I recently published Tuna the Travel Cat on Amazon. It wasn’t my first book — I had previously published a small picture book and an eBook on local travel, but Tuna the Travel Cat was my first kid’s chapter book.
When my daughter, Rose, started reading chapter books, I bought her a number of Duncan Ball’s Selby books. She loved them—Duncan Ball is a wonderful writer for kids, and his books are hilarious. I was really inspired by the creativity of Selby and how a story about a dog who can talk can bring kids so much joy. I wrote Rose a story about a naughty dog years ago, but as I didn’t think much of cats back then, I never contemplated writing about them.
Rose and her husband have two cats and I have grown to love them. Cats are so cantankerous, secretive, and spontaneous. They do the craziest things and have this incredible mix of bravado and anxiety — thoroughly entertaining. After watching Rose’s cats fight and wrestle and try to outwit one another, I realized that I just had to write about cats. Tuna the Travel Cat was born out of that.
One of the great joys of writing for kids is that anything can happen. There must be a mix of reality and make-believe. Kids should be able to read a story book and ask themselves if that could really happen. Could a cat named Tuna really become a famous travel writer? Is it plausible? In the mind of a child, yes it is, and that’s the beauty of childhood—anything is possible.
To make Tuna’s adventures plausible, I mixed a certain amount of normality and fact with the utterly ridiculous. Yes, it is possible that a cat could become trapped in a suitcase and fly to the other side of the world. Yes, it is possible that he could sneak onto buses and trains, but could he really learn to read and write? In a children’s book, he certainly can. And it’s the interplay with fact and fiction that makes it so funny and believable.
One of my favorite things to do is to read. It really doesn’t matter to me if a good story isn’t really possible; it’s fiction, and if I can feel it and smell it and see it, I will enjoy it. I like to be caught up in a story even though I know that it’s a little far-fetched. I read to escape for a while, not to nitpick the details. If it’s non-fiction, then I will most certainly nit-pick. I like being able to live in an alternate reality for a while, and for me, that’s what makes fiction so wonderful. And when it comes to stories for children, I want them to delight in possibilities and dreams.
Tuna is a shy, nervous, adventurous, loyal, and inventive character. As the story progresses, we see Tuna grow and change—he has to problem-solve, grow in his confidence, and survive, all while chasing his dream to be the world’s best travel writer. As with all stories, we take a part of us into them, and there are certainly elements of my journey in Tuna’s. I may not be a cat, but I have moved to another continent and have had to reestablish myself as a writer, and chase my goals from a whole new place. I’ve had to continually push past self-doubt and a lack of confidence, and instead, strive to grow and develop as a writer in the US. The journey has been wonderful so far, and from the experience I am filled with story ideas. In the three years I have been here I have written and published five new books on Amazon, with another one being edited for publication and two more halfway through.
Tuna’s story, like mine, is still being told. Tuna will be traveling a lot more and sharing his adventures. I’ll keep you posted on his whereabouts, and mine too!
You can purchase Tuna the Travel Cat here.
My Average Travels 