I haven’t been blogging much lately because so much is going on with my writing that I can’t share yet. I want so much to tell you…
I was interviewed by a journalist I really admire for one of the local weekly papers. I think the feature is being printed on my birthday.
Wish You Were Here is being reviewed next month in a magazine I love and have been reading for almost 15 years. I am so excited about seeing that review!
I’ve seen the cover painting for The Dangerous Type, but it isn’t finalized yet, so I can’t share. I adore it! I’m going to need to make some extremely minor changes in the book to match the cover better, but I’m excited to do that because:
1) Someone painted a cover for my book — that’s a dream come true!
2) The artist totally got what I wanted for the character. Before I saw the painting, Raena was just words and a hazy image in my head. Now she’s sort of a real person.
I apologize for all the vagueness. Hopefully, I can reveal more soon.
In the meantime, I’ve been working on my slides for my talk about the pioneer cemeteries of San Francisco at the Death Salon next month. That’s been a process of whittling down all the stuff I know and making it fit the time I’m allotted. I am really, really excited to talk about San Francisco’s history at Fort Mason — and I cannot wait to see all my Death Salon muses again.
And we got a new kitten. She was feral and has needed a lot of love and attention, more than I expected. I know pets are supposed to bring your blood pressure down and extend your life, but my last two new pets have had the opposite effect. Hopefully, she will adjust to the fact that people like to move around and settle in at last. Her name is Amulet.
Finally, I wrote a series last week about the National AIDS Memorial Grove on CemeteryTravel. I’m really pleased with how the pieces turned out. Please check them out starting here: http://cemeterytravel.com/2014/09/16/touched-by-a-cemetery-the-national-aids-memorial-grove/.
Congrats on the interview, cover art, and new baby furball! Love the name Amulet, and her wonderful, wary face.
I can relate to the demands of feral care: I have a 12-year-old who, after 11 YEARS of not allowing us to touch her (although we were good enough to take her in and take care of all her temporal needs) suddenly decided that my husband and I didn’t totally suck and has now become a Love MONSTER. Loudly vocal and pushy to the point absurdity, Mistress talks constantly, grabs our hands and pulls them to her if we dare stop petting her, and spreads herself ALL OVER our prostrate bodies in bed. God help us if we re-position; the indignant chirping becomes a BELLOW. Shushing may lower the decibels, but she’s unstoppable; we’re ecstatic when she finally drifts into slumber. She drives us nuts, but I figure she’s making up for lost time and has a lot to get out, so we do a lot of “Call and Response” during daylight hours. It’s hard to believe she’s the same hard-faced little wildcat we took in so long ago …
Sorry to digress, but I wanted to reassure you if you’d begun to doubt your choice of adopting a wild baby. I hope you develop a close, loving relationship a LOT sooner than ours did, but be patient if it takes some time — it’s definitely worth it = ^ . ^ =
Thanks, Stephanie. It’s good to hear a success story! Things with Amulet seem to be getting better day by day, but she still cringes when we move around and hides most of the day. Hopefully, in time, she’ll get used to living in a house with people.
I’ll pass on a critical piece of advice Hubby and I ignored from the woman who captured Mistress (an experienced Feral Rescue volunteer): Be Gentle But Insistent (and Consistent) in Touching/Stroking Amulet to Quicken the Socialization Process.
We didn’t do this because 1) everything we’d read indicated cats learned by watching, 2) Mistress cringed and tried to run like Usain Bolt when we approached (yes, deja vu!), and 3) we figured she’d catch on after watching us interact with our other two cats. Sue told us that Ferals are NOT wired like domestic cats, and you have to BE BOLD in breeching their “trust barriers” with repeated positive encounters and interactions — and she was right!!!!!
They’ll initially fear and hate you for “forcing” your affections on them, but a glorious day arrives where you brace yourself for more rejection, “go in” and assault them with ear scratching, neck scruffing, and perhaps even a dangled catnip mouse, and they suddenly lean into your hand or give you a quick “marking” swipe with their cheek — it’s frickin’ GLORIOUS!!! Think Helen Keller making the connection to the wet stuff pouring over her hands and Annie Sullivan repeating the Sign lettering ad nauseum for W-A-T-E-R. A New Day dawns, and a New Relationship is born. A tiny little kitty realizes that the chick that opens her food cans and scoops her box is also one hell of a masseuse, and might even be pleasant to sleep with. She’s crossed a line and is FERAL NO MORE!
(For the record, Mistress was older and had had several litters of kittens when we adopted her, so things may be different (and easier) with Amulet. And our other two cats STILL do not interact with her because she’s, quite simply, a LOUD, pushy broad! xD)
Please keep us posted on your progress, and best of luck to ALL of you! ;D