The kitten is mental...(updated)

I would just like to say the kitten is mental. Our new baby is like a slippery, fully inflated but unsecured balloon. She gets comfy, snoozes and then POW she's off like a rubber rocket, whizzing around and EVERYTHING is a potential toy. Our last cat had been a stray and while very beautiful and elegant, as a kitten was timid, nervous and neurotic. Uneous by comparison is full-on, unrestrained, nuts. Its fun to watch and i have to say its hard not to write a picture book based around her. I totally get why cats force people to write picture books about them. They are the embodiment of an entertaining plot. However, as so many people have gone before me, I will try to resist (but I can't promise I will be successful!).

BTW the dog is no longer compelled to eat the kitten but feels obliged to give chase whenever possible. The Cat/Dog book says not to let this happen but Uneous just eggs the poor dog on and he's stupid enough to fall in with her cunning plans. Suffice to say Robbie gets a lot more exercise than he used to and like a greyhound at the races never catches his quarry. In an interesting plot twist, Robbie upended Uneous's food bowl this morning. Apparently food trumps all as both stood quietly side by side hoovering up as many kitten biccies as they could manage.

As regular readers will know last year had more than its fair share of disappointments but so far 2009 is doing its best to be a year of surprises. I don't mind surprises as long as they are not nasty ones. I've had the surprise of sitting down and writing 5 new short stories in quick succession after a short story drought of more than a year (maybe more than 2). I had the very pleasant surprise of having The Were-Nana picked for broadcast on the radio. I was surprised to find The Were-Nana turning up on the shelves of Australian libraries. And i think one of my new short stories might have been accepted for publication - fingers crossed. Colour me pleased.

Squeeeeee - another surprise! An enormous thank you to the Storytime team at Radio New Zealand. A CD with the broadcast reading of my book has just arrived in the post. Yaay!! I love it.

Avoiding that enormous pile of...dirty laundry

Just back from vacationing with the family and I'm happy to say there is no better way to avoid that enormous pile of dirty laundry than by blogging. We got to catch up with my SO's family while we were away, visit a bunch of friends and take a nostalgia trip to the suburb my husband grew up in. Eastbourne in Wellington is little changed from all those years ago. Its character and charm have been preserved and I felt a little jealous of my SO's idyllic childhood by the sea and the fact that he does not have to rely completely on his memory to relive some of his childhood exploits.

In personal book news - while I was delighted in 2008 to have two books come out (The Were-Nana and Jack the Viking, just in case, by some remote chance, you couldn't recall what they were) and found the teaching and author visit experience very positive and rewarding I had more than a few disappointments during the year and felt like I'd made little progress with my writing career. However one of my disappointments has happily turned out to be untrue. Scholastic Australia have indeed taken my picture book The Were-Nana. I came across this by accident when a google alert (yay google alerts!) advised a library in Queensland had ordered three copies. Following this info on the internet I subsequently discovered my book available on the Scholastic Australia website (Now if only the NZ public lending right for books extended to Australian libraries!). I'm thrilled that one of my books has officially crossed the Tasman. I know sometimes this kind of progress takes time and I must exercise my patience until it is as big and strong and strapping as Arnold Schwarzenegger. I can also report my SO and his able assistant - spy son - reconnoitered in a number of book shops on our travels and in all but one instance at least one if not both 2008 books were carried. I plan to cherish every little step in the right direction this year. And I hope to avoid any clompy great footfalls backwards - may they be a thing of the past.

the happy victim of books...

Karl Lagerfeld says 'Books are a hard-bound drug with no danger of an overdose. I am the happy victim of books.' Thanks to Gondal-Girl for the excellent quote (http://www.gondal-girl.blogspot.com/ via Rachael King's blog at http://www.soundofbutterflies.blogspot.com/ ).