Cats and San Francisco

Day 2 at the Cat Writers International Conference.  Things are going swimmingly but I can tell I'm ready to come home.  I only attended 1 out of 4 panel discussions today.  The first panel involved feline medical issues, which I don't write about. The second was similar.  I did attend the program on Shelter Issues and learned some interesting information.  For example,  consider the terms "kill" and "no-kill" shelters. When anyone hears the two terms of course they think, "Obviously no kill is better."  But what the SF shelter people pointed out is they are "Open Admission."  They take ANY animal at any time for any reason.  So they're getting dogs 1/2 crushed by semi's, feral cats, blind animals, and a host of others. They do the best they can and then some but can still receive negative press because they are not at "no-kill" shelter.

There was also discussion on what makes an animal "adoptable."  A lot of shelters categorize animals as "adoptable" or "unadoptable," but those terms are misleading.  It depends on the person. What is unadoptable to one person may be perfectly acceptable to another and we're doing animals a disservice to continue these categories.  So, lots of good information like that.

Then I missed the agent/editor panel which was unfortunate, as I would have liked to attend.  But the CFA (Cat Fanciers Association) International Cat Show is two miles away and a group of us had to leave early to take a cab there for our book signing.

I sold 4 books (so far, the conference is still going on) but that's far, far less than what I'd hoped to sell. I think it was a matter of cat material overload for attendees.  I market my book as a great gift book, especially with the holidays fast approaching.  But the Cat Show had cat toys, cat carriers, cat food, cat tree ornaments, cat socks, cat clothes, cat art, cat jewelry, cat sculpture, cat stationary, and a million other cat related products.  And like me, all vendors are of course thinking, "Hey, a cat show.  What a great place to sell my stuff!" But put all under one roof and it just becomes too much.  I think my book would do much better in a venue where maybe it was mainly dog or bird items (or whatever) and I was one of the few cat products.

I did spend some time with Dan Poynter, self-publishing and marketing guru, and got some GREAT advice for converting my books to audio at a highly discounted price.  So I'll act on that once I return home.

I was also fortunate enough to share a breakfast table with Shirley Rousseau Murphy, a well-known mystery writer of the Joe Grey, PI, feline mystery series.  I confessed to Shirley that I never had an interest in her books until I had to read one of them because I was a novel judge for this years award. And I LOVED it.  Great plot, great fun, and a very entertaining read.  I'm delighted to find a new series I enjoy AND have the added bonus of knowing the author behind the words.  Getting up early (we were two of the few people in the dining room at 6:30 AM) pays.

And finally, my workshop.  Huge success.  I'm extremely pleased with how it went.  As always, I managed to leave out a few key points, but such is the public speaking life.  I'd say about 40-50 people attended.  My ice-breaker, People Bingo, was fun (I had people doing jumping jacks and singing "I'm a little teapot,") and got us up out of our seats and talking.  This group can always be counted on for interaction, which makes my part much more relaxed.  One long-term exercise ended up a bust, which I'll try to remember to discuss in a later post.  I've got a 3 hour layover in Atlanta tomorrow and will need something to do to fill the time!

And that's it for now.  The awards banquet is tonight.  I won 2  "Certificate of Excellence" Awards for my humor stories so I'm actually competing against myself (and a few others) in the humor category for a Muse Medallion--the highest award bestowed by the organization.  (Blair's comment was "Gee, since you have two chances of winning you'll feel really, really bad if you lose, huh?" Thanks for the support, honey.) Winning a muse medallion would be nice because both the stories are in Lessons In Stalking and I could order award stickers to put on the cover--something which is supposed to increase book sales. 

Fingers crossed!

Dena is in San Francisco!

Actually, I'm right outside San Francisco in San Mateo, for the annual Cat/Dog Writers Conference.  I'm speaking this morning at  9 as the opening session on Networking.  I spent last night having stress dreams and waking up every 30 minutes to look at the clock and make sure I hadn't overslept. In my dreams, I lost my handouts, nobody showed up, I had the wrong location, it was supposed to be dressy but I was in sweatpants and couldn't find anyone to drive me back to the hotel to change clothes, got lost, etc.  A really fun night!

Right now it's 6:30 am and I'm sitting in the breakfast area of the hotel, which I suppose is "mood lit" but which in my opinion is pitch black.  A few minutes ago, a 70-year old woman took a tumble down two stairs and landed on her hands and knees.  Maybe they make it so dark in the hopes you won't notice that they're charging $8 for one egg.  Give me a break--I'll buy and raise my own chicken for that amount.

The flight in was uneventful.  A young girl in my aisle in her mid-twenties was flying for the first time so we chatted a bit during take-off and landing to calm her nerves. The best part was having a 3-hour layover in Cincinnati.  My best friend Trisha took off work and met me at the airport for an hour-long coffee and chat.  I hadn't realized I had that long a layover there and had e-mailed her last minute and wasn't sure if she would be able to meet me.  "No problem," she said.  "I informed my boss this morning I'd be taking lunch at 9am today and she was good with that."

Our Cat Writer's conference is held wherever the Cat Association holds its competition.  I am in heaven right now as the hotel is FILLED with cats and their owners.  And these are show cats...beautiful, well-behaved, well-trained cats.  People are riding up and down the elevators with carriers and it's all I can do not to grab a cat and run.  The shuttle from the airport to the hotel yesterday had 4 cats on it, two of which were PERSIAN KITTENS.  Oh my God, how cute were they??  Indescribable.  Big blue eyes in little white faces gazed out from the netting in the top of the carrier.  Just to die for.

I"m doing a book signing (along with a lot of other authors) at the cat show tomorrow.  They told us not to expect much and just bring 5-7 books.  It seems like the perfect place to sell cat books, but maybe owners are so focused on the show they don't shop?  We'll see.

Okay, time to start getting ready for the speech.  I bet I'll sleep better tonight. =)

New Picture: Love or Hate?

I've received mixed responses to the new picture I posted on this blog (look right).  So, out of a lack of anything really interesting to watch on TV, I decided to ask my blog readers (Hi Mom!) your preference of photo.  First we have Photo #1:

This is the photo I use everywhere - on my website, on the Lessons In Stalking website, bio pics for articles, etc.

This is Photo #2:

I've had people tell me they love it, and others indicated that while it's a nice photo, having me sitting at a desk creates a barrier between me and readers so it's not as friendly like as Photo #1.

And, just for fun, we'll include dark horse Photo #3:

So, if like me you too can find nothing good on TV, please take a moment to vote for your photo preference.  There is also a write-in Option of "No one cares and quit posting d--- pictures of yourself on the web."  The goal here is to have every viewpoint heard. 

I'll be anxiously awaiting the results as I comb through channels for a good Seinfeld rerun.

Dena

Decorating Diaries: The Problem With Contractors

After years (and years, and years...) of up-close and personal observation, I've come to a conclusion about why I get nervous inviting contractors into my home.  It's not because they don't do good work...we've been delighted with the quality of work we've received over the years. It's not because they're not pleasant...most contractors I've met are extremely polite and well-mannered.  No, the glaring problem that stands out across the board with all contractors is this: They Always Find Something More That's Wrong.

To wit, my heated flooring people are here today.  As I passed the pleasant man in the hallway he gave me a look that I can only describe as a mixture of disbelief and humor, mixed with a strong dash of sympathy.  "That ductwork you got under your house," he said, shaking his head slowly.  He paused for dramatic effect.  "You got yourself a mess under there."

"What do you mean?" I asked fearfully.  (I knew what was coming.  Contractors are always finding things wrong with our home).

"Shoot.  That ductwork is laying all over the ground and is tore up in lots of spots."

"Well, that would explain the lack of heat," I said, trying to laugh.

He didn't smile back.  "Shoot.  That explains a lot."

I can't even claim that he's just trying to make a buck off me.  He doesn't do ductwork and had no one to recommend for it.  I'm just left home to ponder that what I have under there is a mess.

Remember a few weeks ago when the contractor was here to touch up paint on the outside of the house?  That's how we discovered yellow jackets in the walls, gutters in disrepair, and rotting boards out back.  Frankly, I think I'm happier not knowing.  Just let me live in ignorant bliss and peace until the day comes when the whole house just falls down around my head and I'll deal with it then.

And for the record, here's the other thing I don't like about contractors.  They're always asking me questions for which I have no answers, making me feel stupid.  Today alone I was unable to answer:

• Are you doing a ceramic or rubber liner for your shower? (Don't know...)
• What size trim are you putting back up? (Don't know...)
• Are you planning on evening out that ledge before the liner goes in? (Don't know...)
• When are they laying the tile? (Wish I knew, but don't know...)
• What do you think of putting a bullnose in over this? (What the hell's a bullnose and how dare you speak to me using language like that in my own home.  And, by the way, don't know...)

Coincidentally, it is for the same reason that I flat out refuse to ever call our Road Runner High Speed Carrier when we're having problems or our e-mail goes down.  Instead, I call Blair.

"Internet's not working," I say.

"Call RoadRunner, " he says, shuffling papers in the background.

"I want you to do it," I say.

"I'm swamped here.  Can't you do it?"

"No, obviously I cannot and that's why I'm calling you."

Here's why I refuse. When I call they start asking questions like, "What operating system do you use?" and "Would that be with the TG-500 model series upgrade or are you using a broadbank thing-a-widgeee 2000?"  I just want to scream at them "I don't know!  I don't care!  Just fix the stupid Internet and leave me alone!"

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to peruse some bullnose trim online.