When did you start writing and what inspired you to start?
I have been writing as long as I can remember. In 5th grade, I wrote a story that won a contest at the University of Illinois. During free time, I would make up new chapters to share with my classmates. I still have the original story that won and would love to publish a version of it someday. Too bad I never kept all the extra chapters. I wrote poetry (not very good ones) and short stories while I was growing up. As an adult, I’ve published over 100 articles in newspapers, magazines, and at web sites. It has just always been a part of my life.
What inspired you to write your first book?
My crazy cat. I have had cats in my life over the years, but two of our current ones are the inspiration behind the Cats in the Mirror series. My mom read lots of science fiction, and somewhere along the way she saw something about cats communicating with other alien cats in the mirrors of their homes. So I grew up with the idea of cats being aliens and maybe watching us through mirrors. Take that basic idea and pair it with a completely crazy rescue cat, and you have “Why Kimba Saved The World.” It went through several different stages before it became the book it is now, but Kimba and her sister Hiro were always at the heart of it.
Talk about Vacation Hiro.
“Vacation Hiro” came out in November 2013. It is the second book in the Cats in the Mirror series, focusing on Hiro this time as the main character and viewpoint instead of Kimba. Kimba and Hiro are still struggling with the pull between their lives as house cats and their heritage as space-faring cats, but in the second book the reader gets to learn much more about the sisters’ destiny in the stars. “Why Kimba Saved The World” was honored with a bronze Moonbeam Children’s Book Award as a “Best First Book” in the chapter book category in October 2013. That is so encouraging!!
How did you come up with the title?
I had already written “Why Kimba Saved The World” and was just beginning to send it to agent and publishers, so my family knew the story. We went on vacation to Florida, and when we first arrived we saw cats hanging out on the sidewalk below our rented condo. It was pretty obvious that they were agent cats sent to monitor us (well, it was obvious to US!) and the idea for “Vacation Hiro” as the sequel was born. There’s a photo of those cats in the book. All the photos in both books are of the real cats and their antics.
Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?
I used to write a column about the spiritual meanings in movies, so I’m sure underlying themes like that are never far from my thoughts. There is a definite theme of love and family and loyalty and how those factor into the decisions the characters have to make, but it’s not all easy because they have split loyalties between the humans and their alien cat family. There is also a big destiny that Kimba and Hiro have to fulfill that will challenge them even more. That is a big part of the second and third books. “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge” is book three and brings it all to a climax.
Looking one hundred years into the future, what do you hope people remember about you or your writing?
I hope my books are ones that the kid readers of today will want to share with their own kids down the road. I’d love them to wonder about cats talking to alien cats in the mirror while they are away. If that idea can make it past a couple of generations, that would be amazing! I hope to have more books than that series available before I’m done, so I’d love it to be more about ME as a writer than any one book or series that I did — though I’m sure L Frank Baum would tell me not to dis the power of a series franchise! If anyone knows who I am beyond my family in 100 years, I’d be pleased as punch.
List your favorite quotation or words you live by.
That can change from day to day, depending on my mood, but I love this one:
“A woman in harmony with her spirit, is like a river flowing.
She goes where she will without pretense, and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself… and only herself. ”
— Maya Angelou
What is your favorite book by another author?
I love the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey and own them all. Plus her other books about psychic abilities and “The Ship Who Sang” are fantastic. I’m terrified of flying, but I could do it if I had my own telepathically-linked dragon.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I hope you love my books, and if you do, then please share the love. Write reviews at amazon.com. Buy a copy and give it to a friend as a birthday gift. Writing for the wind may still make one a writer, but it’s much more fun to have someone reading it and enjoying it!
You can purchase Vacation Hiro through our bookstore.
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