Lessons In Stalking: Adjusting to Life With Cats (8 page)

Credits

Feline Concerns first appeared in
I Love Cats! Magazine
http://www.iluvcats.com
.

Lessons In Stalking
first appeared in the ASPCA Animal Watch newsletter.

Kitty Jihad, Dibbs!, Never Feed A Cat Grape Benadryl
®
, The Creature Under the Fridge, Morning Revelry, Kitty Nightingales, El Toro Gato, Yoga Cat, The Great Cat Butt Wiping Adventure
and
The Big Brown Mouse & Other Toys Our Cat Loathes
all originally appeared in
Cats & Kittens
http://www.catsandkittens.com
magazine.

If you’d like more information (and photos!) on the cat, the kitten, and the inside story on
Lessons In Stalking
, please visit us at
http://www.lessonsinstalking.com
.

Afterword

Toward the completion of this book my cover and interior layout designer, Robert Howard, suggested it would be a nice touch to include a “family portrait” of my husband, myself, and our two cats at the back of the book.

“Did you read my book?” I asked. “Were there any stories in there that might lead you to believe such an undertaking is even remotely possible?”

“Try anyway,” came the reply. And so, risking life and limb, we did.

You see the results below. We never actually managed to get all four of us in the room at the same time. In a rare show of unity, one cat would distract us while the other made her getaway. After an hour of this we decided one photo each of me with the cats would suffice. To clue you in to how that process went, what you are seeing here is the best of the best—me holding Lucy captive against the floor as I lay on her and Olivia looking anxiously at the floor, planning her escape. Blair, my husband, remains in safe (and, one might add, unscratched) anonymity behind the camera lens.

Robert's only comment was "Next time try Tuna Fish on your breath.”

About the Author

Dena Harris is a humorist and freelance writer published in newspapers, magazines, and web sites around the country. Publication credits include
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul, Cats & Kittens magazine, I Love Cats!, Puppies USA, Writer’s Digest, The Toastmaster, Art Jewelry, Self-Publishing Essentials
, and more.

She teaches seminars and workshops in public speaking, networking, and writing for magazines. Her next book,
Scared Speechless: Public Speaking Tips For The Occasional Speaker
, will be available in 2006.

Raised in Ohio, she now lives with her husband and two cats in rural North Carolina and is constantly trying to figure out how to bring a third cat into the home without her husband’s knowledge.

She is a member of the Cat Writer’s Association (CWA), the Society for Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Writer’s Group of the Triad, and way too many book clubs. For information on her upcoming books and workshops, please visit
http://www.denaharris.com
.

About the Illustrator

Linda Santell is a digital artist, designer and illustrator. She lives in the historic district of a small town in rural North Carolina, where her studio is also located.

The slow, quiet environment serves as a great balance to her whirring, creative spirit.

Linda specializes in creating completely custom images, designs and illustrations.

Her work is original and contemporary. She works equally well in color and black and white.

Her client base is primarily creative, entrepreneurial women—an eclectic mix of writers, small business owners and non-profits. She delights in supporting them in designing their dreams.

Illustration is Linda’s second career, but her first love. Art became her fulltime focus in 2000. Her projects range from book illustration to logo design, custom invitations to pet portraits and beyond.

Linda finds great joy in creating her own art, which often takes the form of colorful and whimsical illustrations with supportive messages for women. These illustrations have become the basis for her Whimsical Wisdom
^®
line of womencentered art and products.

To learn more about Linda, her art and creative services, visit her at
http://www.lindasantell.com
or her sister site
http://www.enrichingearth.com
.

Order Form for Lessons in Stalking

If you would like extra copies of Lessons in Stalking, you can order on-line at www.lessonsinstalking.com (credit card payments available) or use this order form.

For quantity orders (10+) please call 206-203-1154 or e-mail us at
[email protected]
.

I’d like to order___________ (number of copies)

I’ve enclosed_____________ ($9.95 per book + $2.75 shipping and handling)

Make Check Payable and Send Order Form To:

Spotlight Publishing, Inc.

PO Box 621

Madison, North Carolina, 27025-0621

Ship to:

Name__________________________________________________

Address_________________________________________________

City___________________________State______Zip_____________

Please allow 2 weeks for delivery of your order Want an autographed copy? It will be my pleasure to provide you with one. Simply make a note below, telling me how the inscription should read, and it will be provided to you at no cost.

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Ready for more of the cat and kitten?

Then be the first in line for the hilarious sequel:

Do You Live Here Too?

More Life With Cats

Including the stories:

• Kiss my Kitty Butt • Bug Patrol • Let Me At The Twittering Things • Thy Vacuum Is Mine Enemy • Kitty Stand Off at the O-Cat Corral

To place your name on the pre-publication mailing list (no obligation to order, you’ll simply receive an e-mail when the book is available for purchase), please send an e-mail to:
[email protected]
with the SUBJECT heading: More Life With Cats

Table of Contents

LESSONS IN STALKING