Not one but two Red Deerians are among the 96 authors with stories published in the recently released Chicken Soup for the Soul: Lessons Learned from My Cat.
Sandy Bexon’s “The Cat Burglar,” and Gillian A. Corsiatto’s “The Backpack Cat,” are treats to read for any cat lover.
Bexon, who recently launched a new novel Moving Mountains and has now had stories published four times in Chicken Soup for the Soul, said there’s always something about Chicken Soup’s call-outs for stories that brings something to mind for her.
As an animal lover, she said cats can become their human’s best buddy.
“They’re really sweet animals. Everyone one of them is so different. They come with their own character,” said Bexon who writes a column for the Advocate about retirement.
One of the cats she lived with, who was featured in her latest Chicken Soup short story, was Mrs. Kitty while Bexon attended college and shared a house with a group of students in Calgary. Mrs. Kitty was always on the lookout for food after she had kittens and regularly pilfered snacks, sometimes as big as her, from a local restaurant.
“She was really stealth-like. We probably could have trained her to rob a bank,” Bexon said with a laugh.
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Corsiatto’s story features her cat Aurora who likes to travel by backpack, and also has a talent for playing fetch.
“It’s so cute. She brings the ball right back to me every single time. I don’t know how she learned that, but it’s amazing. She’s such a special little cat,” said Corsiatto and her two-and-a-half-year-old feline.
Aurora is her first cat, and likely not her last.
“I’m definitely a cat person. I knew it before I had a cat, but now having a cat just confirms it.”
Corsiatto submitted about five stories about Aurora to Chicken Soup for the Soul and said writing about real-life experiences is a great exercise for writers.
Corsiatto has one book published, Duck Light, with plans for a sequel.
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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Lessons Learned from My Cat, published Feb. 14, includes 101 stories chosen from thousands of submissions that are not only inspirational and fun, but also feature rescued cats, including black cats and senior cats, the categories of cats that are often left behind at shelters.
Chicken Soup for the Soul is donating royalties from the book to American Humane, along with the royalties from its other new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Lessons Learned from My Dog. This is the seventh pair of books about cats and dogs that Chicken Soup for the Soul has published with royalties earmarked for American Humane.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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