Mollie Hunt's Blog, page 14
September 1, 2023
CAT HOUSE, COMING SOON!
Ten! I can hardly believe it. When I began writing the Crazy Cat Lady mysteries, I had no idea it would ever get this far. Like most stories, it began with a standalone but one with potential. I like reading series, getting to know the characters and the location, and learning the author’s voice, so it wasn’t a giant leap for me to move ahead along those lines. The character of Lynley Cannon had a lot to do and say, and she’s still going strong ten years later.
Like most cozy series, I set out to write one a year, and aside from book 2, I’ve met that goal. I even have an idea and title for book 11, but I can’t think about that right now. Book 10 still has more work to be done before publication day.
If you get my newsletter, you will have already seen the Cat House cover featuring another beautiful art piece by Leslie Cobb, Cat Artist. This one is called “Fireside Cat,“ and to me, it perfectly represents the Cat House story—cozy but a little ominous around the edges. What is that cat looking at? Is it me?
This painting doesn’t have a story behind it. When I asked Leslie, she told me the following: “It’s just a made-up cat in a setting loosely based on a room I saw in a magazine and liked.”
I found the perfect venue for my launch, a big cat show here in Portland. You can join me on October 7-8 for the official Cat House launch the Portland Cat Extravaganza & Rescue Awareness Event by Loving Cats Worldwide. I don’t have a booth number yet, but I’ll post it on the Facebook Event page as soon as I do. With Cat House being the 10th Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery, it’s going to be a paw-ty! I’ve never worked with LCWW before but they’re big. I’m nervous about the amount of work a show like that will take, but I’m committed to getting this tenth mystery out to the world in style.
Me and Tyler
Come see me at the cat show!Please save the dates October 7th and 8th to drop by and see the culmination of all this work for yourself at the official Cat House launch. I will be sharing a booth with an incredibly talented stamp artist, Yukiko Hunt (yes, she is my daughter-in-law) of Cataround Stamps.
August 28, 2023
REMEMBERING – Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day
We will never forget!When a beloved pet dies, something in us is lost forever. We know we will never forget them, no matter how long they’ve been gone. Maybe we keep a commemorative, such as a pawprint in clay or a whisker tribute necklace. Sometimes we keep their ashes in beautiful boxes and urns. I have a bookshelf with their pictures beside my computer. Do I look at it every day? No, probably not. But knowing they are there makes me happy.
Sometimes we push those memories aside, not wanting the sadness of loss get in our way. We may resist, especially when the loss is new, and we are still haunted by their presence-a toy in a corner, a medication in the fridge.
Sometimes, in the chaos of our lives, we forget… for a moment; for an hour; for a day.
Let’s remember together.But today, Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, let’s bring them to mind, one by one. Let’s celebrate all the goodness, the greatness they gave us during their lives. Let’s do it together.
Deborah Barnes had to say goodbye to her cat, Mr. Jazz, on August 28, 2013. Deborah published an emotional book that detailed her journey of letting Mr. Jazz go, it was called “Purr Prints of the Heart – A Cat’s Tale Of Life, Death and Beyond.”
After the book was released Deborah received an overwhelming reaction from those who had read it. People reached out to Deborah to share their own stories of a pet passing, and Deborah realized that her journey was being mirrored by others and that a pet dying was a deeply emotional time for many.
So, in honor of Mr. Jazz, and for all the readers who were touched by her book, Deborah decided to create Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day as a chance for people across the world to share their stories and memories of pets that they have loved and lost. It was in 2015 that the holiday was first observed, and now each year on August 28 people are taking time out to remember their pets.
August 26, 2023
B-MOD CATS
Off to the side and down at the back of the Oregon Humane Society’s main building is a smaller building. It’s not a place for the public to come look for adoptable animals. It’s a quiet place where animals who aren’t quite ready for adoption go to learn how to trust. It’s called Behavior Modification, or B-Mod for short.
They come for many reasons. Some are too shy to make a good companion animal. Some are shut down. Some are feisty. What they have in common, however, is the fact that even if their temperament isn’t perfect, no one is going to give up on them. Not ever!
There are kittens in B-Mod too. Some are terrified. Some lash out. All have the best chance of finding a loving home once they go through some training to trust us big humans. Treats help!
Kelly was young and playful but would get overstimulated and place her teeth on skin, which can be a prelude to a bite. Once we addressed her frustration at being cooped up and carted around, using play and interaction, she got over her aggressive behavior.
All the cats in the pictures above have graduated from B-Mod and gone on to be adopted into loving homes. We give special care to instruct the new pet parents with total transparency about the cat’s behavior and keep in close contact with the adopters who know hey can contact us at any time with questions or issues. The letters we receive after the adoptions are always amazingly positive.
I love volunteering with these wonderful but often misunderstood cats!
(There’s a B-Mod area for dogs too!)
August 10, 2023
SAYING GOODBYE—AGAIN
Composition by Norman Katze
A few weeks ago I published a blogpost, The Care Toll, about friends’ cats who had recently crossed the Rainbow Bridge. What I didn’t know then was that one of my own would be so soon to follow.
Jaimz was sick when I adopted him two and a half years ago. That was part of the reason he came to me. His doctor at the shelter had deemed him “unadoptable” because of this hyperthyroid disease and underlying kidney failure. Unadoptable meant euthanasia unless I, as his foster person, agreed to adopt him instead. Even before I was given this ultimatum, however, I had made the decision. The little gray cat who had been through so much was already part of our family, and I took him with joy and love.
You can read Jaimz’s story here: The Story of Jaimz, a cat Abandoned and The Story of Jaimz Part 2
Obviously, he was not as near to death’s door as the vet had predicted. With help from a more gracious veterinary team and continuing loving care, he’s had a good long time to run and jump, to play with Tyler, to eat treats and food of his choosing, to sleep curled up with me at night and naps. Those things have sadly come to an end, and it’s finally time for him to go.
Every loss is unique, every sadness acute, every grief burned into our consciousness forever. But in time, the memories we cherish rise to the top. With Jaimz, it will be soft fur, quiet persistence, and gratitude. Always.
Is this how it feels
to lose a part
of my body?
The searing pain
of separation,
The lingering throb
of the phantom limb,
The world,
empty and unbalanced.
Grief covers me like a shroud,
then pierces my heart as I remember
why I’m grieving.
Tears are not enough
to wash away
the loss.
—Jaimz 08/09/23
July 31, 2023
AUGUST: THE MONTH IN RETROSPECT
I feel good. Hot, but good. Portland today isn’t nearly as hot as a lot of places. I feel for those who can’t escape the brutal heat.
Have I told you how much I love libraries? My books are in a few of them, including my own Multnomah County Library, but now one more joins their ranks. I submitted, There’s a Cat Hair in My Mask: How Cats Helped Me through Unprecedented Times, to the Library Writers Project this year, and it was selected to be added to the library’s e-book collection. According to the e-Contact Librarian, my COVID memoir was “a standout.”
Last Saturday night, I attended the launch of NIWA’s latest anthology, “Harbinger.” Though the stories are of mixed genres, Harbinger is this year’s theme that binds them together. I knew the basic meaning of the word but looked it up anyway: “A person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald. Anything that foreshadows a future event; omen; sign.” (Dictionary.com) Yup.
Speaking of NIWA, the team was busy this last month, with booths in the Robin Hood Festival, Gaston Station Market, the Oak Grove Festival of the Arts, Portland Pride, and the Canby Arts Festival. My books sold well, thanks to the wonderful volunteers manning the booths. A big thank you, too, for the adventurous people who bought them!
Jim and I spent a week at our beach house over Independence Day. It was crazy noisy, but neither of my cats care much about the boomies, so the only stress was on us. My son and daughter-in-law were able to join us for a few days. We watched old movies and ate well.
I’d wanted to take a foster cat when I got back from the beach—it’s been a long time since I’ve had one and OHS always has needs—but I went right into a couple of cat sitting jobs, and though Jim does wonderfully caring for our cats while I’m gone, I can’t put the pressure of a new, strange, sick cat on him as well, so no foster. Sorry, kitties.
One exciting bit of news—I have a launch date and venue for Cat House, the 10th Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery. (10! Can you believe it?) I’ll be sharing a booth with Cataround Stamps at the LCWW (Loving Cats World Wide) Extravaganza here in Portland in October. The launch will take place there.
What will August bring, besides more hot weather?
More trips to the beach where I’ll be working on the first draft of the Tenth Life Cozy Paranormal #3, Ghost Cat at the Mystery Hotel.
A NIWA book event in Washougal, Washington, the location of my thriller, Placid River Runs Deep, on August 12th.
My great grandson’s sixth birthday!
Here’s hoping your have a good summer month!
July 27, 2023
FLASH DRIVES: Anomalies
The man sits at the bus stop, a book in his hand. He holds it open like an orator, keen eyes scanning the pages, unconscious of the world around him.
The woman turns the corner in front of me. But for her dog, she is alone in her car, yet unlike most drivers’ dead pan expressions, her face bears a huge grin.
In the lovely old cemetery where I walked as a child, the girl sits on the grass, her back propped against a gravestone. Someone she knew?
Photo credits: Woman with Dog Photo by Filip Rankovic Grobgaard; Gravestone Photo by John Thomas; Man and Book Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash.
July 23, 2023
ADOPTING A SENIOR CAT
~Tyler~
A senior cat? But….As a shelter volunteer, I hear many reasons why people don’t want to adopt a senior cat. (“Senior” in cats is commonly defined as 10 years and above.) Concern about expensive medical bills is valid, as is not wanting to experience the pain of loss that may come sooner with an older cat, but when someone tells me kittens are cuter, I have to disagree. Senior cats have their own special beauty, and whether they are running, playing, eating, or sleeping, they fill my heart with joy.
We adopted Tyler on June 1, 2017 from the Oregon Humane Society where I volunteer. I chose him because according to his paperwork, he was 18. I just couldn’t leave an 18-year-old cat in the shelter!
Soon after Tyler’s adoption came the requisite first vet visit. It’s important to have an ongoing relationship with a veterinarian, and especially so with a senior cat. Though Tyler was shy of new situations, our doctor made him feel welcome and safe. She did routine lab tests plus a thyroid test because Tyler showed tendency for hyperactivity, playing more like a kitten than a geriatric old man, but all results were normal. Fact was, he was healthy in every respect aside from an eye condition. Then she surprised us by saying she thought Tyler’s age might be closer to 14 than 18 because of his health and activeness, but since his teeth had been removed at OHS to remedy a case of advanced dental disease, her best assessment tool was missing.
I had to wonder how Tyler lived before he arrived at OHS, what sort of home he’d come from. OHS had no information except that he was turned in to the shelter sick and with every parasite imaginable after being on the streets for some time. If I were a cat psychic, I could find out what had happened. Then again maybe I don’t want to know.
Tyler made himself at home with us and has continued to do so for the past six years. He sits with us on the couch and even jumps up there when we’re walking by as if to say, “I’m waiting for you…”. He is a basic cat: play, eat, sleep, all of which he does with true gusto. He is a true joy, and I treasure every minute with him.
Yes, he has vet bills I have to meet on a limited budget.
Yes, he will cross the Rainbow Bridge someday, and I will cry and crochet a memorial blanket.
No, (in my biased opinion) no kitten is cuter than my big tabby boy.
Do you have a senior cat, and if so, did you adopt him that way? I’d love to hear your stories about these often forgotten matriarchs and patriarchs of the feline world.
July 20, 2023
WHAT I’M WATCHING: Murder In…
Murder in… (Also titled Murders In…) is a French television mystery series, distributed in France since 2013. Each episode takes place in a different locale outside the major cities, often in a region where the indigenous language is not French, and with different casts.
Amazon calls it, “A gorgeous collection of mysteries, each one set in a different, picturesque region of France. Enjoy French towns and areas you may have never seen before!”
From Forbes Magazine, “Murder In… TV Series Beckons Tourists To Discover France. Murder In…, an inventive, creatively curated French TV series, allows travel lovers to immerse themselves in the intimate lives of the locals who live and work at destinations they may have already visited or at places to which they would like to go.
Filmed across almost all of France’s 18 regions, some episodes are set in towns so tiny you have likely never heard of them. Others are better-known places but still off the beaten tourist track, and away from large cities. To get to these gems, you would have to drive there from someplace else.
Murder In… Collioure
I happened on the series browsing through Amazon Prime. I often watch series in languages other than English, so when I found this one was in French, that didn’t bother me. I had several years of basic French in school, and though I can’t understand the quick conversations, the words are familiar. Besides, I’m all into English subtitles.
The scenery is gorgeous, tiny towns on blue ocean bays, red-roofed cottages nestled in greenery, a cave that outshines Carlsbad, a ruined castle on a hill. I’m only to the second season out of the current ten, the most recent of which just dropped a few weeks ago, but I’m hooked.
The police and prosecutor characters that hold the leading rolls in most of the episodes I’ve seen are usually a man and a woman with the potential for romance. The townsfolk are varied and believable. The killers are not easily decerned, and only after following a convoluted path of personal intrigue are they revealed. A truly enjoyable watch.
Murder In… Saint Malo
July 16, 2023
THE CARE TOLL
The Rainbow Bridge is a toll gate.
Before we can be reunited with our beloved cats as the well-known poem promises, we must first pay the toll of grief and loss. We must go on with our lives without them, never to touch that soft fur, hear that funny purrumph, see those wondrous eyes blink back at us. Someday we will pay a further toll, the inevitable loss of our own lives. Only then can we cross that bridge where our cats are waiting, or so the story goes.
Do you believe the Rainbow Bridge* myth? Or maybe you half-believe, you want to believe. Maybe you don’t believe at all, but find comfort in it anyway. I’m somewhere in the middle. I know scientifically that no energy is lost and that there is more to us than we can imagine, so it is no leap for me to believe in a reuniting of some kind, if only our molecular memory binding us together in a future state.
When I began writing my Tenth Life mystery series which involves the ghost of Soji, a cat long-dead, I did a lot of research. I asked how many of my friends and fans had experienced some supernatural event after their cat passed. I wasn’t surprised to learn a good majority had heard, felt, smelled, seen, or otherwise sensed their angel cat in the days after their death—for some it continued long after the passing. Some spoke of seeing the ghost of cats that weren’t their own, cats who may have occupied their space before them or sought out their cat-friendly presence. All in all, the consensus was, yes, there is cat-life after death.
This post is dedicated to Bruce, Natasha, Valentine, Leo,and all the others who have left this plane. It seems like so many have parted in the last while. Is it summer? Is it the abnormal heat? Is it something else we don’t know about and can’t sense with our human faculties? I’m afraid to read my Facebook feed for fear of another one gone. None are my companion cats, yet they are close just the same. I cry at each loss, though the ones I named above have hit me personally.
Leo lived at House of Dreams cat shelter. He was FeLV-positive, and his decline, though tragic, was not unexpected. Leo was a gentle soul who got lots of love and attention from the many HOD volunteers, including me. His ashes will be placed in the new memorial garden at HOD.
Natasha was the companion of a close friend who moved from Portland to Texas. Natasha was preceded in death by her house brother Ivan last year, making her loss doubly heartbreaking for my friend. Natasha was getting on in years, but no matter how old they get, we are never ready to say goodbye.
I never met Valentine in person. He was a blogger whose mom I met through the Cat Writers’ Association at a convention. It turned out they lived not far from Portland, and for a few years before COVID, I’d see them at cat events where we’d catch up on our kitties at home. Valentine was one of those cats that I felt affinity for the moment I saw his picture. Following his long-distance romance with Erin the Cat Princess was so much fun.
Bruce was our neighbor, an indoor/outdoor cat who claimed kingship of all he surveyed. He loved to hang in our lush garden and commune with my Tyler through the screen door. Some cats can’t live the life of an indoor pet, and Bruce was one of those. Bruce’s loss is still raw in my heart and is the inspiration for this post.
I need to do something to celebrate this amazing feline, so I visualize him rising up from his corporeal body, leaving the pain of the fight behind. No more earthly being, just the freedom of flight. He didn’t want to leave his people, but he wasn’t given a choice. So he hangs around for a while, a pressure on the bed, a flicker out of the corner of the eye, a playful mist, a place in dreams. But then he has to move on, rally at the Rainbow Bridge, where he will wait with the other pets until all the loved ones are united once again.
The preface of my book Cat’s Paw is a block of names of cats who had passed. Readers from all over sent in names and stories, and my editor compiled them into what you see here. I want to do it again, only slightly differently. Send a photo and a few sentences about your Angel cat to molliehuntcatwriter@gmail.com with “Angel Cat Blog” as the subject line. When I get enough, I will compile them into a blog. I may also include them in a short story.
Sending love.
*The Rainbow Bridge is a poem written by Edna Clyne-Rekhy, an 82-year-old artist from Scotland. Though many claim to be the author, this authorship of the original story was confirmed by National Geographic Magazine. The poem tells of an other-worldly place where pets go upon death, eventually to be reunited with their humans.
Photo Credits: It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. —Grace Hopper
July 1, 2023
A.I., KILLER ROBOTS, AND CHAMOMILE TEA
Those of us who choose to spend our hours inside at a keyboard following the labyrinthian craziness in our minds—in other words, we writers—have a new challenge looming. It’s not enough that we must pit our tiny but unique wills against publishing corporations looking only for the next million-dollar sell. Not enough that someone in another country has plagiarized our books and is now making more money off them than we are. Not enough that we may have a fickle fan base always looking for the next new thing. (Thankfully none of my fans are like that.) Now there’s something else to worry about: Artificial Intelligence.
Recently one of my authors’ groups met to discuss this new technology and the effect it could have on the writing world. Some had already tried AI for blurbs, bios, or just for fun to see what it was like. One member had been a beta tester for a Chat GPT competitor. But most of us were basically uninformed and trying our best to speculate how it will affect us. We ended up agreeing that the only thing we knew for certain was we were traveling in uncharted waters, cowboys in the wild wild west of creativity.
Authors of our level—those who produce quality work but haven’t made it to stardom—are working against the odds. As are the cover artists. As are the editors. As are the narrators. As is just about everyone who isn’t Neil Gaimen or Steven King. With limited budgets, we can’t help being intrigued by a new technology that could save us some money. So here comes AI.
First I want to look at the moral dilemma. When we take a job away from a person and give it to a machine, are we crossing a line? But what about all the other advancements that have changed the way we work? Is AI any different?
The use of AI also brings up an ethical, and even legal, dilemma with issues related to copyright, misuse, bias, and transparency. Artists are finding their art, writing, and voice showing up in unexpected and inappropriate places. Since AI language models generate their content from bits and pieces snatched from the web, who knows what the source material may be? As of now, that source doesn’t need to be disclosed or credited. In my opinion, that should be one of the first thing the government regulates, along with making it law to disclose when AI has been used.
AI is a useful tool when used correctly, but what about innate human evil? New scams are coming out of the woodwork like ants from rot. Books produced solely by AI can be cranked out in no time at all, and though flat and voiceless, the sheer volume will make money even if individual sales are low. Then there are the Get Rich Quick schemes—for a fee, they offer to teach the secrets of AI success, when really all they are doing is passing on information you can get for free if you look.
Sometimes evil has nothing to do with money. Revenge, harassment, and torture are also made possible through the wonders of AI. And the next step further?
So far we’ve heard very little about AI-equipped robots—essentially, a robot that thinks. What would it think, though? That would depend on the programmer. What if he’s Hitler? Already there are people asking AI to lay out apocalyptic scenarios. There needn’t be a Terminator-style robot revolution—all it would take is a few evil humans playing god.
That brings me to the final subject of my article, chamomile tea. In the face of such wonder, such fear, such anger, and such unknowns, my solution is to fix a cup of calming chamomile tea in my favorite cat-print mug, and let go of the things I can’t change. What will you do to ride out the future?
Note: All pictures in this post are from Google and are AI generated.
Additional note: At this point in my career, I will not use any form of AI in the creation of my books. That may change when the robots take over. No promises.
