Fred: Can't I write about Big Bang Theory
instead?Maureen: Not this time, Fred, but that's coming. In fact, I think that's a really good idea. We'll talk later.
Fred: Where did the idea for the Cat Confederation come from?
Maureen: I've been playing with the idea for over twenty years. At one point, I had a fascination with Abyssinian cats, which are a beautiful breed of the 'foreign' type with a coat that resembles a lion's. The character of Ming came from that fascination. Ming was the starting point, and the next characters to form in my mind were Rex, the dog, and Smudge, the old tom. Neither of them had names until last week, though.
Fred: Why the name 'Cat Confederation?' I know it has nothing to do with the Civil War, but what does 'confederation' mean?
Maureen: The name originally was just an interesting alliterative phrase. But the word confederacy fits well, I think. A 'confederacy' is an association of sovereign states. Cats aren't states, but if any creature embodies the meaning of sovereign, cats do. The association with the south during the Civil War is unfortunate, but I can't imagine cats fighting a war over the "right" to enslave another. Cats clearly have a concept of class, but not of race.
Fred: You made a couple of major edits this week. I kind of liked the old version of Randolph's speech. Why did you change it?
Maureen: Figured you'd like the old version. The old version was a bit too adult for an "all ages audience". The Cat Confederation stories are a bit unusual in terms of their target audience. They are really written more for adults or young adults who like fables than for children, but they are the perfect length for a family read-aloud, so I needed to be sure that most parents would feel comfortable reading the story to children. I did leave 'bird turd' in, but in context it's the sort of insult one first grader would trade with another, so I took the chance.
Fred: (grins) I liked 'bird-turd'.
Maureen: I know, Fred. That's why I left it in.
Fred: Talking animal stories are usually pretty cutesy, and the animals often don't feel like animals. The animals in this story feel more real to me How did you pull that off?
Maureen: I've always had cats and dogs in the home, and lived on a farm for much of my childhood. I honestly don't think of them so much as "talking animal stories" but as stories that interpret real animal behavior in language terms. I read and re-read each sentence I write and try to make sure that everything the character says or does is a 'feline' reaction.
Fred: Cats in this story have a rather, uh, colorful way of talking. What's up with that?
Maureen: I recently spent several hours creating a cat cuss-word lexicon. Humans cuss around bodily functions, body parts, and sex. A cat's mind works differently. Cuss words for cats would emphasize non-cat behavior. Cats like being cats and have a natural sense of superiority. "Butt-sniffer" for a dog makes perfect sense in the cat world. I also went through more broadly to make sure the cat talk was more cat-like. The critiquers over at Scribophile helped a great deal with that process.
Fred: I like butt-sniffer, too. But there's one thing I still don't get. You said you wrote the first version over twenty years ago? Have you ever tried to get it published before?
Maureen: No, I've never submitted it for publication before. To be honest, I couldn't figure out how to market it. I know the story is good. Every time I pick it up after forgetting about it for awhile and re-read it, it still feels fresh and new and interesting -- but it's very short, not quite flash fiction, but definitely a short-short -- and while it's written as a fable, the characters are all adult, and the story (and others I've written and outlined) are not for the early elementary and preschooler set. So it sat until I figured out what to do with it.
Fred: Why now?
Maureen: There are two reasons for "why now". The first is that I am making my first real push ever to make a living at this writing thing, and this was good, polished fiction that was just lying around collecting dust. The second is that adults are reading fantasy, and I think they're getting tired of some of the derivative stuff that's filling the pipelines now and are looking for something new.
Fred: Why Smashwords?
Maureen: I poked around the net a bit, asked some friends, and went with Smashwords because they appear to be an ethical organization, provide a good service, and offer such an amazing royalty rate that I can conceivably make a living by selling stories for 99 cents each. Long ago, I read Ben Bova's Cyberbooks
(long since out of print), and have been waiting for the book revolution ever since. At least for right now, this appears to be it. Fred: What's next for the Cat Confederation?
Maureen: I have "Kingmaker" ready to go (check back -- I will add a link when it is published), which is the story of how Ming and Rex first meet. I have a list of about a dozen other stories. The next one after that will probably be a story of Sunshine's past. I also have stories about a scrape with the Dog Dominion (probably a recurring rivalry), Napoleon's quest for the meaning of life, and both past and future stories of Smudge's life. I even plan to let the cats' humans have stories, told from a distance on a long arc through the eyes of the animals.
Fred: Anything else you want to add?
Maureen: Well, 'buy my book' is always appropriate at this stage in the interview. I also plan to start recording the stories and publish them as audio books through Podiobooks, usually a week or so after ebook publication. I have no plans at this point for a print edition, but I may revisit that when I get enough stories together to do a proper anthology.
Fred: Hey, Maureen, where's that ten bucks you promised me for doing this stupid interview?
Maureen: Not now, Fred. First the nice people have to buy my story.
Fred: Are you blackmailing the readers into buying the story because they feel bad for me?
Maureen: No, Fred . I'm sure the readers don't feel bad for you at all. They know that your mercenary heart will be satisfied with homemade brownies and a tall glass of milk. Let's go eat.
Fred (brightening): Well, okay. Let's go eat!
Maureen: Thanks all. See you next time.
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