Guest
Post – A Change of Direction (by the author)
Since heading down the self-publishing
path, my only interest has been in writing fantasy novels. I’m currently hard
at work on the third instalment of my Elencheran Chronicles series but in 2012
I discovered that there was another path I was able to walk – the way of
non-fiction.
I enjoy reading both fiction and
non-fiction. My appetite stretches to encompass many genres but when it comes
to non-fiction I usually enjoy a good history book or a compelling biography.
I’ve always thought of writing history books but I’ve never been sure what
period to write about. So, how did I end up wandering into non-fiction? Two reasons.
I like to try and make people laugh and I have six cats. Bear with me while I
explain.
Now, I would never profess to be a comedian
or a hilarious person for that matter, but usually when I meet someone I can
find a way to make them laugh or at the very least smile. I can be serious when
I want to be but when I interact with people I do enjoy seeing them smile.
Those that know my wife, Donna, and I well in person and online have heard many
a tale about our cats, usually involving a joke or two at my expense.
I had never owned cats before so this is
still very much a new experience for me. It’s been hard work seeing the
household increase from two cats at the start to three, then four and a final
leap to six. Serenity is seldom found in our home but the cats do bring with
them a lot of inspiration. I devoted two blog features to them which I started
in 2010, one observing their daily behaviour, while the other was a
fictionalised set of meetings where the cats discussed current affairs.
By the time Donna and I merged our blogs to
form Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dave I wasn’t sure what to do with my cat posts.
The two of us then hit on the idea of a book, collecting the anecdotes in our
blog posts and adding some new material into the mix. The final result was Man
vs Cat.
From the start, I meant for this book to be
an amusing series of memoirs. I couldn’t write something poignant like a Marley
& Me type book so I turned to humour to convey my message about our six
boys – Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo. My biggest worry, which
Donna shared, was that no one but us would find this book amusing. These are,
after all, our cats. They have no claim to fame from being in movies or on
television, so we did wonder what the response would be.
Thankfully, the feedback has been positive
so far. Everyone seems to love our cats and how the cats adore Donna (Frizzy
Hair in the book). What disappoints me is that I have garnered no sympathy as
the downtrodden cat owner (Beard Face in the book). I was hoping everyone would
side with me and not the cats. Maybe I can redress the balance with the next
cat book because at the moment it’s very
much Man 0 Cat 1.
Synopsis
History
has known many famous cats - Garfield, Mr Bigglesworth, Simon's Cat, the
Aristocats, the Cheshire cat and the Keyboard Cat on YouTube.
In recent years these feline things have replaced man's best friend as the most popular pet in the U.S. while the Ancient Egyptians once worshipped them as gods. This was a mistake and I'm here to tell you why.
Man vs Cat is the story of one man, one woman and the six cats that changed their lives forever. To the woman they brought love and affection, to the man they brought sleepless nights, fear, paranoia and even ruined his jigsaw. Need I say more?
In recent years these feline things have replaced man's best friend as the most popular pet in the U.S. while the Ancient Egyptians once worshipped them as gods. This was a mistake and I'm here to tell you why.
Man vs Cat is the story of one man, one woman and the six cats that changed their lives forever. To the woman they brought love and affection, to the man they brought sleepless nights, fear, paranoia and even ruined his jigsaw. Need I say more?
Here's the link to my 5-star review.
About
the author
David Brown could be considered
a fantasy fanatic, especially since he has spent the last 10 years developing a
47,000-year history for his fictional world of Elenchera. When converting his
obsession into literary form, David commits himself to a rigorous writing and
editing process before his work can meet his approval. Combined with the
critical eye of his wife and a BA Hons in History and English, David's
dedication leads him to his goal of inspiring readers through heartfelt stories
and characters.
Twitter: @elenchera
Facebook: davidmbrownauthor
Website:
http://elenchera.com
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Five paws, Beard Face! Purr on! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Vickie :)
DeleteThank you for hosting me, Ruth.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I didn't realise this post went on yesterday. I thought it was for today!
Thank you for your amazing support with the tour :)