So in honor of Rocco’s blogaversary, I’ve agreed to write a post, and needed to figure out something that would be both about books and about cats. (It actually wasn’t presented to me that way, but I figured it was only correct and appropriate that I do so…)
I realized that within the amazing subset of my client lists that is comprised of cozy mystery writers, I had quite a number who write about, either primarily or peripherally, cats. Sometimes, as with Rocco’s own Toni LoTempio, the cats are the foci of the book. Nick (who’s based somewhat clearly on a dashing feline with a blog) quite directly assists Nora in solving crimes.
Sometimes, as in Sheila Webster Boneham’s mysteries, the cats are important, but somewhat less anthropomorphic. They certainly play significant roles, but get directly involved on the crime front only occasionally (albeit importantly). One difference in Sheila’s books is that Sheila writes about many more animals than cats—a dog is vital, one of her books has a story arc about birds, and the theme of the series is Animals in Focus rather than, say, Cats on Film.
Finally there is Jeff Cohen, in whose E.J. Copperman books there is nary a cat. Or I should say there WAS nary a cat, because one day, before the second Copperman book came out, I got a call from Jeff.
“Man, I don’t understand my publisher. A full third of the cover is taken up by a large, serene cat. And you know what’s funny about that?”
“What, Jeff?”
“There’s not ONE DARN CAT IN THE BOOK! I don’t even LIKE cats!” (Don’t worry, Cozy Readers, he’s still a nice guy!)
We called his wonderful editor and explained the problem.
“Tough,” said Shannon. “We love the cover. He needs to put in a cat.”
So on one page in An Uninvited Ghost, a cat walks across the lawn. And gets a third of the cover and the spine drawing. It wins Best Supporting Actor with less screen time than Judy Dench in Shakespeare in Love.
I find this all fascinating, and a little baffling. On the other hand, it goes along with any genre. Romances have their particular requirements (not simply a bare-chested cat—er, guy—on the cover); so do Westerns and noir and many science fiction novels. They sell books. And that’s why we have cats that spell, cats that drive, cats that teach Spanish, cats that scuba dive, and of course, cats who solve crimes like Rocco—I mean Nick!
Happy Blogaversary, Rocco!
--
Josh
That was very considerate of you,Josh, to make this about books AND cats.(Good save there; small wonder you are an agent! Love the Judy Dench line.)
ReplyDeleteRocco, you held out on us;you never said how good-looking your agent is, but then, your a male....and a cat....
entirely the Human's fault. She is in charge of remarking on how good looking our agent is; obviously she has been quite remiss! Hiss, hiss!
DeleteROCCO
I'd like to clear the air on a few points made here by my beloved and respected agent, who is wrong about a bunch of stuff regarding the infamous Cat on the Cover scandal regarding the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery novel An Uninvited Ghost.
ReplyDelete1. If one looks past the ginormous cat on the cover, one will see that I am not the author of that book--E.J. Copperman is. So there's that.
2. I absolutely deny ever using the words "serene" or "darn" (especially in reference to a cat, as it brings up unfortunate Dean Jones memories) in conversation.
3. I have never said that I don't like cats. Out loud.
4. My wonderful editor was on maternity leave at the time of the incident, and so gets a pass.
5. The cat does not simply walk across the lawn. It also jumps up on someone's lap, is petted briefly, and then walks off. Clearly, enormous plot points.
6. It is clearly stated in the author's notes that "no cats were harmed in the writing or publication of this book."
I hope that sets the record straight.
Indeed it should! Thanks for the clarification! However, I am curious as to the "Dean Jones" memories - could it be a referral to that Disney classic, THAT DARN CAT??????
DeleteROCCO
An entertaining blog and then you hit it out of the park with the Judi Dench reference!
ReplyDeleteDefintely one of Josh's better posts - and I did find the Judi Dench reference amusing as well, meow.
DeleteROCCO