Seasons Tetralogy, is in two parts. The first part is relatively tame violence-wise, but part two, when my heroes travel back in time to antediluvian South America, things begin to get ugly. I suppose like many of us, I had been traumatized at a young age by stories of atrocities committed by people of that era. I'm not sure if it was a catharsis to write about such horrors, but none the less, I got down and dirty. That would be fine since this isn’t by any means a “cozy” story, except that part 1 of the book flows in a completely different vein. The ultra-violence doesn’t fit. I need to tone it down. This means a huge rewrite. Not what I had planned.

How much violence do you tolerate in your fiction? How much do you enjoy? Where does violence fit into your taste in books? 

With the pandemic, as well as the Black Lives Matter protests, our penchant for reading violent stories is changing. We no longer want to hear about the rogue cop who does it all his way, no matter what laws he breaks or who gets hurt. But we don’t want a tiptoe through the tulips either. 

Cat Winter, being a sci-fantasy about cats saving the world, doesn’t have any cops, but it’s not all tulips either. Rewriting is hard, sometimes harder than the original draft; still, it’s the right thing to do. Be warned, however, I won’t be throwing out all the carnage. It’s way too much fun! 

Note: Cat Summer, the first book in the Cat Seasons Tetralogy, published by Fire Star Press last year, just won the Cat Writers’ Association Muse Medallion for best sci-fi/fantasy book 2019! This prestigious award is an exciting badge of honor for my debut sci-fantasy.

PROCESS, by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer

It’s always exciting to launch a new book, and Cosmic Cat is no exception. I had a woman rush up to my table at a book fair last weekend, point to the violet cover with the gray and white cat, and say, “Oh, you have the new one! I’ve been waiting!” That was a stellar moment, and one I will long remember, but strangely, for me the most exciting part of the writing journey is not the end but the beginning. For me, the first draft of a story is pure joy, with limitless possibilities and great potentials.


When it comes to writing, I am what they call a “pantser” as opposed to a “plotter.” That means, instead of making planning and outlining my story, I just write, “flying by the seat of my pants.” I have the title; I have the idea of what that will entail. I sit down at my laptop (which, by the way, is not connected to the internet) and begin.


I tend to hear the words in my head, as if I were reading, and I write them down. I visualize scenes as if they were a movie and describe them. I move ahead quickly, and without editing. I make notes — lots of notes — and color code things such as duplicated words or places I need to research. I push through from beginning to end, writing for hours each day. When I’m done, I sit back and get ready for the real work.


Fun and exciting as that first draft might be, there is a long way to go to make it a book. I revise several times before even my editor sees it, and then a few times more before it goes to press.



Cosmic Cat evolved out of my own love for sci-fi-fantasy and the conventions that have come out of that genre. Anyone who has attended a comic-con or Star Trek convention knows it as a world outside of the norm. The feeling of comradery that comes from being around people who love the same things we do; the sale items based on all our favorite characters; the panels on things that interest us; the guest stars who tell tales no one else may know. It’s a wonderland for people like me, and I wanted to put a little of that into a Crazy Cat Lady mystery.



I had the initial layout and a hint to the characters. Then came the “what if?” What if’s are essential to fiction writers. That’s where it all begins.



What if a cosplayer is murdered at a comic-con? And what if his name is Captain Cat and he is leader of a tribe? And what if the tribe has a vigilante faction, trying to save the world like their comic-book heroes? And what if...?



The main character of my series, Lynley Cannon, is a sixty-something cat shelter volunteer with many interests and a cat-like curiosity that won’t quit, so it’s easy to put her in all sorts of circumstances. Since she, herself, is a Trekkie, she fit right in with the comic-con crowd. She even has her own uniform!



To sum it up, the book you read in mere hours may have taken the writer and their team months and even years to create. Next time you read a book, think for a moment about what led up to that bundle of words that so excites your own imagination.

About COSMIC CAT, Crazy Cat Lady cozy mysteries #6:

When a superhero cosplayer falls to his death at a comic con, Lynley is left holding the bag— and a cat!
________________________________________

Who killed Captain Cat? His tribe wants to know.

When the Captain is murdered at Bridgetown Comic-con and philanthropist Esmae Westhouse is arrested for the crime, sixty-something cat shelter volunteer Lynley Cannon steps out of her comfort zone and dons her Star Trek uniform to expose the real killer.

A decade-spanning love triangle, a band of vigilante cosplayers, a shady pharmaceutical company, and an ancient black cat named Kitty tie into a puzzling plot that has Lynley running in all directions. The death of Captain Cat is only the beginning, and Lynley must stay one step ahead of a ruthless hit man if she is to make it out alive.



Praise for Cosmic Cat: 

If you like to read Cozy Mysteries that involve cartloads of cats and action, I recommend Cosmic Cat by Mollie Hunt. If you are a cat lover/cat servant, do not miss this book!  — The Book Decoder 

...I would have sworn there was no way to include costumed vigilantes in a cozy and have it be anything but ridiculous. Yet, after reading this, my hat is off to the author for writing the plot into a cozy with skill and panache.  —I Read What You Write 

... this story moves along at a steady pace with a wide variety of unique characters throughout the story. Not to mention that we even get some kitties with their own personalities mixed in.  —Socrates Book Reviews 

BACKLOG, by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer

 If you don’t count a brief obsession when I was in fourth grade or the scifi novel I started when I was a hippie, my writing career began in 1994 when my husband went to work in Japan, leaving me alone in Portland, Oregon.

We were having new carpeting installed in the bedroom, so the bed had been moved into his office, directly across from his computer. Not used to being on my own, I often couldn’t sleep and would stare at that blank, black monitor screen. I loved reading mysteries and had a few thoughts of writing one; now here was my chance!

            I considered for several nights more, then during one post-midnight awake session, I got up and began. I didn’t know anything about computers, having only used one on rare occasions, but I found a writing program (WordPerfect 0.00001 or some such), inserted a floppy disk so I wouldn’t use up space on the hard drive, and began to type.

            Then, as now, I came up with the title first: The Oldest House. It was a story of a thirty-something antiques and collectible dealer who finds a framed print with a picture of an old house hidden behind it. Off she goes on adventures; there is a murder; she meets a man who is either the murderer or the prince of her dreams; she gets herself into danger and is almost killed… It was a basic plot, but I loved it and I loved writing it. Before I knew it, I had a full forty-five pages! There was no turning back.

            The page count grew into 450, and I began the process of querying agents and publishers. I got one personal response that I took to heart: the murder should happen in the first ten pages. I rewrote the beginning, sent it back, and received a rejection slip, but I didn’t care. By that time I had started my second book.

            The second mystery, Broken Roses,  was a tough one with a complex plot that spanned several decades. I found myself incorporating details from my own life, including the basis for the book, a letter by a young jilted girl that we found in the walls of our house. In my story, the woman goes a little crazy. There is a rape scene, which I wrote with tears streaming down my face as I recalled my own abuse. It was cathartic though, and I didn’t regret the scene.

            This book was not picked up by publishers or agents either.

            Next, I tried something lighter, first of a would-be series called Catts and the Seven of Swords. L.E. (Elly) Catts is a West Coast photographer, who along with her assistant Ryan and his cat Medusa, finds the usual, and some unusual, trouble concerning the witches, the Tarot, and a body on a slab. This was the first time I’d incorporated the cat.

            Again, no one wanted the book, and I bought an accordion folder to house my mounting collection of rejection slips. I knew I wasn’t working hard enough on the interminable chore of query letters and synopses, but I only had so much time, and I’d rather spend it writing stories.

I moved on to something completely different, the series that turned out to be what I consider my masterpiece. The idea for the Cat Seasons tetralogy began with my old cat Dirty Harry sleeping under a hosta plant in the heat of summer. Twitching in his sleep, dreaming his cat dreams, the scifi-fantasy Cat Summer was born, followed by Cat Winter, Cat Autumn, and Cat Spring. The idea was basic— cats saving the world— but the premise was fascinating, and soon I’d woven a rich tapestry of time travel, alternate universes, and a devil without a soul. Now, many edits later, I’m proud to announce the first of the tetralogy, Cat Summer, will be published sometime this year by Fire Star!

            I still think of that backlog of first books, The Oldest House, Broken Roses,  and the L.E. Catts series. Sometimes they call to me, and every once in a while, I listen.

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

Mollie Hunt: Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and more

Happy reading!

What's in a Name?

Oddly enough, in this post about titles, I'm only slightly modifying the name of a title from a few months ago, What's in a (Pen) Name? Why? I couldn't come up with anything better. Oh, the irony.

I seem to be a rarity among authors - I love coming up with titles for my stories. I like titles that are descriptive, have a sense of humor, and maybe even a play on words or a double meaning.

An author attempting to select the name for her next book baby. (Image courtesy of depositphoto.com)

The short stories in my Paws and Effect contemporary romance series all have animal-related titles; to date The Purrfect Partner, and It's Meow or Never, with Something Whiskered This Way Comes, and Purranormal Activity in the works.

My Kudzu Korners sweet paranormal romances have titles based old movies/tv shows:

Dial V for Vampire (published by Fire Star Press in August 2016)

Saved by the Belle (published by Fire Star Press in August 2017)

Dances with Werewolves (in progress)

Still to come in the series:

Gone with the Grin

Beauty and the Zombie

Accounting and Old Lace

All Dogs go to Haven 

So what's the problem? I've decided I don't like the planned title for the 4th book, Gone with the Grin. It's supposed to be a play on the classic book/movie Gone with the Wind but somehow it just isn't working for me as well as all of the others. I'm still a few months away from beginning the book but I'm already in a bit of a panic. As strange as it may sound, I like to have the title in place before I begin work on the story. The harder I try to come up with a new and improved title, the more it seems to elude me. I know my brain is working on this problem all the time so hopefully one day soon it will surprise me with the perfect alternative.

Naming my children was much harder than titling books. But, when my youngest son's arrival was imminent, I decided I didn't like the name we had picked out for him. He was "considerate" enough to be two weeks late which gave us time to come up with a better name. If I (we) pulled that out in the clinch surely I can do it again with a book title. Right? Wish me luck!

Oh, and Happy Fall y'all!

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