Several years ago Roger Daltrey posed this Socratic question to me: “Who are you?” and what the heck is a cat writer? Okay, Daltrey asked me and 30,000 other people attending the concert. And he didn’t actually include the part about the cat writer, but he should have.
I suppose if you looked up “cat writer” in your Funk & Wagnall, (and if there really were an entry for cat writer) it would say something like: “A person who writes about cats.” Wow. Bet you couldn’t have figured that one out! In your Webster’s Dictionary, it might just say,
cat writer (noun) kăt rī'tər
- Dusty Rainbolt
- a person who commits his or her thoughts or ideas about felines to writing; someone who writes about cats.
That’s me. I’m even a member of the international organization, Cat Writers’ Association. (Honest, there’s a professional association for people who write about cats. www.catwriters.org) Our members run the gamut from those who write about cat care, health, behavior and rescue to fiction. Me. I write it all. I’m the product editor for the Tufts University newsletter, Catnip. Wanna know about a product for your cat? Chances are, I’ve tried it. I’m the author of Kittens For Dummies (yup, part of the famous Dummies series you find everywhere). My book, Ghost Cats: Human Encounters with Feline Spirits, which is a collection of stories about people who have been visited by cat spirits, is now in bookstores. In December, Cat Wrangling Made Easy: Maintaining Peace and Sanity in You Multicat Home will be (hopefully) flying off store shelves in a Christmas-buying frenzy. If you like humor, I’m the author of All The Marbles, a science fiction romp and a co-author of The Four Redheads of the Apocalypse. I also write the award winning monthly feline advice columns “Dear Hobbes” (City + Country Pets in Dallas) and “Ask Einstein” found at www.stickypaws.com. You may have read my work in Cat Fancy or I Love Cats.
What can you expect from Confessions of a Cat Writer? Hopefully a lot of laughs, the latest information on feline medicine, behavior, rescue, and products, writing and marketing tips for you writers who don’t have the word “cat” in your title. I’ll include information about other writers and books you might find fun or helpful. And I’ll drop in the occasional news story that somehow pertains to writing, cats, science fiction/fantasy, ghosts or something that’s just to bizarre to ignore. You’ll hear about personal appearances at book signings, science fiction cons and other conferences where I’ll be appearing next. Woohoo!
Check out my Web site, (www.dustyrainbolt.com) but don’t believe everything you read on it. My husband said if I didn’t give him content, he’d make it up. I won’t tell you what’s true and what’s not.
Tune in next week for more Confessions of a Cat Writer. Same Cat Time…Same Cat Channel.
