From Tiny Inspiration to Tiny Success

I have been living in a whirlwind of dirty diapers, laundry and baby snuggles. Despite my busy days full of caring for baby, I have managed to publish the second book in the Odie the Stray Kitten Series, and much has happened to the first book Odie the Stray Kitten.

While the real Odie's days are filled with lounging in the sunshine with Bandit, waiting for me to feed him breakfast, and occasionally chasing the fleeting mouse or bird, his story has been busy.

In the beginning, I simply wanted to write a children's story that was close to my heart. It has slowly transitioned from the inspiration of a tiny animal into a tiny success. It is by no means nationally recognized and is still buried in the millions on Amazon's Top Sellers Lists. But it has received some recognition that I am so very grateful for and also proud of.

• Odie the Stray Kitten received The Children's Literary Classics' Seal of Approval and was promoted by the organization at The Chicago Printer's Row Lit Fest. 
• Odie the Stray Kitten won a 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Award for the Animals/Pets category and was a finalist in the Children's Picture Book category.      
• It also received good reviews from Red City Review, The Children's Book Review, Readers' Favorite and Kabuki Reads. 

My author website (www.kristenmott.com) is now up and running, so check back often as I will frequently be posting updates on the books, reviews and events.  Stay tuned for updates on the newest addition to the Odie the Stray Kitten Series, Odie's Best Friend.

Odie's Backstory: Difficulties of Adopting Stray Animals

There is a deeper backstory to the day I found Odie, more than what I described in Odie the Stray Kitten. Some information was just not relevant to the children's story but it could be significant for someone taking in a stray animal.

I first heard Odie in the barn that morning, behind the pile of hay. But it sounded more like a scream than a cry. It sounded like he was in pain and I thought for sure he was diseased, infested, or dying of something. He was screaming so loudly that it spooked the horses. My first thought was "I can't keep a cat that scares my horses."

He came out from behind the hay pile and was in fact very friendly. But he still continued to scream. He let me pet him, my other cat Bandit was curious and friendly with him. Just like in the book, I brought Odie some food and left the cat carrier open on the ground. He walked right in without any pushing.

I had to call off work. And I never took personal days. I didn't make up an excuse, I told my boss exactly why I wouldn't be in that day. He allowed it, and if he hadn't, too bad. I was taking this poor kitten to the vet either way. I called around to local animal hospitals and found one with an opening that morning. I loaded Odie up and off we went in the big blue truck.

He truly did purr the whole time he was at the vet's office. He purred so much that the vet had trouble hearing his heart. The vet guessed him to be about 16 weeks old. He was tested for feline leukemia (among other diseases) and I was told that if he was positive, he had to be an indoor cat because he could easily transfer the disease to other outdoor cats. That would have been a problem because my husband is very allergic to cats and we absolutely cannot have any furry indoor animals.

Odie turned out to be FeLV negative, and his diagnosis was "just cold and hungry." I knew I had to keep him. We stopped at a pet store on the way home so that I could pick up a few things for him: dry kitten food, wet food to help him gain some weight, a few extra bowls and a small litter box.

For this kitten I did several things that day that I typically do not do: I took a personal day from work and I spent a lot of money. But it had to be done and I don't regret it. Odie has grown up into a loyal, sweet, energetic barn cat and is always getting into trouble. He is now the main character of my first published indie children's book Odie the Stray Kitten and all of the future Odie Series books.

Each stray animal's story is different and adopting some strays can be more difficult than others. The ASPCA provides good information on how to go about adopting these animals into your family.

ASPCA: Stray and Feral Cats

This is the more complete version of Odie's story. As I have said before, the animals write the stories, I just edit them for children.

Odie in the Classroom

This past week I had my first experience reading Odie the Stray Kitten to an elementary school classroom, and I hope to make this a regular occurrence. I began by introducing myself and telling the students that I had been writing stories for a very long time. I started writing stories about animals when I was their age, as soon as I could write. And it has continued for over 20 years. I spoke about the real Odie and how his life inspired me to write this particular story and that I felt it was one of the best I had written. It was the first story I had turned into a book.

The students had recently been working on their writing, especially editing and revising. So I talked about how many times I had to edit and revise the story and about how the biggest revision was the perspective of the story. Before I began reading the book, I asked them to think about who was telling the story. Of course I was the one reading it, but I wanted them to understand whose words were on the pages. Changing the perspective from third to first person (Odie is the one telling the story) was by far the biggest revision of the book.

I read the book to the class and it seemed to almost take on a whole new life as I read it to a room of seven and eight year-olds. The students were genuinely interested in what happened to Odie and they were captivated by the illustrations.

I gave them time to ask me questions, some of which were obscure, but still relevant. Then I showed them a poster board I had created with pictures of the real Odie and the other characters from the book. I felt like the students enjoyed this part of my presentation the most. This was the next best thing to having the real Odie in the classroom (Odie would not be a fan of that). This way the children could see the real animals and hopefully it helped them to realize how animals do have stories to tell. For me, the animals write the stories, I just edit them for children.

This was a very positive first experience taking the book to the classroom. Later that evening I received a message from the teacher telling me that she already had a parent comment on how much her child enjoyed the book and my presentation in the classroom. This meant more to me than anything. If my writing can inspire one child to begin writing his or her own stories or to become more aware of animal welfare, then I have done my job with this book.

Looking Forward

The year 2013 has come and gone and I am looking ahead to what is in store for 2014. Last year was a big year. In January, the real Odie showed up in our horse barn as just a small kitten, well you know the story. I wrote his story in the spring and began the process of publishing the book over the summer. The process was completed and Odie the Stray Kitten was first published on Halloween.

Again we are now in the dead of winter with record arctic temperatures and snowfall. But we are also in a new year, one to be filled with more writing and creating for The Odie Series. As I posted in my last blog entry, production has started on the second installment of the series, a book that will focus on the life of Bandit, Odie's best friend.

As I continue on with this endeavor I just want to again thank everyone for their support for the book and my continued pursuit of writing animal stories for children.

Beginning the Next Big Adventure

Our son has finally arrived and left me with little time to keep up with blog posts. But I am back in action now and ready to report on what is happening next in The Odie Series of children's books.

I am so proud to say that Odie the Stray Kitten has been well received by friends, family, strangers, fans and their children, which encourages me to continue forward with the series. I am so appreciative of the support I have received through this whole process. I am continuing to promote the book through a Facebook business page and in the process of setting up readings and signings through local libraries. A full website is in development as well as a few other marketing tools.

Now on to the more exciting news. The next installment of the series is about to begin production! The next book will focus more on the story of Odie's best friend Bandit and how he came to live on our farm. That's all for now, but there will soon be many more of Odie and Bandit's adventures to share.

   

Why Children Appreciate the Animal Stories

As I both nervously and calmly await the arrival of our little boy, I have again gone back to thinking about why certain stories stay with certain children. Why are they drawn to a certain book and request that it be read to them over and over again? And more recently, why are animals such a big part of children's literature? Not only are they a part of the stories, they are often the main focus and are given many human characteristics and qualities.

I have come up with three reasons why I believe children appreciate and relate to animal stories more than most adults.

1. Animals provide some type of connection. Maybe the child has not yet felt connected to a person in their young life (other than Mom and Dad or siblings). Children can recognize the spirit of animals and can perceive an animal's energy and can connect to that sometimes more so than with another person. Not only that, but the stories can provide the child with a connection to the real animals of the world as well.  

2. Animals are more imaginative. It is easy to think about a child in a story doing chores, going to school, making friends. This is not new or original in a child's mind. These are things that they themselves do. But when an animal is accomplishing these tasks in a story, it becomes more imaginative and vivid for the child. What child doesn't want to imagine a raccoon learning to cook or a frog getting married?

3. Animals are magical. And it's not just those magic dragons of faraway lands. Children can appreciate animals more so than the average adult. I almost equate it to the whimsical nature of a child's perception of Christmas. As we grow older, we lose the magic of the holidays and become overwhelmed with reality. Some of this is by our own doing, allowing the world to beat a sense of monotony into us. Some of it just happens by accident as we grow up and transition into the real world. As adults we cannot believe in the human characteristics of animals and therefore we cannot fully believe in the stories the way children can.

There is by no means any scientific evidence behind any of these points. It is simply my musings on why children can appreciate animal stories more so than the average adult. Looking back on my own childhood, I can remember some of the books that I liked as a child. And most of them happened to be about animals:

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff (1985)
Clifford the Big Red Dog (Series) by Norman Bridwell (1963)
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister (1992)
Corduroy by Don Freeman (1968)

Animal stories also have staying power. All four of the books I listed above are on the shelf in my son's nursery, just waiting to be read to the next generation and hopefully instilling an even deeper connection to the real animals of the world. And I want to use this very important connection to the animals in the stories and books that I create for children.

Animal Benefits from Marketing

Now that the book is actually a live title, the tougher work for me begins: marketing. Writing and editing was the easier part. Not easy, but easier. I would like to see this book and its following series reach a wider juvenile audience, becoming recognized more than just locally. But I would like to mention that I have been overwhelmed by the support I have felt from friends and family the last few weeks and I thank you all for your wonderful responses.

Besides creating a Facebook page for the book/series, I donated my first autographed copy to the silent auction for Tinsel & Tails Holiday Petacular, an event benefiting the Humane Society for Hamilton County. I can't think of a better opportunity to both help animals in need and to get the book out there. After all, it is a story that I hope encourages a younger generation to take an interest in the needs of stray and rescue animals, an issue very close to my heart.

Humane Society for Hamilton County

Tinsel & Tails Holiday Petacular