I’d like to share a little story. Ever since I was a teenager I wanted to be a writer. I made several attempts at writing only to hit a road block pretty quick. It’s not an easy task that’s for sure. I tried several different genres, many different plot lines and gave up. Until Tortie.
Tortie is our tortoiseshell cat. We adopted her and she, us in 2011. She was at an adoption center inside the Petco in Napa, California where we lived at the time. I was hesitant in adopting a cat after having one that though we loved him immensely, we ended up having to give him up due to behavior issues that we couldn’t resolve. So, along came Tortie. She was sweet, beautiful and we were taken by her almost instantly. She was a year old and had had a litter of kittens. She needed a home and we adopted her. Though I’m sure if you have had a cat before you know they adopt you.
What a joy she is and she is the inspiration for the book I was finally able to write. She’s cute. She’s quirky. And we just love her. One night as I was reading in bed and pondering why I couldn’t make the writing thing happen, Tortie jumped up on my bed. She had cute little habits that had me giggling in spite of myself. As she looked up at me with that little adorable face of hers I asked her, “I wonder what your life was before you were rescued.” And that was it, my muse.
So, I started writing. The work in progress I fondly called “Tortie’s Maybe Story”. I have never been so inspired and dedicated to a task as I did with that book. To make the time to write and write consistently I was up at 5:00am every morning so I could write before I had to go to work. I worked on my lunch breaks as well.
During that time as I was approaching the end of the rough draft I had an appointment with an editor through our local independent bookstore. They had a series of events called “Blind date with an editor”. The appointment was to be a half an hour but we ended up discussing my rough draft for a little over an hour. She was very encouraging and we met a few other times after that. Her life took her to Israel for a couple years so I went at it alone in editing and proofing. Because the book didn’t really fit any mainstream genres (at least in my thinking) I decided to self-publish. Wow! What an experience. I can honestly say it took more time and more work than actually writing the book. After a few little hiccups along the way I am excited to say that my little book is published and ready for distribution.
I’m pretty jazzed about it! I received my author copies just before Christmas and couldn’t be more thrilled.
Now for even more work. And something I’m not really comfortable with. Promoting the book. Yikes!! That means people might read it!! Yes, these are the thoughts of a very self-conscious writer. So, here goes nothing (or maybe a big something!).
If you are interested in checking out my book you can find it on Amazon at Toffee-An Adoption Story. We (Tortie and I) hope you like it!
Tracy (and Tortie)
For more about Tortie, visit her Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/tortlebutt/
And on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tracywrites/
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How wonderful for Tortie to have a great home and you had a dream fulfilled. ?? Good luck on the book. Off to Amazon. . .
Thank you! A dream fulfilled for both of us!
Congratulations! Aren’t cats just amazing?
They are. I grew up always having a cat. Love, love, love them all.
Aw, I love Tortie just from reading your story. I am happy Tortie has a wonderful home.
You would love her in person too : )
Tortie is a beautiful cat and good luck with your book.
Thank you!
Thank you so much!
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Torture. Ants are the best! I had my tortilla point dash cat until she was 16. Then I had to be a responsible cat parent and let her go. Great work with your book! Cheers,H
Such a pretty girl. I’ll promote this post for you tomorrow! And congratulations on your book.
Thank you!
Ahhhh??????????
Congratulations on finishing the book and getting it published! Good luck on the next step. Tortie is adorable
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