Pump Up Your Book Chats with Sparkle the Cat

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Sparkle is an award-winning author, blogger, advice columnist and supermodel. She is also a cat – a ruddy Somali of champion lineage, in fact, whose father, GC Tajhara’s Miles Davis, was twice on the cover of Cat Fancy. Sparkle’s first book, Dear Sparkle: Advice from One Cat to Another, won the Wild Card category at the 2007 Hollywood Book Festival and honorable mentions in several other contests. She also recently came home with the Pettie Award — the pet blogging equivalent of an Oscar — for Best Cat Blog. Sparkle lives in Los Angeles with two humans, two feline roommates (both rescue cats), and (unfortunately) a dog.

Dear Sparkle: Cat-to-Cat Advice from the World’s Foremost Feline Columnist (Adams Media) is her second book.

You can visit Sparkle’s blog at http://www.sparklecat.com.

About Dear Sparkle: Cat-to-Cat Advice from the World’s Foremost Feline Columnist

Face it, kitties, your humans can’t help you untangle your problems — especially when they’re usually the ones driving you crazy! But never fear, the world’s foremost feline authority, Sparkle the Cat, is here to solve all of your kitty conundrums. With 70 Q&As, “Sparkle Says” sidebars, and full-color photos throughout, this guide is definitely NOT your usual human-written cat book.

Whether you’re a confused kitty who doesn’t understand why you’re supposed to stay off the couch, a cat who’s furious because the new puppy ate your catnip stash, or a freaked-out feral who wants to return to the wild, Sparkle has the wise — and often hilarious — answers for your woes. And who knows? Humans who read it (with your permission, of course) may even learn something new about the way we behave.

Interview with Sparkle the Cat

On Dear Sparkle

Thanks for the interview, Sparkle. Can you tell us why you wrote your book?

There are loads of so-called cat experts out there, but they all have one big lack: they are not cats! Who better to dole out cat advice than an actual cat? That’s why I began my advice column, and eventually why I started to put my advice into book form. Now, when a cat has a problem, they have someone to go to who actually gets them.

Which part of the book was the hardest to write?

Originally, I was going to put out my latest book on a micro-publishing imprint, with just 36 advice columns, but when I got a book contract with Adams Media, they asked for 70! So I had to sit down and do a bunch more! That was probably the hardest part.

Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

There is for humans who read the book: it shows them the cat’s perspective on a lot of complaints they think they have about their feline friends. Although they may be amused by a lot of the book, they also get to view the world through their cats’ eyes.

On Books in General

What was one of your favorite books as a kitten?

I found Cat Massage to be quite tasty!

What is your favorite book as an adult?

I actually enjoy the Warriors book series by Erin Hunter a lot! I’ve reviewed many of the books on my blog. For cat care, one of my all time favorites is What’s Up With My Cat? By Dr. Bruce Fogle. It’s like a first aid guide in book form for cats, and uses flow charts so you can see if your cat’s illness can be taken care of at home, or if you need to take her to a vet. It’s currently out of print, but I’m pretty sure you can get it online from an Amazon reseller.

What are you reading now?

I actually just finished the latest Warriors book, Night Whispers. It’s the third book in the fourth series – if you are new to these books, you really need to start from the beginning. They’re serial novels for tween humans about feral cats that form clans in the forest and live by the “Warrior Code.” I think they are much more interesting than books about vampires and such.

On Writing

Do you remember when the writing bug hit?

You mean there’s a writing bug? I’ve seen crickets in the house, and moths, and the occasional beetle, but I’ve never caught a writing bug. Are they tasty?

Besides books, what else do you write? Do you write for publications?

I blog pretty much daily. Other than that, I haven’t written any magazine articles – yet – but my human occasionally writes for Cat Fancy and several annual publications that Cat Fancy’s publishers put out.

Do you have a writing tip you’d like to share?

If a cat can write, what is holding back you humans?

On Family and Home:

Would you like to tell us about your home life? Where you live? Family? Pets?

I live with my human, her boyfriend, two other cats and (eeccch) a dog. I blame my human’s boyfriend for the dog. We live in a pretty nice, vintage Bavarian-style house in Los Angeles. The boyfriend is a musician, and my human, who is an editor, writer and photographer, works in my home office. She is also my employee.

Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

My home office, of course. At least that is where the laptop always is. Plus there’s a great floor heater to lie near.

What do you do to get away from it all?

Stalk crickets or moths – they make great treats, you know! Or if I really want to get away from it all – like if my human is annoying me – I crawl under the bed.

On Childhood (Kittenhood?):

Were you the kind of child who always had a book in her/his hand?

Well, I was not exactly bookish. Although I did like to bat pens around an awful lot.

Can you remember your favorite book?

I’d have to go into the library room and look, but whichever one has the most teeth marks I’d say was my favorite.

Do you remember writing stories when you were a child?

I am more of a non-fiction type of kitty. I never made up stories, even to cover up when I supposedly “misbehaved.”

On Book Promotion:

What was the first thing you did as far as promoting your book?

Wrote about it on my blog and Twitter account, of course! I’ve been doing that since before I got the book contract.

Are you familiar with the social networks and do you actively participate?

I have been involved in social networking for over half my life; i.e. since 2005. I started on a site called Friendster, then moved over to MySpace and then Twitter and Facebook. My Twitter and Facebook profiles are pretty healthy – I have nearly 2,500 Twitter followers (I am @sparklecat there), and my Facebook page is closing in on 2,000 members (http://www.facebook.com/sparklecatfans).

How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?

I wouldn’t know, since I have only been doing it for three years. In those three years, however, I have noticed that it seems to rely more on social networking and niche social networking sites than it did just a couple of years ago!

On Book Publishing

What is the most frustrating part of being an author?

Being pulled away from a good nap or play session to work!

What is the most rewarding?

Not being called a “freeloader” by my human, since I actually do help pay my way in this house (unlike the other two cats here).

How do you think book publishing has changed over the years?

I let my human deal with that end of things, so honestly, I don’t know. But it seems like a number of other kitties have learned how to micro-publish or self-publish on their own, without the need for a POD company like iUniverse or Author House. I think that is a good thing because it is more profitable for them to do it on their own, without a middleman.

On Other Fun Stuff:

If you had one wish, what would that be?

That there would be no more kill shelters and that all kitties had a home. I even made a 4:22 mini-documentary about that for the One Day on Earth Project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1OKBRej20Y

If you could be anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would that place be?

Actually I really like my house! I don’t think I would rather be anywhere else. Besides, from what I can tell the whole outside world is a vet’s office. At least that’s where I wind up every time I leave the house.

Your book has just been awarded a Pulitzer. Who would you thank?

All the cats who wrote to me for advice, of course!

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Aiken Brown, SON OF A SOLDIER

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Miri Leshem-Pelly, SCRIBBLE & AUTHOR

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Bacon Press Books

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T.M. Wallace, WINTERGARDEN

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Mary Lawlor, FIGHTER PILOT'S DAUGHTER

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Karen-Anne Stewart, ASH TO STEELE

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Lauren Carr, Best-Selling Mystery Author of Mac Faraday, and Lovers in Crime, Mysteries

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach