Pens for Paws Starts Today!

Just a reminder that this year's Pens for Paws Auction starts today! New items will go up through Fri the 6th, with bidding on the final items closing on the 8th. If that sounds confusing, please check out the How It Works page for a fuller explanation. I've included a flyer with all the items listed below (click on it for a larger image) or you can go to the Items Featuring page to see another list.

Also, I posted an album of more recent pictures of the Fat Kitty City residents on the P4P Facebook page. Enjoy, and please help spread the word so we can raise some much-needed funds for the kitties!

P.S. In  other news, I've taken on the position of Illustrator Coordinator for the SCBWI CA North/Central region--so expect some more art-oriented posts!

Pens for Paws Auction is happening in 2016!

It's official! Items in the Pens for Paws Auction 2016 will go up May 2nd through 6th! Look for critiques from agents, editors, and your favorite authors, plus signed books, jewelry, and handicrafts.

All proceeds go directly to support Fat Kitty City, a no-kill, cage-free, cat (and dog!) sanctuary in El Dorado Hills, California.

Feel free to explore past auctions to see the kind of items we've offered in the past. I'll be keeping a running list, too, as I get confirmation of donated items for this year's auction. If you'd like to donate but are not sure what we're looking for, go to the Donate page

Pens for Paws Auction!

The Pens for Paws Auction, benefiting a no-kill, cage-free sanctuary called Fat Kitty City, starts July 14th! If you're a writer looking to bid on a critique with agents, authors, or an editor, you should check it out. We also have signed books and ARCs up for bid, and lots of other cool stuff! Entangled Publishing and Spencer Hill Press even have packages of goodies you won't want to miss. This year, we've even added door prizes--everyone who bids each day will be entered into a drawing for a door prize book (not one of the items up for bid--this is a separate offering) that day.

The auction items will post July 14-19, and instructions on how to bid is in the comments area of each item, or go to How It Works for more help. Hope to see you all there!

Pens for Paws Auction Starts Tomorrow!

The madness starts tomorrow! Well, madness for me and goodness for you, with the start of the Pens for Paws Auction to raise money for Fat Kitty City, a no-kill animal shelter in El Dorado Hills, Ca.

I volunteer there, and we have over 100 cats at the sanctuary, plus more in foster homes. We rescue dogs too, as foster homes allow, and currently have listings for 7 dogs. So if you're looking to adopt, check out the adoption page.

But if the timing's wrong for adoption, you can still help the sanctuary while helping your writing self at the same time! Going up for bid are critiques by agents and authors, signed books, swag, etc. Including an amazing critique, book, and swag package from Operation Awesome!

So tune in to the Pens for Paws Auction site starting Tuesday the 12th, with new items going up every day through the 16th. For a list of what's to come, see the teaser page.

Not Another Cat Metaphor!

Those of you who have been following my blog for awhile (Hi Michelle!) may remember that I volunteer at a cat sanctuary, Fat Kitty City. Yes, the same sanctuary that I ran the Pens for Paws Auction for in May, raising some much-needed funds with bidding on critiques and signed books.*

After missing a few weeks of sanctuary visits while I was sick, I've been back to see all my kitty friends once again. And along with all the old favorites, who are mostly permanent residents, we have some newer adoptable cats. Like Gonzo:




And the thing that strikes me the most is, why don't these great cats have homes yet? Gonzo is so desperate to be close to someone that she'll fall asleep draped over my arm (usually because the competition for my lap is too fierce). And another kitty, Thomas, sounds like you've started a wood chipper when you pick him up, his purr is so loud.

All these wonderful, unique cats just waiting to be noticed and matched up to someone who can appreciate them. Sorta like manuscripts, right?

I've lost count of how many times I've read writing samples, or critiqued entire manuscripts, and thought, "Why hasn't an editor or agent snatched this up yet?" Sometimes the agents and editors wise up and sign the writer, but other times that fantastic manuscript continues to languish in slush piles.

Those of us who have been querying projects for awhile, only to get rejection after rejection, continue to write and query in the hopes that someone will come to love our books as much as we do. And in so many "I got an agent!" success stories, that's what seems to be crucial: a series of circumstances that land the manuscript in the right hands at the right time.

Then, that formerly-homeless book becomes a beloved new member of an agency family, appreciated for what it is as much as what it might become. Just like Gonzo and Thomas, and all the other cats waiting for their new people to find them, have the potential to do.

Maybe we need to start an overlooked manuscript sanctuary? And if an agent adopts one, it comes with a cat to watch you while you type.



*I've already gotten a few commitments for the next Pens for Paws Auction, and will be moving it up to March.

If you'd like to do something to help Fat Kitty City right now, you can go to Purina's Rally to Rescue page and vote for our ambassador kitty, Bogey. He is one of four finalists, and the winner's shelter group gets $5,000 worth of food. Our 100+ cats eat a lot of food, and voting doesn't cost anything but your time. Please help us help other cats by casting your vote for Bogey!

Happy Blogiversary to Angelic Muse!

 My very first post was on May 4, 2010, and last year I celebrated the anniversary with a giveaway. That's great and all (especially for the 3 people who won), but this year I've decided to do something different: this year the cats at Fat Kitty City will be winners.

You see, because so often the cats that end up at the sanctuary aren't winners. They lose out when their owners lose their homes to foreclosure. They lose out when a new baby comes along, and their owners give them up--either out of fear and concern from old wives' tales, or because the parents feel like they no longer have time for the cat. Or when they lose their caretaker to death or disease, and the family members aren't prepared to take them on (an excellent reason to include your beloved pet in your estate planning).

For whatever reason they end up with us, I wanted them to feel like winners just once. So if you can, go over to the Pens for Paws Auction today and every day through Sunday (Mother's Day) and see if there's something you want to bid on. Items will start posting at 3 AM PST every day, and be open for bidding over 3 days.

Need a gift for a teen, child, or Mom who loves books? Or some unique jewelry or artwork? And if you know any writers, we have critiques from literary agents and published authors too (these are a great gift for writing moms). You can find them all at the auction. Thank you!

ETA: I had no idea they were running one at the same time, but Hunger Mountain also has a fundraising auction on ebay through Sunday. Go here to see the items they're offering.

Pens for Paws Auction

Some of you may know that I volunteer for a great cat sanctuary, Fat Kitty City, in El Dorado Hills, California. This year for my blogiversary, instead of a giveaway I've decided to do a fundraiser for these deserving animals!

The Pens for Paws Auction will start May 7, but I'm starting the call for donations now. What kinds of things am I looking for?

*Books and swag: signed editions, advanced reader's copies, collections of print or ebooks, and swag like bookmarks, tote bags, etc.

*Artwork: prints or custom artwork, or a custom avatar or portrait for use on a website or blog, jewelry, crochet or knitwork

*Critiques for artists or writers, or editorial services

*Your item doesn't need to be cat- or pet-oriented; it's all good!

I'm personally raiding my own book collection and putting up some ARCs and first editions! If you'd like to check out the auction site, it's still under construction, but the form for donating items is up and running. Please consider helping out the kitties!

Thank you!

Faces of Fat Kitty City

I've mentioned it before, but I volunteer at a wonderful cage-free, no-kill, local cat sanctuary called Fat Kitty City where I take photos and mostly do this (while wearing a cat hair smock):

But last year, I started doing a calendar of my favorite digital paintings of the kitties as a fundraiser, and I had so much fun that I decided to do it this year also. Go on over to my other blog, Fat Kitty City Nitty Gritty, for a sneak peek at what this year's calendar holds.

Beauties like this for example:


Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

Cross-posting

Some of you may have noticed that my Blogger profile started showing 2 blogs a while back--this one, and another called Fat Kitty City Nitty Gritty. FKC NG is the blog for a no-kill animal sanctuary I volunteer at, and I just wanted to direct you to a post over there for a fundraising calendar of my digital paintings.

Surfacing

Surfacing from the depths of query despair to let everyone know that I posted some of my digital paintings on my other blog, Fat Kitty City Nitty Gritty. Nice change from wrassling uncooperative summaries, yes?

It's On--But You'd Better Hurry!

Operation Awesome's November Mystery Agent Contest is open, so I hope you have your one-sentence pitch ready to go!

The mystery agent is looking for
contemporary YA and MG, especially thrillers and mysteries
paranormal, sci-fi and post-apocalyptic/dystopian
adult fiction

Good luck to everyone who enters, and if you miss it, the entries are a great source for pitch ideas.


P.S. If you like cats and animal rescue groups, you might want to check out the blog I started to highlight the adoptable cats and resident felines of a sanctuary that I volunteer at, Fat Kitty City.