Tag Archives: Cat Fancier’s

Ozark Mountain Cat Fancier’s Event

With the biggest turnout of guests that any of the regular vendors could remember, this weekend’s Ozark Mountain Cat Fancier’s Event in Joplin, Missouri, was a huge success. I’m so glad this was the year I had a booth there!

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The guests and the owners of the cats entered into the show all loved the Cats in the Mirror books and several left with a full set. The title “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge” got lots of attention, and I heard story after story of much loved fat cats along the way.

Kimba and Hiro thought they could make it in the household pet category. Maybe next year.

Kimba and Hiro thought they could make it in the household pet category. Maybe next year.

There was time before the public arrived each day to tour around and see all of the beautiful cats being prepared for their show time. Any time someone suggested that I should have brought one of mine, I had visions of those cartoon cats with their claws stuck in the ceiling. I love my fur babies, but none of them care to be brushed much less have Q-tips in their ears and eyes.

Most of the owners had manicure and prep stations like this. Those were some patient cats.

Most of the owners had manicure and prep stations like this. Those were some patient cats.

This friend had her back to me all day. Love the hammock!

This friend had her back to me all day. Love the hammock!

On my side of the hall, Maine Coons were everywhere. Now I don’t mean ones like Buddy and others I have seen over the years. These were some massive cats! If I understood it correctly, they were not even full grown. Yikes!

This is Rosepetals Osage Touch of Honey from Nevada, Missouri.

This is Rose Petals Osage Touch of Honey from Nevada, Missouri.

Right across from me were the Rose Petals Maine Coon Cats who are “raised lovingly underfoot.” I couldn’t see much of the show, but I hope they did well. Karen Rose went home with the whole series of books, so she is clearly a wise woman who appreciates great literature. There were also some gorgeous Bengal cats who looked like they should be prowling the jungle somewhere far away.

This is Asterisk and Aspen from Ramatut Bengals. Their faces looks just like our new tabby cat, but then it's all wild and spotted from there on.

This is Asterisk and Aspen from Ramatut Bengals. Their faces looks just like our new tabby cat, but then it’s all wild and spotted from there on.

I wasn’t the only author there. Jerome Tonneson has a beautiful book about his cat Buttercup and I saw copies in lots of hands. We didn’t have much time to chat, but they look adorable. Check them out at amazon.com and Jerome’s web site.

Kimba and Hiro checked out the Buttercup books before the show on Sunday.

Kimba and Hiro investigated the Buttercup books before the show on Sunday.

Main Street Pet Care was on hand for information and advice.

Main Street Pet Care was on hand for information and advice.

And the local pet rescue group made their presence felt for those of us who have never had to pay more than an adoption fee for a cat.

And the local pet rescue group made their presence felt for those of us who have never had to pay more than an adoption fee for a cat.

I’m so glad they had a successful show and the cats got to strut their stuff. It was definitely a new experience for me. I’m grateful that there are folks out there willing to pay $850 for the exact cat companion they want, but I’m also grateful for people like me that tend to get them off the streets instead. It was certainly a venue full of people who appreciated cats in all of their furry (and not so furry) delightfulness. I hope it fits into our schedule to attend again next year. It certainly gave me the motivation to get moving on the next books in the series!

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That’s a lot of fancy cats!

Best Selling Book!

Exciting news to share: “Vacation Hiro” is now an amazon.com best selling book! Through a BookBub advertisement of the special 99 cent price on Book 2 in the Cats in the Mirror series, almost 400 copies of “Vacation Hiro” were sold over a three day period. This bumped it up above all the other children’s cat books listed on amazon.com (including the Warrior series and Pete the Cat) and held it there for a few days.

Top Sales Cat Ebook Page

For any other writers who may have considered placing an ad with BookBub, I highly recommend it. When I did a free promotion for “Why Kimba Saved The World” back in April, 14,000 copies were picked up. Their children’s list is one of the smaller ones, so results can be even better if you are marketing an adult book. If your goal is new readers, especially for a series of books, these ads are gold–and a bit hard to get. Make sure you request the ad exactly 30 days before you want to run it. You can’t do it sooner, but if you are even a day later the slots will be filled up. And one rejection doesn’t mean you won’t be accepted the next time. Check out their web site for advice and requirements.

I also want to take a moment to thank two bloggers for their kind reviews of “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge” this week. Stephanie at Cover2CoverBlog said: “As always, Dendler did a wonderful job making the cats very cat-like as well as characters in this grand story. I really like the mix of the sci-fi genre with a cast of cats–it makes for an interesting and playful plot every time.” And Erik at This Kid Reviews Books said: “This is a really well done book. I think that it is pretty cool, in the sense of space-traveling cats with technology that surpasses ours. Plus, the title made me laugh out loud. The series is good, and consistent. I like that the characters’ have just the right amount of “maturing” throughout each book. Kimba and Hiro are nice characters that you care for, and you even understand how Miss Fatty Cat feels. Ms. Dendler really helps you get into the head of the characters! She has written a good, unique book!” He has a devoted and supportive following, so I’m always grateful when he shares my books with them.

To return that type of favor on a universal level, I want to share a fantastic book that I just finished: “The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee.” I won an Advanced Reader copy of this book from Goodreads, and it was absolutely delightful and filled with literal laugh-out-loud moments. I highly recommend this for everyone, even though it is intended for a young YA audience. Teenagers will miss things that adults will find even funnier. Kind of like watching the Shrek movies with a child. Candice is quirky and troubled and sees the world in a frank and hilarious light. Here’s a more series tidbit from the book to give you an idea of the style and voice. Candice is in a fast food restaurant.

“I looked at my hamburger, which bore no resemblance to the picture over the counter. That burger was gorgeous. It was a pin-up burger. It gleamed. The lettuce had sparkles of fresh, pure water. The meat was succulent. What sat on my plate was thin, pale, and resembled something you might stand on when crossing a farmer’s field. I took a fry and thought about life’s unfairness. They promise you the world (or in this case a pin-up burger), and you end up with poop. This was profound, even if I had no idea who ‘they’ were. I wondered if profound thoughts happened often when you hit thirteen.”

Highly Recommend!

This afternoon I’m heading off to the Cat Fancier’s Show in Joplin, Missouri, to share my books. Let’s hope they like rescue mutt cats as well as pedigreed show cats. More on that, some big news, and a new member of the Cats in the Mirror family who adopted us this week in my next blog. Yes, another cat. We are pretty sure she was sent to us specifically. That’s how it works, you know.