Hi, thanks for
hosting me! For this stop on the Raining Cats & Dogs Blog Tour that I’m
doing with fellow author David M Brown, it’s the turn of kitties and Kiwi in Cat City. Purrs!
Kiwi in Cat City is about two children who follow their pet cat one night into the
field behind their house. The cat, Kiwi, shocks them by turning around and
asking why they are following. It seems the black cat, who is magical, had
always wanted to communicate with them, but always stuck to the ‘rules’ – today
she breaks them. Kiwi takes the children on an adventure to her other home,
called Cat City. The blue-lit, colourful world is
populated by catizens, who rule themselves and live almost harmoniously. To
take the children there, Kiwi turns them into kittens. They learn four-paw walking,
mews and purrs, and off they go. In Cat
City, they meet Inspector
Furrball, head of the Cat Squad, and help him to investigate the Case of the
Catnapped Catizens.
So far, I have
written six books in the Kiwi Series.
There are plot threads running though them, except for the sixth book, which
was for Christmas, and I wrote it in such a way that a reader could pick it up
without having read the others. Although the stories were written for readers
aged 9-14, I think they are cool for adults too. The books have amazing
illustrations by the talented Nikki McBroom.
Each book takes the
children and Kiwi to different words, solving mysteries and meeting new
characters. Gradually, the reader learns more about Kiwi and the other
catizens. There are some moral lessons to be learnt, and the kids learn about
themselves and life in general. Some books take place in the human world, such
as book five, where everyone goes back in time to Ancient Egypt.
Kiwi in Cat City started with a poem. My cat that the book is based on, Kiwi, died in
2000. Earlier, I had written a poem about her. In 2002, when I was off work due
to redundancy, I was going through some notebooks and came across the poem.
Reading it made me think about Kiwi. Over the next few days, I started thinking
about a story about a magical cat – Kiwi, of course – but she would live in a
world populated by cats who did their own thing.
For this guest
post, I thought I’d dig out some poems for you. I love writing poetry and have
done so since I was about 14 or 16; not sure which! I have published three
books of them: Kaleidoscope (poems
written from 1986-2010); Life’s Rhythms
(haiku written in 2011-12) and Travelling
Light (poems past and present).
To start with, here
is the poem that inspired Kiwi in Cat
City, which is at the beginning of each book –
She was as black as
night that lost its moon
She was a crazy
kind of loon.
Eyes as wide as
giant saucers
Yellow and rimmed
with green;
Whiskers long with
almost white tips
She grinned an
unmistakable feline grin.
Her walk was kind
of majestic
Yet pretty funny at
top speed
For hers was not a
slimline figure,
Rather a bit on the
curvy side,
And when she rolled
on her back
Black soft fur
fluffed up.
Little paws as soft
as velvet
But beware the
quick glint of claws
Curved and sharp as
a knife.
She would squint at
you and purr
The most wondrous
hum
And you’d forget
all your troubles
Rushed along on the
ride of sound.
Her name was Kiwi
But she was no
ordinary cat.
When the moon was
full
Like a cat’s claw
Her ears would
prick up
Her whiskers
twitched
Her tail stood up
tall and bold
And she’d follow
her nose
Out into the cool
night air.
Until one eerie
cold night
When everything
changed…
Here are some more recent poems about furries -
The fox and the mole
Let’s rob a bank
Said the fox to the
mole
I’ve got mouths to
feed
And I’m feeling the
need
Ok, said the mole
But you know I
can’t see
I can burrow real
deep
But I might fall
asleep
Well, said the fox
I can offer my
cunning
I will find a way
inside
And to you I’ll
confide
Wake me up said the
mole
When you discover
this
As I’ve got a hunch
We’re in a credit
crunch
So the fox went off
thinking
How to rob the bank
And came up with a
plan
While eating a
cherry flan
Well then, asked
the mole
What do you suggest
we do
To steal all the
money
But not do anything
funny?
Aha, said the fox
grinning
I’ll tell you what
to do
Just burrow under
the bank
While I drive up in
a tank
Oh, said the mole
frowning
I never thought of
that
I didn’t know foxes
could drive
Have you told this
to your wife?
No, we have to keep
this secret
Said the fox to the
mole
As she’ll have my
guts for garters
And that’s just for
starters
So off went the fox
and mole
To begin their bank
robber life –
They rivalled Bonny
and Clyde
Living it up, the law
they defied
The captive
Chasing rabbits in
the hills
The fox jigs and
jags its way
Trying to outwit
the bobbing tail
That bounces
seconds ahead
He twists and turns
breathless
Ever present on the
trail
The cold air
dipping his ears
The never ending chase
of ages
Rabbit bobs and
bounds across
Fields of green
verdant gold
Not stopping to
glance back
Lest fear overcomes
him here
The race goes on
towards the lake
Sparkling in the
summer sun
A waft of
butterflies surges up
Disturbed in their
colourful mist
On they go around
the lake
The rabbit heads
towards the trees
Outmatched he finds
his energy fade
The fox chases on
with speed
Round and round and
on and on
Until the deep-set
wood draws near
And who should be
there waiting
But the hunt with
hounds in tow
Dragonfly
Spring light
reflected
In pools of
iridescence
Petals drowning
Bounce along the
surface
Pinks and reds
Tracing small
circles
Ever-circling anew
Blue spray rushes
in
In the shape of a
dragonfly
Flittering
Glistening wings
spinning
Spring light
reflected
Haiku – fur, feathers and fins!
Brown dog woofs,
chasing
Giddy circles
without sense,
His tail evades him
The sheltering
moon,
Beneath her glimmer
they roam
Free, the wild
wolves howl
Tinkle of a bell –
Leaping, he
snatches the bird,
Heart beating
softly
Feline eyes blink
down,
Cursing my laptop
sitting
In what was her
seat
Spring light
reflected
In tumultuous
waters;
The red salmon fly
Eyes turn to the
sun,
River of blue-black
shimmers
On peacock feathers
Above the ocean
The eagle soars,
sweeps and dives,
Fishing for supper
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kiwi in Cat City
Book blurb:
One dark night, Amy
cannot sleep and she looks out of the window into the garden to see her cat,
Kiwi, transfixed by the moon, which is glowing brightly like a cat's claw.
Waking her brother, James, Amy suggests they follow Kiwi to see where she
goes... whether it involves a hunt for mice or something else. Little do they
know that, with a flick of her tail, Kiwi is going to magically change them
into kittens and lead them on the adventure of their lives to a land they never
knew existed in their wildest dreams. In the blue-lit world of Cat City,
the budding detectives help Inspector Furrball to solve the mystery of the
missing catizens and find out what happened to Madame Purrfect.
Buy links:
Ebook
price: $99/77p
Paperback
price: $7.50/£4.86
When nature lover Josie moves into a house share
with two pals, dreamer Ben and model man David, she sees it as a short
stop and doesn’t bank on an attraction developing with one of them.
Meanwhile, Ben’s dog, Glen, has the hots for Miss Posh, the beautiful
golden Lab in the park. When dog meets dog it’s puppy love, but a
complication leads to Glen taking matters into his own paws. In this
comedy of errors, romance and walkies, it’s anyone’s guess who is going
to get the girl/dog and live happily ever after.
Author bio:
Vickie Johnstone
lives in London, UK, where she works as a freelance
sub-editor on magazines and an editor on indie books. She has a thing about
fluffy cats and also loves reading, writing, films, the sea, rock music, art,
nature, Milky Bar, Baileys and travelling.
Vickie has
self-published the following books:
Kaleidoscope (poetry); Travelling Light
(free poetry); Life’s Rhythms
(haiku); 3 Heads and a Tail (comedy
romance); Kiwi in Cat City (magical
cat series for middle grade readers); Kiwi
and the Missing Magic; Kiwi and the Living Nightmare; Kiwi and the Serpent of
the Isle; Kiwi in the Realm of Ra; Kiwi’s Christmas Tail; Day of the Living
Pizza (comedy detective series for middle grade readers), and Day of the Pesky Shadow.
The Kiwi Series has
illustrations by Nikki McBroom.
Author links:
