Meet Mr. Boots, Gloria Oliver's Cat

Please say a big hello to Mr. Boots, Gloria Oliver's feline companion...

Bio: Yo! I’m Mr. Boots. All muscle and all fun all the time. Black and sleek with white boots and white tummy. Mighty feline of the jungles am I! I will fearlessly protect my chosen housemates from evil lint, waving papers, and rays of sunlight till the end of time! Booyah!

Thanks for the cheery intro, Mr. Boots. Go ahead and give us the lowdown on Gloria. What type of books does she write?

Fannnnntasy. Young Adult Fantasy, even. Don’t even know why. I mean, you can just stare at a wall, unfocus your eyes a little and fantasize all you want while lazing about on the floor. Me, I fantasize about shinny objects I can swat around with my claw, or maybe catching Nightshade with his guard down and doing a preemptive strike. Yeah…Sweet… But if you actually want to see what she writes about, hohum, she’s got samples at www.gloriaoliver.com Mine are more fun. Believe you me.

I often fantasize about stake and spicy sausage. Good stuff! Anyway, what do you do to annoy Gloria while she writes and ignores you?

Well…if you must know…I meow loudly from the other room. Once or twice is normally all I need, long pitiful meows, to get her to look over at me. Then she will make ‘come over’ gestures to me and scratch me behind the ear. Mmmm. At other times, I will set my sights on the high backed chair and pick up speed from back in the kitchen and leap at the thing! My claws will clamp onto it, like it’s a feral animal I must protect her from. If my angle is real good, the chair will roll away with both of us on it. It’s not good to do it if she’s not in it though. Tried that once. Me and the chair took a dive. Not fun… no, sir…

Nice work, Mr. Boots! Does Gloria plot like a madwoman or just write ‘down the bones’?

She’s a weird one, that one. She does it all kinds of ways. Kind of depends on what she’s working on. She’s had full written out plots, worked on a book just from one scene, faked things as she went along. Kind of like a cat, and quite sensible as far as I am concerned, she follows her instincts.

Hmm. Sounds a bit like my mom. Quite erratic, that one. Does your mom like to snack while she writes? My mom can't stop snacking then she says I can't have a snack because I'm fat. Do you think there’s a connection between writing and obesity?

Ooo, snacks. I like snacks. But no, she doesn’t snack much. Though her male will sometimes buy containers of Whoppers and leave them on her desk. She can’t seem to resist those. But honestly, who cares if she snacks? I’m the one who should be getting served a snack! Sometimes I have to sit there and stare at her when it’s getting late so she can get a clue and give us our late night yummies. Sheesh.

I know what you mean! I wish I had free access to my own stakes! Does Gloria let you sit on her lap while she writes?

Yeah, but it’s no fun.

Why not?

There’s not enough room. I’m a big boned boy and there’s just not enough room between her lap and the keyboard drawer for me to fit under there. Now Keiko, Queen Bee around the place, (and total grouch – but you didn’t hear it from me), she’s petite and super tiny. She crawls up under there with no problem and takes naps. I have to wait for Gloria to go watch TV to get lap time, and that’s if Queen Bee has decided to be elsewhere. You know, you swat her once for play and she holds a grudge forever! Like, what’s wrong with sharing? Shouldn’t we all get equal lap time? You wouldn’t think something that tiny could be so, uhm, feral. Not that she scares me or anything. Don’t you dare think that. Nuh uh. (Oh, she’s coming. Gotta go!)

I can sympathize! I'm the only dog here for the moment, but my mom has been talking about getting me a little brother... as if I needed one!! Scary stuff!!!!