I’m not sure exactly what Balto did to deserve a squishing, but Samantha is thoroughly enjoying his company today. If you have read my book, you’ll know this cat as Miss Fatty Cat. She loves to give the other cats in the house a good thawumping now and then. All of the characters in “Why Kimba Saved The World” are based on real people or animals from my life (that’s Tabitha, aka Slinky, hiding in the box). Most book characters are more fictional than real. I have several other books on their way to publication that involve fairies, a princess and a dragon, and ghosts. But when I began the Cats in the Mirror series, every character evolved from the personalities around me. Maybe it was the constant presence of one cat or another while I was writing. Sam was usually snoring loudly from under a sofa nearby. Kimba liked to sleep on the window ledge — just out of reach. With that much feline energy around me, it’s no wonder they all ended up in my book. Samantha and Tabitha will each get their own chance to shine later in the series (book three is titled “The Revenge of Miss Fatty Cat”), but for today they are just enjoying hanging out in my office…and cuddling with Balto.