A Cat Called Dog
A Cat Called Dog is a good fun novel for cat lovers – one that should put a smile on the face of everyone who knows and loves cats and all their little ways.
It centres on a kitten called Dog, who behaves like one – wagging his tail when happy, sticking his tongue out, yapping like a puppy! An old ginger tom called George takes on the task of trying to teach him how to be a proper and noble cat, helped by the stray Eric and the exotic Francois – the pride of cats is at stake so this has to be done!
Then George’s owner – ‘The Lady’ – whom he loves very much, gets a new unsuitable boyfriend, ‘The Man’ who hates cats and wants to get rid of them all. The cats will have to try their hardest to convince The Lady how unsuitable her new boyfriend is, so George can resume his position as her guardian and protector, and continue to teach Dog how to be a proper and noble cat.
There is a lot in A Cat Called Dog about the special relationship cats have with humans – or ‘two-legs’ as I call them in the book – and especially women. The story would not have worked if George had had a male owner, because I think there can be a special bond between women and their cats, though I wouldn’t really want to analyse why!
Anyway, needless to say the cats consider themselves part of a superior species whose duty it is to look after the inferior one – us! I have observed the aloofness of cats for decades, and know exactly what they’re thinking much of the time!
By the way, A Cat Called Dog is really a novel for adult cat lovers, though older children who are stronger readers might like it too.
How important are cats in your world?
I have always loved cats, since we got our first when I was 7, and we have two rescue cats now – Honey and Bumble, who have settled in well and are great fun. The book is dedicated to the cats (10 of them) we have owned over the years. Cats always cheer me up when I look at them, and they make me laugh all the time. They are like four-legged furry happy bombs!
A review said that the book will still appeal even if you aren’t a cat lover, why is this?
I think humour is pretty universal. The cats in A Cat Called Dog are real characters, just like people. They say funny things and get into all sorts of scrapes. That means the book should appeal to a wide readership, and I know dog lovers who enjoy it too.
Another review said that it 'makes you smile throughout', so how have you achieved this in your writing?
I think everything I write is comedy really, even the darker stuff, maybe because I find life so absurd! I made sure A Cat Called Dog had really strong and loveable characters that readers could empathise with – I also made sure they had lots of funny lines of dialogue, and that there were plenty of puns throughout. I did allow for a little sentimentality as well – though not too much, as I dislike over-sentimental stories, but just enough to make it work. I suppose it’s a feel-good story really, though there is some sadness and seriousness there, and some deeper subtexts about the nature of identity and loyalty, which some readers may wish to pick up on.
Why is it important for people read uplifting fiction?
I think all fiction is escapism really, though it doesn’t all have to be uplifting. Most people like being cheered up though, especially in the dark days of winter.
You run an online editing agency, so how much does this help you own work?
It means I can edit and proof read my own work, mainly. However, I always make sure somebody else checks my writing for careless errors too. Professional editors are never arrogant – they know how easy it is to miss mistakes and typoss, so always get another pair of eyes to check what they have already checked. Amateurs are arrogant enough not to bother, and thus typos remain in their manuscripts. My advice to all writers: get someone else (wife, boyfriend, mother, neighbour, an agency) to check your work – always!
You have won two awards for short story competitions so how does it make you feel to have you work publicly recognised in this way?
It’s lovely to win prizes, especially as I don’t enter many competitions and also because the sort of stories I write are not self-consciously ‘literary’, and most awards are for literary fiction. It validates one’s work to win prizes though, and puts another feather in the cap!
What is next for you?
I am finishing a final edit of the dark satirical novel about the TV industry that I put on hold last year to write A Cat Called Dog. Like my first novel Crump, a dark satire on the higher education system, I am writing that under the name PJ Vanston (the name Jem Vanston is for cat books and maybe children’s books). I hope an agent/publisher picks up on that.
Moreover, I am rewriting the first part of A Cat Called Dog as a children’s book for 8-12 year olds – I hope too that that attracts agent interest. There may be a sequel to A Cat Called Dog as well. I have great faith in the characters and would certainly like to write more stories about their adventures, for adults and children. And who knows, maybe one day there could be a TV or film version of A Cat Called Dog. I own full copyright, so anything is possible!
Why did you write the book?
This is a long story! I had had an idea for a cat story floating around in my head for four years. It started as an idea for a radio play, then became a short novel with the addition of further characters and subplots. I hadn’t intended to write it yet – and maybe would never have bothered – but my 88-year old mum lost the sight in one eye following a cataract operation in 2011, and the sight in her other eye is fading too, so I decided I’d have to write and publish A Cat Called Dog quickly if she was going to be able to read it at all.
I wrote the first 50,000 word draft in 27 days in July last year, then spent six months rewriting and improving it. I had the first author copies in my hand on 26 June this 2013 – less than one year from the start of writing, which is some going!
Happily, my mum can still see enough to read and enjoy the book, and she loves it! She recognises all the cats we have owned over the years in the characters, and also – as a former teacher – appreciates a lot of the in-jokes about teaching and learning in A Cat Called Dog.