What inspired you to write your book?
My blind cat NeeNee came into my life 13 years ago after being abandoned in a sealed cardboard box in front of an industrial building. Since then, she’s constantly teaching me a variety of life lessons. When I began a Facebook page for my two cats a few years ago, it blossomed into the concept for the book series!
About your Book:
This book is the first in “The Too True Adventures…” series featuring the fictional lives of some real life animals. As NeeNee, a blind cat, and her travel companion Taz explore their neighborhood under the loving guidance and supervision of one of their humans, they discover different people and animals who vary in many ways – young, old, disabled, able bodied, single, married, different nationalities, religions, more. The lesson they learn along the way is that their own disabilities don’t slow them down and that all of those differences help make the world a wonderful place – what matters is to keep trying, kindness, and love.
Book Genre: Juvenile Fiction
What formats are your books in
Both eBook and Print
How do you see writing a book in the Pet Genre as different from writing other genres of books?
It depends… I believe that if a writer has the talent, they have a gift for writing a certain genre. James Patterson probably wouldn’t be as great in a genre than he typically writes. I think that the pet genre, especially juvenile fiction, takes a playful sense of imagination.
Advice to someone that is thinking about or currently working on a pet book
If you’re writing fiction, be imaginative and playful. If it’s an informational book, get your facts correct – people could be relying on you and making decisions for their pet based on what you write. Beyond that, if you feel like this is something that you’re truly meant to accomplish, realize that it’s A LOT of work and takes persistence over the long haul!
How did you decide how to publish your book and where is it published through:
The publishing industry has changed drastically over the past decade with the introduction of self-publishing. The big publishers don’t take a chance on new authors any more because they don’t have to… They wait for them to prove out in the indy market. I did a lot of research and went with createspace.com Their prices were good, royalties were better than most, and they had really good distribution options. In the end, they also printed a good quality edition of my book. Those are all things to consider.
The book is available immediately through createspace at the moment and will available through all Amazon sites in one week, all brick and mortar stores in 6-8 weeks.
Author Bio:
I was born in California and grew up in the magnificent Eastern Sierra Mountains in the towns of June Lake and Bishop. Skiing, riding horses, friends, little league, and other activities with my family and friends are all part of my memories. In other words, I had one of those abnormally normal childhoods.
For my ninth birthday, my mother gave me my first cat, a Siamese kitten that I named Pandi (I thought that she looked like a panda bear in reverse!). Since then, I’ve always had cats but there has also been cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, rabbits, chickens, and dogs. I even worked as a horse trainer for a while after I graduated from high school.
Just before my 13th birthday, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I can still remember my doctor telling me that if I stayed healthy for ten years, there would be a cure. That deadline has long since passed and I still hope to see the day when myself and millions of others can be free of this disease.
I love to travel and some day, I want to get my private pilot’s license as well as do a lot more traveling around North American and hopefully to Australia, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy, England and more.
There has always been something creative going on in my life. I had a brief singing career with some success overseas but I have always written, whether it was stories for children in my life or a journal just for my own eyes. This book series is the manifestation of a feeling that I have had since I was very young, that I was meant to do something in my life that would reach beyond me.
I was fortunate in my childhood and teen years to grow up in a wonderful area and to be one of those kids that was able to just sort of fit in everywhere. I had friends that were considered geeks, nerds, jocks, and more. Our school was a safe haven for us to simply grow up without bullying but with tons of support from teachers and friends. My mother died from cancer during my senior year of high school and I can still remember the overwhelming support that came from so many areas.
Today, growing up seems to be a lot more complicated and kids have to deal with everything from drugs to bullying and just not feeling accepted in general. Part of the goal of “The Too True Adventures…” series is to teach children that disabilities don’t have to stop you and that diversity makes the world around us a better place! Whether we realize it or not, we’re all different and the day that we understand that and learn to value it, the world will be a much better place.
Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link to Book for sale via other sites
Your Social Media Links
http://www.facebook.com/tootrueadventures
http://twitter.com/TinaParkhurst
