Cherie Priest's Blog: It's awards season, so here comes the shameless self-promotion, page 13
February 9, 2015
The Maestro says it's Mozart but it sounds like bubble gum
Here's today's progress on my southern noir about a woman whose memories and identity erode, only to reveal hints of another person entirely: a detective who vanished on the day she was born in 1959; now with BONUS moonshiners and revenuers, small-town governments with big-time crooks in office, cops both corrupt and courageous, and one hell of a paranormal twist:
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 2353 (much better)
Present total word count: 14,050
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Did some clean-up on previous chapters, along with some rearranging; started what will become the last chapter of this sample content.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: (since oh, say, Friday) Neighborhood jaunts with dog; went to an old friend's birthday party; did lots of laundry; went grocery shopping; did a bunch of yardwork - cleaned up a massive ton of dead leaves I should've tackled years ago; now to see if the city will send the big vacuum truck around, or if I have to bag them; mended a sweater and two shirts; cleaned out my closet; cleaned out my drawers and repaired the drawers (bottoms were falling out); cleaned house; went to Petsmart and got some pet supplies but did NOT come home with a fluffy Pyr-mix puppy, sorely though we were tempted.
Other: This is the home stretch of the sample content (I hope to finish the draft tomorrow), then I'll set it down for a bit with the new synopsis. I'll let them cool off for a week or so, then go back and start polishing them up for my agent's perusal. Meanwhile, I might hypothetically have something else to start developing, but it's so far off in the horizon that there's no sense in talking about it yet.
Cat Other: The cat situation is deteriorating again. We're back up to 3 rounds of CAT SONG a night (at least) with near-constant yowling from 6:30 or so onward. We're trying a few other tricks, but she's due for a checkup/booster shots in March, and at that time we may need to discuss something stronger than the kitty Valium.
Dog Other: SOMEONE has an appointment for the groomer on Thursday. He needs it, badly. His foot-fluff/nails are growing out, and he's having trouble sliding around the house. Also, he smells like a butt.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 22,349
"Henry" was outside, waiting for us again today. You guys, these two are SO CUTE. Henry just hangs his head over the stone wall and whimpers until Greyson runs up to give him a head-butt and a smooch. It's bromance, is what it is.
(As an aside, yes - I swear to God, Greyson is wearing a collar and a leash. He's just hella-fluffy.)
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 2353 (much better)
Present total word count: 14,050
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Did some clean-up on previous chapters, along with some rearranging; started what will become the last chapter of this sample content.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: (since oh, say, Friday) Neighborhood jaunts with dog; went to an old friend's birthday party; did lots of laundry; went grocery shopping; did a bunch of yardwork - cleaned up a massive ton of dead leaves I should've tackled years ago; now to see if the city will send the big vacuum truck around, or if I have to bag them; mended a sweater and two shirts; cleaned out my closet; cleaned out my drawers and repaired the drawers (bottoms were falling out); cleaned house; went to Petsmart and got some pet supplies but did NOT come home with a fluffy Pyr-mix puppy, sorely though we were tempted.
Other: This is the home stretch of the sample content (I hope to finish the draft tomorrow), then I'll set it down for a bit with the new synopsis. I'll let them cool off for a week or so, then go back and start polishing them up for my agent's perusal. Meanwhile, I might hypothetically have something else to start developing, but it's so far off in the horizon that there's no sense in talking about it yet.
Cat Other: The cat situation is deteriorating again. We're back up to 3 rounds of CAT SONG a night (at least) with near-constant yowling from 6:30 or so onward. We're trying a few other tricks, but she's due for a checkup/booster shots in March, and at that time we may need to discuss something stronger than the kitty Valium.
Dog Other: SOMEONE has an appointment for the groomer on Thursday. He needs it, badly. His foot-fluff/nails are growing out, and he's having trouble sliding around the house. Also, he smells like a butt.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 22,349
"Henry" was outside, waiting for us again today. You guys, these two are SO CUTE. Henry just hangs his head over the stone wall and whimpers until Greyson runs up to give him a head-butt and a smooch. It's bromance, is what it is.
(As an aside, yes - I swear to God, Greyson is wearing a collar and a leash. He's just hella-fluffy.)
February 4, 2015
Singing of a famous street
Here's today's progress on my southern noir about a woman whose memories and identity erode, only to reveal hints of another person entirely: a detective who vanished on the day she was born in 1959; now with BONUS moonshiners and revenuers, small-town governments with big-time crooks in office, cops both corrupt and courageous, and one hell of a paranormal twist:
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1331
Present total word count: 11,697
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Finished chapter three and turned it into chapter one; began restructuring the other two chapters, and now things are going MUCH more smoothly. For me, personally - not the characters.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunts with dog (morning and afternoon both, as husband had taken the car to the shop); picked up prescription from Walgreen's; grabbed lunch; did some laundry; did a few Princess X edits; not much else.
Other: Would've posted a better word count, but for all the re-jiggering of the timeline (which now makes MUCH more sense, and I'm a dumbass for not doing this sooner). Tomorrow's might be low, too - because now I have to adjust the existing content and make sure everything works, which will be a little tedious. But important.
Cat Other: Last night was better. She only got me up twice. Still tired.
Other Other: Last night I sacked out and now I'm behind on Person of Interest, Agent Carter, and Justified. I will try to remedy some of that this evening, after the podcast interview with Anton.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 19,996
What's got four paws and wants to take a walk even though it's 20 degrees and sleeting? THIS DOG.
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1331
Present total word count: 11,697
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Finished chapter three and turned it into chapter one; began restructuring the other two chapters, and now things are going MUCH more smoothly. For me, personally - not the characters.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunts with dog (morning and afternoon both, as husband had taken the car to the shop); picked up prescription from Walgreen's; grabbed lunch; did some laundry; did a few Princess X edits; not much else.
Other: Would've posted a better word count, but for all the re-jiggering of the timeline (which now makes MUCH more sense, and I'm a dumbass for not doing this sooner). Tomorrow's might be low, too - because now I have to adjust the existing content and make sure everything works, which will be a little tedious. But important.
Cat Other: Last night was better. She only got me up twice. Still tired.
Other Other: Last night I sacked out and now I'm behind on Person of Interest, Agent Carter, and Justified. I will try to remedy some of that this evening, after the podcast interview with Anton.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 19,996
What's got four paws and wants to take a walk even though it's 20 degrees and sleeting? THIS DOG.
February 3, 2015
We got the radio shook like we got a gun
Here's today's progress on my southern noir about a woman whose memories and identity erode, only to reveal hints of another person entirely: a detective who vanished on the day she was born in 1959; now with BONUS moonshiners and revenuers, small-town governments with big-time crooks in office, cops both corrupt and courageous, and one hell of a paranormal twist:
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1401 (better, but.)
Present total word count: 10,366
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Started chapter with the third (and last) POV character; met a young cop with his training officer; this stuff probably isn't in the handbook.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; put in for a prescription refill; got myself some lunch real quick; not much else, honestly.
Other: That aggravating feeling when you realize that this third chapter needs to be the first chapter - and the other two chapters are important, but you need to rewrite them so the order is correct and the story makes more sense and oh well, at least I figured it out before I got TOO far into this thing. Dammit.
Cat Other: Had to get up twice after midnight to stop the yowling and bring her to bed, which seemed to appease her; but then she started up again around 4:00 a.m. and Did. Not. Stop. for more than ten minutes at a time until 9:00 a.m. - when I gave up and got up, despite feeling like a zombie who is tempted to stuff a kitty into a cat carrier and shut that carrier in the garage. (Hint: I restrained myself.) According to my FitBit tracker, I was awakened 27 times last night. That sounds...like a conservative estimate, frankly.
Other Other: Maplecroft is the February pick for the Lytherus Book Club! Read along, share your thoughts, and maybe collect goodies.
Other Other Other: The marvelous Anton Strout will be interviewing me this week for the Once and Future Podcast ! I'm pretty sure this makes me one of the cool kids, now. Finally? Anyway, follow the podcast on Twitter and get in-the-know about fun giveaways and so forth.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 18,665
No new dog visitors to report today, thank God, but we did run into Greyson's friend Henry - who was outside waiting for the mailman, like all the cool dogs do. (Hint: The mailman brings dog cookies. He is VERY popular with the neighborhood canine demographic.)
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1401 (better, but.)
Present total word count: 10,366
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Started chapter with the third (and last) POV character; met a young cop with his training officer; this stuff probably isn't in the handbook.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; put in for a prescription refill; got myself some lunch real quick; not much else, honestly.
Other: That aggravating feeling when you realize that this third chapter needs to be the first chapter - and the other two chapters are important, but you need to rewrite them so the order is correct and the story makes more sense and oh well, at least I figured it out before I got TOO far into this thing. Dammit.
Cat Other: Had to get up twice after midnight to stop the yowling and bring her to bed, which seemed to appease her; but then she started up again around 4:00 a.m. and Did. Not. Stop. for more than ten minutes at a time until 9:00 a.m. - when I gave up and got up, despite feeling like a zombie who is tempted to stuff a kitty into a cat carrier and shut that carrier in the garage. (Hint: I restrained myself.) According to my FitBit tracker, I was awakened 27 times last night. That sounds...like a conservative estimate, frankly.
Other Other: Maplecroft is the February pick for the Lytherus Book Club! Read along, share your thoughts, and maybe collect goodies.
Other Other Other: The marvelous Anton Strout will be interviewing me this week for the Once and Future Podcast ! I'm pretty sure this makes me one of the cool kids, now. Finally? Anyway, follow the podcast on Twitter and get in-the-know about fun giveaways and so forth.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 18,665
No new dog visitors to report today, thank God, but we did run into Greyson's friend Henry - who was outside waiting for the mailman, like all the cool dogs do. (Hint: The mailman brings dog cookies. He is VERY popular with the neighborhood canine demographic.)
February 2, 2015
If the world is so green then why does it scream
Here's today's progress on my southern noir about a woman whose memories and identity erode, only to reveal hints of another person entirely: a detective who vanished on the day she was born in 1959; now with BONUS moonshiners and revenuers, small-town governments with big-time crooks in office, cops both corrupt and courageous, and one hell of a paranormal twist:
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 875 (oof.)
Present total word count: 8965
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Got a tour of the house and some ominous repetition.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; collected one loose dog from the alley behind my house and returned him to his mom; went to the post office; went to Walgreens; went to get lunch; found two more dogs running loose and returned them to their mom.
Dog Other: All dogs were extensively, appropriately tagged - and their people were out looking for them when I called, so I ain't mad. Let us remember the example of Tucker [scroll down], who reminds us all that a determined enough dog WILL find a way to go on the lam. But yes, even though we've become "That House" ... three in one day is a record.
Cat Other: After a couple of nights that crept perilously close to being Bad Nights, we tried something new - and yesterday, we did not crush up her pill. I just made her swallow it. Unpopular executive decision, yes - but last night she only yowled once, then came to bed. Maybe it's a time-release thing. Will continue on this course, and experiment further if she starts backsliding again.
Other Other: A crappy word count, yes - but in my defense, I had errands to run and my day was shortened by the unexpected four-footed guests. Also, I had to go back and adjust the previous scene a bit, and close it off nicely for the chapter's end - because the chapter I begin tomorrow will likely mark the end of my sample content on this project. It's a different POV character, so I need to get it right. Must doodle up some notes tonight, so that I might make better progress tomorrow.
Progress on Other Things Other: Spent the weekend cleaning up a short story for an anthology with [redacted] about [redacted]. If the editor likes it, then hooray! If not, I'll either do some revisions or feel sad that I spent the weekend not working on Shouting Distance. But que sera.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 17,264
And in closing, here's a Vine of Greyson and his adorable new friend "Garfunkle."
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 875 (oof.)
Present total word count: 8965
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Got a tour of the house and some ominous repetition.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; collected one loose dog from the alley behind my house and returned him to his mom; went to the post office; went to Walgreens; went to get lunch; found two more dogs running loose and returned them to their mom.
Dog Other: All dogs were extensively, appropriately tagged - and their people were out looking for them when I called, so I ain't mad. Let us remember the example of Tucker [scroll down], who reminds us all that a determined enough dog WILL find a way to go on the lam. But yes, even though we've become "That House" ... three in one day is a record.
Cat Other: After a couple of nights that crept perilously close to being Bad Nights, we tried something new - and yesterday, we did not crush up her pill. I just made her swallow it. Unpopular executive decision, yes - but last night she only yowled once, then came to bed. Maybe it's a time-release thing. Will continue on this course, and experiment further if she starts backsliding again.
Other Other: A crappy word count, yes - but in my defense, I had errands to run and my day was shortened by the unexpected four-footed guests. Also, I had to go back and adjust the previous scene a bit, and close it off nicely for the chapter's end - because the chapter I begin tomorrow will likely mark the end of my sample content on this project. It's a different POV character, so I need to get it right. Must doodle up some notes tonight, so that I might make better progress tomorrow.
Progress on Other Things Other: Spent the weekend cleaning up a short story for an anthology with [redacted] about [redacted]. If the editor likes it, then hooray! If not, I'll either do some revisions or feel sad that I spent the weekend not working on Shouting Distance. But que sera.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 17,264
And in closing, here's a Vine of Greyson and his adorable new friend "Garfunkle."
January 29, 2015
Silence tells us we're damned
Here's today's progress on my southern noir about a woman whose memories and identity erode, only to reveal hints of another person entirely: a detective who vanished on the day she was born in 1959; now with BONUS moonshiners and revenuers, small-town governments with big-time crooks in office, cops both corrupt and courageous, and one hell of a paranormal twist:
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1450
Present total word count: 8090
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Showed up for our first "home visit" and didn't see any ghosts, but saw the patient starting to slip.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; went to the bank; went to Walgreen's; went to the post office; did laundry.
Other: The husband actually got up before I did, for once. I slept in - due in large part to having spent so much time awake with the cat - so I got a late start, and I feel like I've been catching up all day. Oof.
Cat Other: Last night wasn't great. She did one midnight yowl, then stopped herself; but then she started up again about an hour before dawn - and she was positively inconsolable. I ended up pulling her into bed and holding her there for over half an hour before she calmed down enough to let her loose again. But then, after that, she kept quiet for the rest of the evening/morning. I don't know, man. I get the very bad feeling that we're ramping up again over here.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 16,389
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1450
Present total word count: 8090
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Showed up for our first "home visit" and didn't see any ghosts, but saw the patient starting to slip.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; went to the bank; went to Walgreen's; went to the post office; did laundry.
Other: The husband actually got up before I did, for once. I slept in - due in large part to having spent so much time awake with the cat - so I got a late start, and I feel like I've been catching up all day. Oof.
Cat Other: Last night wasn't great. She did one midnight yowl, then stopped herself; but then she started up again about an hour before dawn - and she was positively inconsolable. I ended up pulling her into bed and holding her there for over half an hour before she calmed down enough to let her loose again. But then, after that, she kept quiet for the rest of the evening/morning. I don't know, man. I get the very bad feeling that we're ramping up again over here.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 16,389
January 28, 2015
After the raven has had his say
Here's today's progress on my southern noir about a woman whose memories and identity erode, only to reveal hints of another person entirely: a detective who vanished on the day she was born in 1959; now with BONUS moonshiners and revenuers, small-town governments with big-time crooks in office, cops both corrupt and courageous, and one hell of a paranormal twist:
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1540
Present total word count: 6640
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Phone call with a distant daughter; morbid chatter and talk of ghosts.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; ran to the grocery store because I was out of EVERYTHING just about; sat on the phone for awhile with an old friend; snapped a selfie for a new Twitter icon because I was having a good hair day and the light was nice in my office; packed up some stuff to take to the P.O. but didn't get a chance to run out there. Tomorrow, perhaps.
Cat Other: More of the same. She gave us one wee-hours yowl, then stopped on her own; but come shortly before dawn, she started up again and would. not. shut. up. Not until she learned what a "throw pillow" is for. (I felt a little bad, but I didn't actually hit her - I just startled her, and subsequently chased her off.)
Dog Other: Neighborhood jaunt with his person; visited with the two little neighbor girls next door, who he adores; and [yesterday] spent some time playing chase with three other neighbor girls in the yard, because he's far more popular than his owners.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 14,939
Spent five minutes running around the yard with this handsome devil, and was reminded of precisely how out of shape I am. Oof.
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1540
Present total word count: 6640
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Phone call with a distant daughter; morbid chatter and talk of ghosts.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; ran to the grocery store because I was out of EVERYTHING just about; sat on the phone for awhile with an old friend; snapped a selfie for a new Twitter icon because I was having a good hair day and the light was nice in my office; packed up some stuff to take to the P.O. but didn't get a chance to run out there. Tomorrow, perhaps.
Cat Other: More of the same. She gave us one wee-hours yowl, then stopped on her own; but come shortly before dawn, she started up again and would. not. shut. up. Not until she learned what a "throw pillow" is for. (I felt a little bad, but I didn't actually hit her - I just startled her, and subsequently chased her off.)
Dog Other: Neighborhood jaunt with his person; visited with the two little neighbor girls next door, who he adores; and [yesterday] spent some time playing chase with three other neighbor girls in the yard, because he's far more popular than his owners.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 14,939
Spent five minutes running around the yard with this handsome devil, and was reminded of precisely how out of shape I am. Oof.
January 27, 2015
There's a crack in the mirror and a bloodstain on the bed
Here's today's progress on my southern noir about a woman whose memories and identity erode, only to reveal hints of another person entirely: a detective who vanished on the day she was born in 1959; now with BONUS moonshiners and revenuers, small-town governments with big-time crooks in office, cops both corrupt and courageous, and one hell of a paranormal twist:
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1585
Present total word count: 5100
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Wrapped up the first chapter and/or finished introducing POV character #1; started chapter 2 and began introducing POV character #2; emptied a basement full of Surprise! super-creepy porn and sent away a very embarrassed ghost*; got a phone call from a loved one.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; went to Normal Park Museum Magnet and rambled at some 8th graders about steampunk (re: a social studies project about the Industrial Revolution); went to lunch with husband.
Cat Other: We're experiencing some back-sliding re: the kitty Valium + collar solution; she's started yowling during the day again (though not NEARLY to previous levels), and we've got some midnight yowling again, too - though likewise, still reduced from previous levels. At least now when she yowls, she doesn't seem to require "rescuing" - and instead, she finds her own way back to bed within a minute or two. Sulkily. Like we SHOULD have gone to get her, but hey, screw you guys. She can find the bed her own damn self.
Speculative Cat Other: It's weird...the sedative doesn't really seem to sedate her so much as make her...I don't know. Clearer, maybe. Calmer. Less confused, even, without leaving her groggy or uncomfortable. So I think we're bumping her up to the 1/2 pill tonight - and we'll dose her at the absolute last minute before bedtime, with hopes of curtailing the pre-dawn Song Of My People extravaganza.
Dog Other: Greyson has another dog-playdate (and I have a lunch date) over at The Cooj's house on Friday. The Cooj himself (the 3-legged shepherd mix) is coming back to stay with us over Valentine's day, and the continued socialization is good for them both. And me, too :) Pictures will ensue!
Bonus! Other: I got my Guest Letter of Agreement for DragonCon today! [:: throws confetti ::] So I'll see some of you nice people in Atlanta this fall! [:: happydance ::]
Yet Further Other: YOU GUYS. Don't forget - Jacaranda drops on the 31st of this month! And I hear through the grapevine that supplies of the print edition are, shall we say, excessively limited at this point. Click right here to preorder while you still can, or nab yourself a digital version - available now for $4.99 via the usual suspects: Get Jacaranda for your Kindle ; Grab Jacranda for your Nook ; Pick up Jacaranda for your Kobo .
Number of fiction words so far this year: 13,399
Greysongram.
* Because life is stranger than fiction, I loosely based this incident on something that actually happened to some friends of mine - after they bought a house at auction on the courthouse steps. The owner had died and left ... shall we say ... a most interesting (and weirdly specific) collection behind. If his ghost wasn't embarrassed, it damn well ought to have been.
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1585
Present total word count: 5100
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Wrapped up the first chapter and/or finished introducing POV character #1; started chapter 2 and began introducing POV character #2; emptied a basement full of Surprise! super-creepy porn and sent away a very embarrassed ghost*; got a phone call from a loved one.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; went to Normal Park Museum Magnet and rambled at some 8th graders about steampunk (re: a social studies project about the Industrial Revolution); went to lunch with husband.
Cat Other: We're experiencing some back-sliding re: the kitty Valium + collar solution; she's started yowling during the day again (though not NEARLY to previous levels), and we've got some midnight yowling again, too - though likewise, still reduced from previous levels. At least now when she yowls, she doesn't seem to require "rescuing" - and instead, she finds her own way back to bed within a minute or two. Sulkily. Like we SHOULD have gone to get her, but hey, screw you guys. She can find the bed her own damn self.
Speculative Cat Other: It's weird...the sedative doesn't really seem to sedate her so much as make her...I don't know. Clearer, maybe. Calmer. Less confused, even, without leaving her groggy or uncomfortable. So I think we're bumping her up to the 1/2 pill tonight - and we'll dose her at the absolute last minute before bedtime, with hopes of curtailing the pre-dawn Song Of My People extravaganza.
Dog Other: Greyson has another dog-playdate (and I have a lunch date) over at The Cooj's house on Friday. The Cooj himself (the 3-legged shepherd mix) is coming back to stay with us over Valentine's day, and the continued socialization is good for them both. And me, too :) Pictures will ensue!
Bonus! Other: I got my Guest Letter of Agreement for DragonCon today! [:: throws confetti ::] So I'll see some of you nice people in Atlanta this fall! [:: happydance ::]
Yet Further Other: YOU GUYS. Don't forget - Jacaranda drops on the 31st of this month! And I hear through the grapevine that supplies of the print edition are, shall we say, excessively limited at this point. Click right here to preorder while you still can, or nab yourself a digital version - available now for $4.99 via the usual suspects: Get Jacaranda for your Kindle ; Grab Jacranda for your Nook ; Pick up Jacaranda for your Kobo .
Number of fiction words so far this year: 13,399
Greysongram.
* Because life is stranger than fiction, I loosely based this incident on something that actually happened to some friends of mine - after they bought a house at auction on the courthouse steps. The owner had died and left ... shall we say ... a most interesting (and weirdly specific) collection behind. If his ghost wasn't embarrassed, it damn well ought to have been.
January 25, 2015
Little Old Cat Update
I've been posting a lot about the cat today over on Twitter - and getting a number of questions in response. Rather than try to answer a few dozen people in 140 characters or less, I thought I'd go ahead and do a blog post; so if you're tired of hearing about the kitty, feel free to bail now. But apparently a good number of folks out there have aging felines with similar problems, so this one's for you.
Meet the patient: a 16(+/-) year old female cat, who has lost half a pound since Thanksgiving and has gone from "occasional midnight yowler" to "24/7 Caterwauling Champion of Chattanooga." Thyroid problems are suspected, but at her age, it might be an issue of "senior feline cognitive dysfunction." Which is to say, she might just be getting old and senile.
Meet the course of action: Vet visit, general exam, blood drawn - and we're still waiting on the labwork verdict. Also received a Sentry Calming Collar and some kitty Valium.
Night #1: Treated the cat with the calming collar alone. (We saw such a difference during the day, that we thought we'd give it a shot by itself.) Noticed some improvement, but still were awakened half a dozen times by wildly hollering feline.
The next day: Continued improvement in cat demeanor, for we heard not one single instance of her wailing around the house - something which usually happens at least once an hour. (None today, either. Hot damn!)
Night #2: In addition to the collar, we gave her a quarter pill of the kitty Valium. Result: WIKTORY.
Ladies, gents, and the otherwise affiliated - last night for the first time in [literally I do not know how long, but at least a year] the cat let us sleep through the night! [:: tee shirt cannon ::] [:: confetti gun ::] [:: pom-poms a'waving ::]
And now for some details (via the FAQ on Twitter).
Re: the collar - as linked above, the item in question is this one right here . Reviewers either love or hate it.
Basically, this is a purple collar that's much like a flea-collar, coated in a white powdery substance to protect it. [The pheromones permeate the collar itself, and won't flake off.] It boasts a "lavender and chamomile" scent, which you might or might not dig; but FWIW, the scent on ours is pronounced but kind of pleasant - and it's faded over the last 24 hours or so. Like any non-break-away collar, you need to make extra-certain that it fits right - especially if you have a cat who doesn't take kindly to wearing such things. So far, our cat isn't experiencing any of the skin irritation some people reported.
As with everything: Follow the directions, listen to your vet, use your judgment - and your mileage may vary, for all things do not work for all pets. God knows we had a thousand and one people recommending Feliway when we added the dog to the family, but we spent a fortune on that stuff and it didn't do squat.
This collar, however ... it's making a world of difference. Within minutes of having it applied, our cat relaxed. She hasn't been groggy or loopy - just chill. She's been her old self, really - laid back and easygoing, a tad chatty but not yowling in distress every hour on the hour.
And now for a word on the kitty Valium.
I was reluctant to try it because she's always taken these kinds of meds hard. When we've tried to sedate her for travel or anything like that ... she's been miserable, groggy, and even more upset than before. (That's why we started with a quarter dose, as per vet's suggestion.) But we sucked it up and gave it a go - crushing the pill and mixing it with a teaspoon of vanilla ice cream.
The cat was 100% down with this, by the way. She licked the spoon clean, settled into bed with me ... and didn't make a peep until 9:00 a.m. - when she wanted to know where the hell her breakfast was. [:: fist pump ::]
Best of all, she didn't spend the night knocked out and drooling. In fact, at some point after midnight I woke up to an odd noise and went looking for her. I never did figure out what the noise was, but I found the kitty hanging out in the den, sitting on her condo - staring out the window into the night. Later, I heard her getting a drink of water and using her litter box. She was obviously not incapacitated. (A prospect which worried me.)
So there you have it! Today I bought a little mortar and pestle so I can smash her pills without using the back of a butter knife in a cereal bowl, and tomorrow or the next day, we're likely to get the results of her blood work back. Obviously I'm hoping that everything turns up clean, and she's just getting old and batty; but if that's not the case, we'll do whatever it takes to keep her happy and healthy for as long as possible.
If I didn't cover your question, feel free to ask it here and I'll respond. Standard disclaimer: I can only tell you about our experience, and I make you no guarantees. But if you've been living with a stressed and unhappy feline, and you haven't tried this combo yet, then I STRONGLY recommend you talk to your vet about giving it a go.
Meet the patient: a 16(+/-) year old female cat, who has lost half a pound since Thanksgiving and has gone from "occasional midnight yowler" to "24/7 Caterwauling Champion of Chattanooga." Thyroid problems are suspected, but at her age, it might be an issue of "senior feline cognitive dysfunction." Which is to say, she might just be getting old and senile.
Meet the course of action: Vet visit, general exam, blood drawn - and we're still waiting on the labwork verdict. Also received a Sentry Calming Collar and some kitty Valium.
Night #1: Treated the cat with the calming collar alone. (We saw such a difference during the day, that we thought we'd give it a shot by itself.) Noticed some improvement, but still were awakened half a dozen times by wildly hollering feline.
The next day: Continued improvement in cat demeanor, for we heard not one single instance of her wailing around the house - something which usually happens at least once an hour. (None today, either. Hot damn!)
Night #2: In addition to the collar, we gave her a quarter pill of the kitty Valium. Result: WIKTORY.
Ladies, gents, and the otherwise affiliated - last night for the first time in [literally I do not know how long, but at least a year] the cat let us sleep through the night! [:: tee shirt cannon ::] [:: confetti gun ::] [:: pom-poms a'waving ::]
And now for some details (via the FAQ on Twitter).
Re: the collar - as linked above, the item in question is this one right here . Reviewers either love or hate it.
Basically, this is a purple collar that's much like a flea-collar, coated in a white powdery substance to protect it. [The pheromones permeate the collar itself, and won't flake off.] It boasts a "lavender and chamomile" scent, which you might or might not dig; but FWIW, the scent on ours is pronounced but kind of pleasant - and it's faded over the last 24 hours or so. Like any non-break-away collar, you need to make extra-certain that it fits right - especially if you have a cat who doesn't take kindly to wearing such things. So far, our cat isn't experiencing any of the skin irritation some people reported.
As with everything: Follow the directions, listen to your vet, use your judgment - and your mileage may vary, for all things do not work for all pets. God knows we had a thousand and one people recommending Feliway when we added the dog to the family, but we spent a fortune on that stuff and it didn't do squat.
This collar, however ... it's making a world of difference. Within minutes of having it applied, our cat relaxed. She hasn't been groggy or loopy - just chill. She's been her old self, really - laid back and easygoing, a tad chatty but not yowling in distress every hour on the hour.
And now for a word on the kitty Valium.
I was reluctant to try it because she's always taken these kinds of meds hard. When we've tried to sedate her for travel or anything like that ... she's been miserable, groggy, and even more upset than before. (That's why we started with a quarter dose, as per vet's suggestion.) But we sucked it up and gave it a go - crushing the pill and mixing it with a teaspoon of vanilla ice cream.
The cat was 100% down with this, by the way. She licked the spoon clean, settled into bed with me ... and didn't make a peep until 9:00 a.m. - when she wanted to know where the hell her breakfast was. [:: fist pump ::]
Best of all, she didn't spend the night knocked out and drooling. In fact, at some point after midnight I woke up to an odd noise and went looking for her. I never did figure out what the noise was, but I found the kitty hanging out in the den, sitting on her condo - staring out the window into the night. Later, I heard her getting a drink of water and using her litter box. She was obviously not incapacitated. (A prospect which worried me.)
So there you have it! Today I bought a little mortar and pestle so I can smash her pills without using the back of a butter knife in a cereal bowl, and tomorrow or the next day, we're likely to get the results of her blood work back. Obviously I'm hoping that everything turns up clean, and she's just getting old and batty; but if that's not the case, we'll do whatever it takes to keep her happy and healthy for as long as possible.
If I didn't cover your question, feel free to ask it here and I'll respond. Standard disclaimer: I can only tell you about our experience, and I make you no guarantees. But if you've been living with a stressed and unhappy feline, and you haven't tried this combo yet, then I STRONGLY recommend you talk to your vet about giving it a go.
January 24, 2015
You won't keep the law with a broken word
First, because inquiring minds want to know - a cat update. Yesterday I took her to the vet for a checkup and blood work, and to see about getting something to soothe her in the evening; because ain't nobody happy (least of all the kitty) when on a bad night, she's up every 45 minutes crying and confused.
The lab work won't be back for another couple of days, but it turns out that she's down fully half a pound since Thanksgiving, and she's showing signs of thyroid problems. Maybe. Frankly, that's what we're hoping for - because thyroid issues are fairly easy to manage, even in the long term. If her thyroid isn't the problem, then there's really no telling. It could be anything.
None of this is a great surprise. She's an elderly cat, after all, but obviously we want to keep her happy and healthy for as long as possible.
So for starters, we have a special collar for her that's chock full of pheromones to help keep her chill. I was dubious about this, as we've tried the Feliway plug-ins before to zero response - but the vet said that in her experience, the collars were more effective.
In fact, the kitty didn't make a peep on the way home from the office, so that was a miracle in itself; and today I haven't heard a single note of her usual caterwauling-around-the-house. The collar is definitely doing something - but it's not enough to keep her quiet at night, not by itself.
Last night she got me up twice, and on three other occasions the husband and I were simply too despairing to respond to her howls, so we let her cry it out ... and after a few minutes, she stopped. This phenomenon hasn't occurred in over a year,* so hooray for that - but it still meant five full rounds of being jolted awake by a screaming cat between midnight and 7:00 a.m. So...yeah. An improvement, but an insufficient one.
Tonight we add our new weapon in the cat-sleep arsenal: kitty Valium. We'll start her on a quarter dose,** and see how it goes.
(That's my arm she's hugging and my hand she's using for a pillow, in the photo above. She was lying on the heated blanket and snoring her head off - demonstrating her capacity for forgiveness, since I was the big fat jerk who toted her off to the doc to get poked with needles.)
* * *
Here's today's progress on my southern noir about a woman whose memories and identity erode, only to reveal hints of another person entirely: a detective who vanished on the day she was born in 1959; now with BONUS moonshiners and revenuers, small-town governments with big-time crooks in office, cops both corrupt and courageous, and one hell of a paranormal twist:
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 2100
Present total word count: 3515
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Met a nurse for coffee; took up smoking; second-guessed a lot of things.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; laundry; cleaned house yesterday; also went to the post office yesterday; went to Walgreens yesterday; also took the cat to the vet yesterday - thus the delay in word metrics.
Other: I am way behind on my metrics goals. Ugh. In my defense, I am also so far behind on sleep that I might not catch up until spring ... and that's IF the kitty Valium works.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 11,814
Greysongram.
* The vet asked if we had tried ignoring her, to make sure she wasn't just trying to get a reaction from us - and woo boy howdy, did we try that. We tried it for months. Unchecked by human intervention, the kitty would yowl for upwards of an hour or more before exhausting herself ... only to start again as soon as she'd recovered, a few minutes later.
** She's sometimes a bit sensitive to meds. We'll start low, and work our way up as needed.
The lab work won't be back for another couple of days, but it turns out that she's down fully half a pound since Thanksgiving, and she's showing signs of thyroid problems. Maybe. Frankly, that's what we're hoping for - because thyroid issues are fairly easy to manage, even in the long term. If her thyroid isn't the problem, then there's really no telling. It could be anything.
None of this is a great surprise. She's an elderly cat, after all, but obviously we want to keep her happy and healthy for as long as possible.
So for starters, we have a special collar for her that's chock full of pheromones to help keep her chill. I was dubious about this, as we've tried the Feliway plug-ins before to zero response - but the vet said that in her experience, the collars were more effective.
In fact, the kitty didn't make a peep on the way home from the office, so that was a miracle in itself; and today I haven't heard a single note of her usual caterwauling-around-the-house. The collar is definitely doing something - but it's not enough to keep her quiet at night, not by itself.
Last night she got me up twice, and on three other occasions the husband and I were simply too despairing to respond to her howls, so we let her cry it out ... and after a few minutes, she stopped. This phenomenon hasn't occurred in over a year,* so hooray for that - but it still meant five full rounds of being jolted awake by a screaming cat between midnight and 7:00 a.m. So...yeah. An improvement, but an insufficient one.
Tonight we add our new weapon in the cat-sleep arsenal: kitty Valium. We'll start her on a quarter dose,** and see how it goes.
(That's my arm she's hugging and my hand she's using for a pillow, in the photo above. She was lying on the heated blanket and snoring her head off - demonstrating her capacity for forgiveness, since I was the big fat jerk who toted her off to the doc to get poked with needles.)
* * *
Here's today's progress on my southern noir about a woman whose memories and identity erode, only to reveal hints of another person entirely: a detective who vanished on the day she was born in 1959; now with BONUS moonshiners and revenuers, small-town governments with big-time crooks in office, cops both corrupt and courageous, and one hell of a paranormal twist:
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 2100
Present total word count: 3515
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Met a nurse for coffee; took up smoking; second-guessed a lot of things.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; laundry; cleaned house yesterday; also went to the post office yesterday; went to Walgreens yesterday; also took the cat to the vet yesterday - thus the delay in word metrics.
Other: I am way behind on my metrics goals. Ugh. In my defense, I am also so far behind on sleep that I might not catch up until spring ... and that's IF the kitty Valium works.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 11,814
Greysongram.
* The vet asked if we had tried ignoring her, to make sure she wasn't just trying to get a reaction from us - and woo boy howdy, did we try that. We tried it for months. Unchecked by human intervention, the kitty would yowl for upwards of an hour or more before exhausting herself ... only to start again as soon as she'd recovered, a few minutes later.
** She's sometimes a bit sensitive to meds. We'll start low, and work our way up as needed.
January 22, 2015
There's something here from somewhere else
Starting a new project is hard, but hey, that's how I earn my living ... so today I began drafting up sample content for a book called Shouting Distance. I promised myself that I'd have (at least) two partials/proposals worth selling before spring, and Brimstone went off to the agent and editor last week; so now it's time to tackle the next thing in the queue.
Therefore, here's today's progress on my southern noir about a woman whose memories and identity erode, only to reveal hints of another person entirely: a detective who vanished on the day she was born in 1959; now with BONUS moonshiners and revenuers, small-town governments with big-time crooks in office, cops both corrupt and courageous, and one hell of a paranormal twist:
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1415
Present total word count: 1415
Things Accomplished in Fiction: The first page is always the hardest, and frankly, I'm surprised I got as far as I did.
Addendum: I did indeed re-tool the proposal for this yesterday (as vowed) and I'm happy with the results, but I won't be able to wrap it up for querying purposes until I have the sample content nailed down. (Because the end result often varies - sometimes wildly - from one's initial projections.)
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; housework; yet more business emails/texts/etc. for good things I'm not allowed to talk about yet; sent husband to grocery store for sodas; not much else, due to the struggle getting started on this one.
Cat-Related Other: The sock balls, the water gun, Operation: KittySquish ... all of these things have ultimately failed. Today the husband and I surrendered and called the vet, who told us the kitty is almost due for her checkup anyway - so we're bringing her in tomorrow. Upon this visit, they'll run blood screenings and so forth to make sure she's not having any medical problems (just crazy old cat problems) and then explore anti-anxiety meds and/or sedatives. We're at our wits' end, and we have to do something.
Dog-Related Other: Greyson is starting to smell a bit, and he ate two rounds of mystery poop on his walk this morning before I could stop him. These two things may or may not be related. That's all the news that's fit to type. Sort of fit to type. Oh well.
BONUS Other: You guys, I am so tired.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 9714
Greysongram.
Therefore, here's today's progress on my southern noir about a woman whose memories and identity erode, only to reveal hints of another person entirely: a detective who vanished on the day she was born in 1959; now with BONUS moonshiners and revenuers, small-town governments with big-time crooks in office, cops both corrupt and courageous, and one hell of a paranormal twist:
Project: Shouting Distance
Deadline: March 1, 2015
New words written: 1415
Present total word count: 1415
Things Accomplished in Fiction: The first page is always the hardest, and frankly, I'm surprised I got as far as I did.
Addendum: I did indeed re-tool the proposal for this yesterday (as vowed) and I'm happy with the results, but I won't be able to wrap it up for querying purposes until I have the sample content nailed down. (Because the end result often varies - sometimes wildly - from one's initial projections.)
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; housework; yet more business emails/texts/etc. for good things I'm not allowed to talk about yet; sent husband to grocery store for sodas; not much else, due to the struggle getting started on this one.
Cat-Related Other: The sock balls, the water gun, Operation: KittySquish ... all of these things have ultimately failed. Today the husband and I surrendered and called the vet, who told us the kitty is almost due for her checkup anyway - so we're bringing her in tomorrow. Upon this visit, they'll run blood screenings and so forth to make sure she's not having any medical problems (just crazy old cat problems) and then explore anti-anxiety meds and/or sedatives. We're at our wits' end, and we have to do something.
Dog-Related Other: Greyson is starting to smell a bit, and he ate two rounds of mystery poop on his walk this morning before I could stop him. These two things may or may not be related. That's all the news that's fit to type. Sort of fit to type. Oh well.
BONUS Other: You guys, I am so tired.
Number of fiction words so far this year: 9714
Greysongram.
It's awards season, so here comes the shameless self-promotion
Hello everyone! It's awards season and this is my job, so please click through and take a peek if you are so inclined. Don't worry - it's short! I only published a couple of things this year, and I in
...more
- Cherie Priest's profile
- 4358 followers
