Fabulous publishing news!

Bloggie friends!!

Amidst all the doom and gloom in the news was this flicker of light – a publishing sensation!

Bob the underground tube station cat and his bestest human friend James, have landed a brilliant publishing deal with big name publishers Hodder and Stoughton.

The book A Street Cat Named Bob: How One Man and His Cat Found Hope on the Streets of London will be out next year 2012 and chronicles how James nursed a stray injured kitty (he later called Bob) to health and how both have been inseparable since.

(source)

Bob comes with James everyday to help him sell The Big Issue (a magazine sold to enable homeless people to earn a legitimate income) outside Angel underground tube station.

Their story with lots of links, clips, pics may be found here.

Normally I feel most envious about publishing sensations reported in the news (I'm only human!) but this is one news item I really really love! I wish Bob and James - he has a doggy too - all the best for a bright and brilliant future!

Charlie says: I help you write your book once I find how to turn this machine on.

Have a great weekend!

How Publishing Really Works gave me Charlie

Today is World Cat Day
To celebrate I’d say
How Charlie came to be
How he was delivered here to me

A writerly non-kitty blogger (gorgeous Jane Smith of How Publishing Really Works)
Sent out an S.O.S.
As Charlie was to be made homeless
So after my Ol kitty Girl died
In my grief, I soon replied

And so on March the 21st
In 2010, he burst
Into my heart he came
Life’s never been the same!

Charlie says: Rhyming S.O.S with homeless – pure awfulness!

HAPPY silly MONDAY!

Friends come in all shapes and species

I came across this lovely article about a cat called Ben, a boy called George and his mum, Julia.

“George, 10, has autism. Before Ben arrived, he didn't understand people and would kick and bite if other children touched him. He never showed affection, yet would stroke Ben and bury his face in the cat's fur. He didn't make eye contact – but looked straight at Ben, and when Ben looked back he didn't flinch. George didn't smile either and only spoke in a monotone. But he began to develop a high-pitched "cat-talk" voice, in which he spoke to Ben and replied on Ben's behalf”

(Rix, J, Stay here cat we need you, The Guardian, 13 November 2010, Family suppl., p.3).

Then one day Ben disappears, George reverts to his uncommunicative state and mum, desperate, turns pet detective to track Ben down. Of course there is a happy ending! And of course mum wrote a book about all this:


Charlie says: While you read the article, I finished the crossword.


Have a tantalizing Thursday everyone!

Penguins in Battersea Birthday Blog

Charlie is ever so excited!

Because this year is the 150th Anniversary of of Battersea Dogs' and Cats' Home - the oldest dogs and cats home in the UK. Opened in 1860 it started as "the Temporary home for Lost and Starving Dogs" established by "Mrs Mary Tealby ", gawd bless her!

For a historical timeline of this organisation click here.

It is also the 75th anniversary of the wonderful Penguin Books

Established in 1935 it's main aim was to "make great literature available to everyone at an affordable price". For more, click here.

Hooorah!!

Oh and today is my SEVENTH MONTH blog birthday! Yay!

Charlie is thrilled! Yes he is!!


Have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Sunday everyone!

Perseverance pays off - eventually

"I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident. They came by work." Thomas Edison

Samples of success through hard work:

Here is Guy Saville's guest blog on how his Afrika Reich nabbed a two book publishing deal with Hodder & Stoughton. It took him ten years and 15 effusive rejections!

And Talli Roland's interview on how she reached publication by never giving up. She wrote 5 previous novels - all rejected - and struck gold with her 6th book The Hating Game.

Lucky continues to survive.

And here is another very determined cat.




*************************************************
And on a smaller scale - I finished my story that I hope is suitable woman's mag fiction reading material. I won't find out until my tutor sees it first!

I wanted to call it "The Red Cat Litter Tray" but thought that if this were the real world - that story will be litter tray material if I ever used that title!

Insider tip though from the fab womagriter : Women's mags editors tend to change the title of your story anyway.

And the Tech people from faraway Dell are finally arriving on Friday! Yay!

Charlie says: OH NO!! That means silly human pointing that flashy thing in my face again!

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Translating purrs

I have been given a lovely award by Susan Fields (it's very pretty - it's got flowers! Thank you, Susan!) but as I ponder my 7 true things about myself here's a clip of two cats talking lost in translation:




And the real thing:




:-)