Self-Agrandising, Contrived: Scratch, Nicholas P. Checker

[Dmatisrescue]

Well, sad to say whenever hopes are dashed when learning of a less-than-stellar history of anyone purporting to be animal-saviors, I usually pull myself up by my emotional bootstraps. . . And the shelters of New London County where I live can always use some volunteer reinforcements, and so I reluctantly sit here and type these words on my keypad. But alas, back to the book in question.

Bear in mind, that while at a recent discussion at a bookstore--the author himself called into question--and enthusiastically asked for audience feedback--for their feelings regarding the state of his animal activism as it relates specifically to his writing, and urged us to comment on his "vitality working within the community." So here it is.

I digress, and this is supposed to be a forum to discuss what is on our reading list, which I will now, in light of what a “writer” of less-than-stellar output but with a “look at me” syndrome the size of the entire homeless animal population of the US, has hoisted upon us. This juvenilia cannot even be seen as “so bad it’s good” by the staff at our non-kill shelter, and as animal-lovers, we never wish to put a damper on any material which is anything but uplifting towards our four-legged fur-babies, but a quick rundown of why your money is better directed towards other works:

In a word, juvenile. Shall I also add, contrived and derivative.

The text reads as if part-fairy tale, part historical-novel (!) part intercultural relations cautionary-tale, and part "Yes, this author is so sweet and cuddly and loves pets,"ad nauseam. A case study for intentional fallacy, if one were to take into account the onslaught of self-perpetuating promotion. And oh how did the kitty-cat clan sound familiar, but more on that in a bit. . . Perhaps the hardest part for us (reading the text, that is) was our inability to get past the oh-not-so-subtle onomatopoeia, the unrelenting anthropomorphization of the whiskered protagonists. . .

While taking a break from pre-Thanksgiving preparations, I would occasionally look over Hubby’s shoulder, and sadly, my giggles (at the juvenile prose) quickly turned to a heavy heart when he did some memory-recall. Hubby was directed to this self-published, massively-self-promoted piece via a forwarded link on Amazon and through an announcement of the author's presentation at a local bookshop (side note: kudos to the shop, for their egalitarian ways and for allowing all writers, professional and non-professional, a chance to engage. . . thank you Monte Cristo bookstore!). He thought that since we are actively involved in animal adoptions in Waterford-Norwich that we could find a level of interest and a way to get past the shortening days and stresses which accompany volunteer shelters during the holidays. So off we went to the Monte. . .

Rather than scratching your head while reading this work called Scratch, instead, might I suggest these titles to help lift your spirits: For a truly inspirational take on how our fur-babies can change our lives, I highly recommend Tad Williams’ modern classic Tailchaser’s Song, where a young ginger tomcat lives in a world where kitties have their own language, culture, and mythology (hmmm, sounds familiar. Remember what I said about some work being derivative).

You might also look at Vicki Myron’s Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World if you want an easy read which is unpretentious and certainly one to lift your spirits. I'm sure these two choices will warm the heart of any animal lover.

In regards to the author, hubby recalled that the name seemed a bit familiar from some controversy in the local gyms (a quick search on Google and, yes--the author is a self-proclaimed novelist, as well as self-proclaimed filmmaker (as seen on the illustrious Comcast public access in New London County!). Nicholas P. Checker, aka Nick Checker and Nicholas Checker is a gym coach with an interesting gymnastics story (from members of the community, not from his own lips). A quick glance at some of his views regarding his "proteges" in the gym, on how to act as a gymnastics coach, on relating to parents, can be seen on the sites www.gymnasticscoaching.com, the www.gymchat.com forum, the Montville minutes, and an article from one of our local papers, The Day. Yes, sadly, this “novelist” is the “Coach That Doesn’t Want Parents to Watch” . . . Mister "No one-way mirror for my gym, but let me tell you how much I love cats and how fast I can clear a room” gym coach. Okie-doke, per the request of the author to share our feelings about his community-activism. . .

On another note, as an adoption volunteer coordinator based in Waterford, I highly recommend you to consider adopting a kitty at one of the shelters in our area! Bring some more love to your home for the holidays!
The Animal Rescue Fund in Waterford, via PetFinder:

http://www.petfinder.com
Connecticut Humane (Waterford, included!).
http://www.cthumane.org
Here is a non-kill shelter for cats. Keep in mind the kill-shelters are where there are fur-babes waiting to be saved and to add love to your home, and whose lives are at risk—be an adoption hero today!
http://forgottenfelinesct.org/
And let’s not forget our woof-woof friends!
Make a tail wag today! Adopt! http://dog.rescueme.org/Connecticut
A list of several shelters in our area:
http://animal-shelters.find-near-me.i...

Oh, and happy reads! Purrs are sure to be found, if you know where to look.


Nicholas Checker
Nicholas P. Checker
Nick Checker

[Bree]

Nicholas CheckerUgh. What more can we say. Sorry ladies. This was my rec for our book club, thinking it would be nice to look at any of our local animal tomes--big fat zero--my bad. BTW we asked him to NOT claim affiliation with our center.
Really sorry to hear about the "Coach that doesn't want parents to watch"--is this really him?
The Google reader lists this writing with all mistypes and bad writing as intact. Looks like he couldn't take the time to proof, might have been in a hurry to state he was published )even self-published, hey who would know any better, not us dumb locals).
Anyone want to bring up a comparison for our next selection, Tailcatcher's Song? Or are my picks non grata after this? (-:

Nick Checker
Nicholas Checker

[Trish]

Nicholas CheckerDmatisrescue wrote: "Well, sad to say whenever hopes are dashed when learning of a less-than-stellar history of anyone purporting to be animal-saviors, I usually pull myself up by my emotional bootstraps. . . And the s..."
Nicholas Checker
Nick Checker

Great, accurate review, on all counts. I also have an issue with author self reviews. Book is not bad for the litter box as a liner.

[Candeeray]

Abbie wrote: "Nicholas CheckerMstanyamatt wrote: "Sorry, could not accept that the cat characters could have human characteristics, which is because of the lack of a deft hand in the writing. Ma..."

I don't usually do these types of discussions or reviews (actually not at all) but a recent post confrontation by the author made me go to the keyboard. An engagement to someone, I don't know who: the reviewers or the Goodread people (I understand it was viewed by reviewers as an attack).

"Please eliminate these deliberately negative reviews on SCRATCH which I recognize as nothing more than personal attacks. Check Amazon.com for legitimate reviews on this very book, mots from people I don't even know. Can you do this?"

Well, first, I would like to add that I don't know this author, at all (I'm from Dayton, OH) and so I have very little awareness of why he chose to lash out. From what it appears here and elsewhere the ahuthor apparently had called for his readers at a now defunct bookshop to go forth and applaud his work with animals and to recognize his efforts in his writing (is Prowler supposed to be some kin of alter ego--man, what an ego). So it baffles me as to why he can't take the heat which is what all pros usually understand (he is a former gymnastics coach?). Reviews can be a cause for celebration or for recognizing that your words don't always make everyone happy.

Again, nothing personal, but in my opinion I believe an author ought to try to acknowledge his or her influences (trying to be gentle here), and to allow the reader to see if you are doing an homage. And by all means, do not call out to your readers and reviewers in a local bookstore (not sure where it was, Connecticut?)to do pr for you by stating that you liked your work and recognize all that you are doing as told through the protagonist.

As someone else pointed out, the author needs to proof his work prior to submiting (friends cannot do all damage control), see the use of language in the author's response here on Goodreads ("Please eliminate these deliberately negative reviews on SCRATCH which I recognize as nothing more than personal attacks. Check Amazon.com for legitimate reviews on this very book, mots from people I don't even know. Can you do this?").

"Mots"?

In regards to having friends and vanity press publishers do a glorious review, can that not be acknowledged? And I agree with one of the other commentators, "Authors rating their own books on Good Reads--from a reader's perspective, totally inflates the rating, totally not fair to the reader. . . Readers and volunteers have a right to honest reviews and ratings since they are spending money on the books."

[Juniorreyes]

This was ridiculous.
Makes me never wish to go back to the northeast. But I do know not everyone from New England is like this (well, not in the true literary world).

[Juniorreyes]

So, if I write my own book (ha), give myself a 5 star review, then have a friend do another 5 star review (or is it a friend/burgeoning "publisher), then message the people who did not do the same with extreme vitriol, I can call myself an author?

What more to say. I also do not know the author either. This was just plain bad writing. Kind of ads fuel to the fire whenever people like to go after vanity publishers or self publishers (or any other "pay-to-play"); not fair to them because some of the best writing has come from outside of the big publishing houses. I'm all for DIY especially in our digital age.