Please extend a welcome to author Vickie Johnstone. For today's stop on the Raining Cats & Dogs book tour, she is here to tell us more about the book and writing for kids. Thanks for stopping by!
Kiwi
in Cat City is a story for middle-grade readers, which I wrote in
2002. The heroine, a black cat called Kiwi, is based on a cat I used
to have. I’ve always been a bit animal mad. As a kid, one of my
best-est buddies was a black cat called Mitzi and we used to ‘chat’
a lot. Well, we did get her when I was about six! In my book, I made
Kiwi magical and able to communicate with two children, Amy (aged 12)
and James (aged 9), so fulfilling my dream from childhood!
After
magically turning Amy and James into kittens, Kiwi takes them to
visit her other home of Cat City – a world full of cats who talk,
work, have parties, drive around in catcars and live like us. Kiwi
introduces the kittens to her friend, Inspector Furrball, the head of
the Cat Squad, and they help to investigate a catnapping. I grew up
watching Top Cat and Scoobey-Doo, so I guess they were my
inspiration!
Although
I wrote Kiwi in Cat City in 2002, I didn’t show it to anyone except
one publisher, who rejected it, and so I forgot about it. Around
Christmas 2011, I discovered kindle self-publishing. Finally, the
book was out there, waiting to be read and no longer trapped in a
dusty drawer. I met a lot of writers online and, newly inspired, I
wrote ten more books. The Kiwi Series has six books now and I hope to
write more. The characters go on adventures different worlds, such as
the UnderPaw beneath Cat City, the Land of Giant Mice, a haunted
house, Father Christmas’ home, the watery Isle of the Serpent and
back in time to Ancient Egypt. I love the characters in these books
and writing them is like watching a cartoon rolling in my head – I
just had to do all the voices myself!
What
I love about writing for youngsters is the escapism and freedom of
creating fantasy worlds, and throwing in some magic because we all
love to believe in things that are out of this world – things that
maybe could happen if you wish hard enough. I try to make the
language simple to understand, without dumbing it down. Kids are
intelligent after all, and learning new words is good. I think they
see things that we don’t see. I try to create pictures and build up
descriptions, but not too detailed. I try to create a movie with
words.
Most
of my characters are animals. As a child I loved to read books with
creatures in them, like Fantastic Mr Fox and The Three Bears. Growing
up, we had a kind of miniature zoo at home and I used to talk to all
the animals. My dad bred budgies and I thought I could communicate
with them by winking. In writing these Kiwi books, I’m remembering
more things from my childhood and recalling all the things I thought
were marvellous – talking animals, visiting new worlds, being able
to turn into animals, using magic – and, of course, good has to win
over evil, because nothing really bad can happen.
The
children, Amy and James, are central characters. They’re both
good-natured and curious. They like learning new things, discovering
new places and meeting new characters – and they are open-minded,
even when meeting an octopus or a tiny crab. They’re not
judgemental, they don’t approve of bullying and they treat everyone
equally. They’re also brave, intelligent and resourceful. On top of
that, they love their cat, Kiwi, and treat her on the same level as a
person. In the books, the animals have the same rights as humans and
wish to be treated with respect.
I
think that learning is important. We all learn things as we grow up,
and often we learn through making mistakes. We learn what is good and
what is bad, and we learn how to trust in ourselves – some
characters in the books go through this experience. Good deeds are
rewarded and bad ones are not.
I
haven’t had many reviews from young readers, but I really treasure
them. It’s wonderful to hear what they think. It almost feels like
they’ve read the book with me or stepped into it, running with Kiwi
and turning into a kitten to go on an adventure. Then I’m reminded
of being nine again and escaping into a novel, tucked up in bed.
All
in all, I love writing for children. Kids are savvy and open to new
things. They are the new generation of discoverers, eager to embark
on their own journeys. And some will grow up to write stories that
remind them of their childhood dreams.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kiwi
in Cat City
Book
blurb:
One
dark night, Amy cannot sleep and she looks out of the window into the
garden to see her cat, Kiwi, transfixed by the moon, which is glowing
brightly like a cat's claw. Waking her brother, James, Amy suggests
they follow Kiwi to see where she goes... whether it involves a hunt
for mice or something else. Little do they know that, with a flick of
her tail, Kiwi is going to magically change them into kittens and
lead them on the adventure of their lives to a land they never knew
existed in their wildest dreams. In the blue-lit world of Cat City,
the budding detectives help Inspector Furrball to solve the mystery
of the missing catizens and find out what happened to Madame
Purrfect.
For
children aged 9+, teens and adults. This book is the first in the
Kiwi Series. So far, there are six books.
Buy links:
Ebook
price: $.99/77p
Paperback
price: $7.50/£4.86
Author
bio:
Vickie
Johnstone lives in London, UK, where she works as a freelance
sub-editor on magazines and an editor on indie books. She has a thing
about fluffy cats and also loves reading, writing, films, the sea,
rock music, art, nature, Milky Bar, Baileys and travelling.
Vickie
has self-published the following books:
Kaleidoscope
(poetry); Travelling
Light(poetry); Life’s Rhythms
(haiku); 3 Heads & a Tail
(comedy); Kiwi in Cat City
(magical cat series for middle grade readers); Kiwi and the Missing Magic;
Kiwi and the Living Nightmare;
Kiwi and the Serpent of the Isle;
Kiwi in the Realm of Ra;
Kiwi’s Christmas Tail;
Day of the Living Pizza
(comedy detective series for middle grade readers), and Dayof the Pesky Shadow.
The Kiwi Series has illustrations by Nikki McBroom.
Author
links:
Twitter:
@vickiejohnstone
Website: Kiwiincatcity.com
FB
author page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorVickieJohnstone
FB
Kiwi Series page: http://www.facebook.com/KiwiinCatCity
FB
poetry page: http://www.facebook.com/KaleidoscopePoetry
FB
editing service page: http://www.facebook.com/VickieJohnstoneEditing
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