Comment for a Cause! (from Liz Carlyle and Harper Collins)
Harper Collins reached their total of $3,000 for Liz Carlyle’s charity of choice. Thanks to everyone who commented. The kitties thank you, too.
Liz Carlyle is taking over the blog for today – for a very good cause. In honor of her new release, One Touch of Scandal, Harper Collins will donate one dollar to Cat Angels for every comment made here and at other Romance land blogs up to a total of $3,000. There’s never been a better reason to leave a comment! (Pictured are Liz’s two rescue kitties, Pelham and Mary. Aren’t they lovely?)
Thank you all for helping bankrupt Harper Collins on behalf of Cat Angels! My regular readers know that I just love to include animals in my novels—usually cats, but occasionally dogs. From the outset, however, I knew that Lord Ruthveyn—my hunky hero in One Touch of Scandal—would be unequivocally a cat-person. After all, he’s dark, sleek, elegant, and a little mysterious—and a lot stubborn. But what kind of cat? A black cat? Too traditional. A calico? No, too cheerful. So I pondered it . . .
Meanwhile, just before digging into OToS n a big way, I bought a new chair—my husband calls it the Pelham Chair. For weeks our cat Pelham had taken to the new habit of gazing longingly at me when I’d sit in my “work chair” tapping away on my new MacBook. They were the same elegant, silvery color, so maybe that had something to do with it? It was a mystery, as is so much of a life lived with cats. In any case, I would respond by patting the chair arm invitingly—no, ecstatically—because this was a wonderful step in Pel’s development.
You see, Pelham is a feral cat who, as a half-grown kitten, was trapped by the dogcatcher and deposited in a kill-shelter. By the time we rescued him and his sister at about four months of age, they were already set in their slightly insecure feral ways. Pel is tame and gentle now, but like most ferals, he can still be painfully tentative; ever a tad uncertain of his welcome. So even though I slowly realized what he was asking, I had to pat and cajole and when finally, finally I could persuade him that yes, it was fine to come up, he’d leap—only to find he couldn’t get his claws into the leather quite securely enough.
Claws are a paramount security issue for a feral cat—well, to any cat, really—and sliding off that red leather chair was an unbearable indignity for so elegant a gentleman. So I simply went out and bought a new chair. Me, the unabashedly house-proud, the woman without a mismatched thread or piece of modern furniture in her house, brought home a hideously ugly, extra-wide reclining chair with fat, steroidal arms and deep, squishy upholstery. It was going to be my Cat-Catching Chair.
I never knew a cat’s face could light up, but Pelham was utterly in alt. He was out of hiding and clambering up before the delivery truck was out of the driveway. He just knewthe ugly chair was his. And every day thereafter, Pelham sat with me while I wrote—sometimes on the arm, sometimes on the back, and sometimes tucked in the seat beside me, which was previously unheard of for Pelham. And when I came at last to the point where I had to decide on Lord Ruthveyn’s cat, Pelham put his paw on my arm and said, “Me?”
Well, what he said was, “Feed me,” because it was half past seven in the evening—but that’s not how it sounded to me at the time. Then I looked down to see that Pelham’s sister Mary, who is even more reserved, was gazing up at me from the floor, looking longingly at the ugly chair, and wondering . . .
And I decided then and there that Lord Ruthveyn would have two cats—shy, elegant silver tabbies who disdained much of humanity, but who longed to be with their One Special Person. I’m proud to be Pelham’s One Special Person—and after all these years of living in a house with me instead of a dumpster in an alley—Pel seems finally to have learned that I—and my big ugly chair—will always, always have room for him.
So, are you somebody’s One Special Person? And did he or she come from a shelter? A dumpster? The side of a busy highway? Or by some more conventional means? A dog or a cat or something more exotic? Tell us who, and tell us how you met.
-Liz Carlyle
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I very much appreciated last year’s “”Comment for a Cause”” with Liz Carlyle, sponsored by Harper Collins and hosted by AAR. Not only did I enjoy reading all the comments – and posting my own – I had never read Liz Carlyle before! After reading about the book featuring Lord Ruthven and his cats, I went out and ordered the book. I also bought just about every one of Liz Carlyle’s backlist, and her next book is already pre-ordered! Can’t wait to read it.
Thasnks again!
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I don’t have a cat, being a dog person, by my sister-in-law has a big old fat cat who usually stays in her bedroom when we visit. Recently, she brought the cat out, holding it close to her body. I looked at the cat, and said in a baby-like voice, “”Oh, look at you, you’re so fat””. Immediately, the cat hissed at me and tried to bat my hand away with her paw. Hm, maybe she really does understand what people say…lol.
This is a cause very close to my heart. What an awesome way to help.
This is a great cause, and I love Liz’s books – keep up the great work!
I was just doing my morning writing exercise, and I decided to make it about my cats, who give me joy every single day. They reach lovingly and longingly for me, they snuggle with me, and they follow me around. Thank you for doing this wonderful donation!
chairs are only a staleness after a perennial difficult day of work
recliner chairs are only a moldiness after a retentive soured day of create
Such beautiful babies! I have had a bunch of “”rescue”” cats of my own, many of them feral. After seven years, I am still waiting for Streaky (the Super-Cat) to get over it. I adopted him when he was about 2 months old but he has never really become a people cat. His sister, Abbey, did jump onto Mom’s lap from the floor a few weeks ago! She has always been easier to handle.
I lost my eldest (age 17) kitty a few weeks ago when she went into kidney failure that we discovered too late. She was a stray at the school where I work. She had a prolapsed iris and was blind in her left eye, but good food and medicine saved her eyesight. Scraps was a Siamese cross who tried to rule my life, and it would have been tragic if she had lost one of those beautiful blue eyes as a kitten. (Streaky is very sad, too.)
I’m a cat lover. We have 3 and the third one was rescued. They make the best companions and are nice to snuggle with on a cold winter night. Keep up the great work –those who rescue our dear friends.
Obviously, Avon needs to start putting cats on their Romance covers instead of wasting all that ink on men.
My two sassy rescue cats thank you for this.
I have 3 rescue kitties. My life wouldn’t be the same without them.
Aren’t they cute? http://www.tremendousblondette.net/blog/2009/10/29/happy-national-cat-day-2009/
What a fantastic cause. I recently lost my beloved felines but I hope to open my home to a new one soon.. as soon as I teach my dog they are not to be chased on top of tables and counters. ;)
I love cats! I helped deliver my Lucky and bottle fed her for six weeks.
Every one of my many, many cats and our dog are all rescues.
Very worthy cause.
My cat, Roarke, is a rescue cat. I adopted him from a shelter about 13 months ago. He’s clingy and thinks he’s my baby, but I absolutely adore him and he’s spoiled rotten :)
My rescue cat Karma is behind you 100% Thanks!
I’m with Arielle. But as much as cats send me running, my oldest daughter adores them. So pass the kleenex and chip in for me.
Great cause, don’t know what I would do without my JicJac =)
I don’t even like cats. Like at all. But why pass up helping anything?
What a great cause and how good to hear about Dickens, Shadow, Batman Bob, Greyson, ‘My pound cat’, Dashiell Hammett, Aspen Leif, Scribbles the Princess, Cupcake, Lescaut, Mélanie, Oreste Carotino and all the other fab kitties named here!
I don’t have a kitty now, but i had one for years and i still mourn his passing although it was years ago. This is for him. : )
This is really awesome. Almost all of my animals have come from a shelter and Bella my kitty just joined our home as an abandoned baby who is now healthy, happy and very loved (even by her doggy siblings)
Very clever way to help promote as well as help animals in need. Simply Awesome! Include a 100 pennies from moi.
What they said goes double for me.
Cats is the best!
Helping animals is the most worthy cause.
I’m so glad to see all these people come together for a good cause. I have a 15 year old named Duchess, she was a little ball of fur when I adopted her. All animals are so loving. Thanks for helping them
My lil guy Grayson came to me via my mom who was working at the hospital. There is a group of cats that live back there and some of the nurses leave food for them. One evening a little gray kitten wondered over to my mom and sat on her foot. When she went to leave he followed her across the street and right into the ER doors. He wasn’t one of the older cats so mom decided he needed a home since it was November and it was getting cold. Grayson has been with me for just about a year now and is the most loving cat in the world. He is sitting on my lap as i type and “”helping””. The vet said he was in good shape and quite possibly an indoor cat that someone had dumped, which makes me sad but i am so thankful to have my lil boy!
One more dollar for the kittehs!
we have a 6 year old cat – smokey gray with white feet (he was initially named Boots, but when we brought him home he was re-Christianed Batman Bob – it’s my husband’s fault!) and a chocolate lab, almost 4 years old named Turbo Todd (again – the hubs!) Batman was originally my grandparents’ cat, but after a biting/scratching incident of a young cousin it was deemed he was going to be a barn cat, we rescued him from his outdoor demise and he’s showed his thanks for the past five years by shedding, puking and curling up all over us/our house/clean laundry :) he also tolerates the dog’s drool and the toddler’s “”pats”” and kisses when he has to ;)
I’ve had cats all my life. love them. right now, i have one, Aspen Leif. we got him from our landscaper in Colorado hence Aspen and leaf spelled Leif. The another cat that Aspen joined in our household was Amberleigh — we thought the names sort of matched! who knows our thought process, then. thanks Liz and HC for this worthy cause.
Cat’s rock.
My pound cat and I thank you for doing this.
Here’s one for the kittehs!
Love this cause. Am allergic to lots of cats so don’t have any but am appreciative of them. Thanks HarperCollins and Liz!
What a great post and fantastic cause! My cat, Cupcake, who I rescued about a year and a half ago from the ASPCA, will be so proud :) She’s still skittish, but she shows her affection and pride in her own special way haha
What a wonderful post and a wonderful cause! I have two cats, both born feral. Lescaut was rescued early and bottle fed with his siblings by a kind vet tech before I adopted him. He’s extraordinarily mellow and friendly. Mélanie was kicked by a horse at five months and taken to my vet by a kindly person. She had a broken jaw and couldn’t walk properly. My vet nursed her back to health, and I adopted her (I first saw her when I was at the vet’s with an ill older cat). They were worried Mélanie would never be too good with people, but she’s become very friendly. She’s still a bit more skittery than Lescaut and startled by loud noises, but she’s quite cuddly. She and Lescaut groom each other and sleep curled up together. I’ve never had two cats who get along so well (and they also both get along with Gemma, my lhasa apso/poodle mix).
Our rescued cat, Scribbles, is a little princess.
I’ve only ever had dogs: Killer, Mugs, Ditto, Pansy, Patches, and Lucy who are all gone. Juno is two years old and would love to have a Cat–she’s come nose to nose with neighborhood cats on walks. All my dogs have been rescues.