Cat Songs, Smiles and Stories! (Some Sweet Things in Life)

This is a collection of poems and stories about cats: their behaviors; their unique personalities; their foibles and their affections for their human caregivers. It also reflects the love and care given to felines by their human companions. It is meant to entertain and to offer a respite from the worries and stresses of life. The poems in the first part of the book are all based on cats that I have known and with whom I have shared my life. A number of my adventures with cats have been included. Cat guardians will recognize some of the antics of their own cats. Six of the stories in the second part of the book are actually events from the lives of my cats. The remaining two stories involve cats that I did not know personally but whose stories I felt the reader would enjoy. I did know people with whom these cats shared their lives. "Ranger, The Yellow Cat" tells the story of a wonderful feline who graced the historic Hughlett's Tavern/Rice's Hotel in Heathsville, Virginia Tavern in the 1990s. His presence is still felt today in the bustling historic site. If these stories make someone smile and reflect on joyous times with their own animal companions, I will be very happy and will have achieved my goal.

This book is all about cats! It is a collection of poems and stories about felines: their behaviors; their unique personalities; their foibles and their affections for their human caregivers. This collection also reflects the love and care given to felines by their human companions. It is meant to entertain and to offer a respite from the worries and stresses of life. Cat guardians will recognize some of the antics of their own cats. The thirty eight poems in the first part of the book are all based on cats and kittens that I have known and with whom I have shared my life. A large number of my cat-human adventures have been included. They involve a kitty wearing a gold-fish bowl; paper product chases and destructions; wake-up calls; a singing cat with his mule companion; as well as cats' senses of time and timing. I have used different styles of poetry: free verse; haiku; cinquain; terza rima and acrostic. Hopefully, these have allowed me to convey my cats as they would like! In the second part of the book there are eight short stories. The adventures as well as the cats in the first six stories are/were my cat companions. Two of the stories are about cats that I did not have the opportunity to know personally. One is about an abandoned cat and a young girl, whom I did meet, and how she rescued this cat that was left and discarded as unwanted. It touched me when I learned about the story years ago and I felt compelled to write and include it. The last story tells a tale of "Ranger, The Yellow Tavern Cat." I never got to meet or know Ranger but I have certainly heard much about this cat who was a most important resident of Hughlett's Tavern/Rice's Hotel in Heathsville, Virginia. Thanks to the work of the volunteers in the 1990s who saved the Tavern, a historical treasure, from disrepair and neglect, Ranger enjoyed a wonderful life as their beloved Yellow Cat. This is a cat who lived his 'adventures' to the maximum. And it is believed by some that his spirit floats around the bustling Tavern with its café; shops, farmers' markets to this day. A marker in front of the Tavern honors this cherished feline. I want to wish my readers much enjoyment and I send 'purrs.'

Susan Anthony-Tolbert, Professor Emeritus, is a native of Scranton, Pa. She received her doctorate in Social Psychology from Temple University and served as a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Undergraduate Psychology Program during a tenure of thirty years at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. She has numerous publications in psychology journals as well as having authored textbooks in personality, social psychology, cross-cultural psychology and observational methods. She has worked in clinical and rehab settings as a psychologist. Music has always played an important part in her life. Currently, she is a free-lance harpist and marimbaist with CDs selling both locally and nationally. As a lifelong equine enthusiast, Susan continues to pursue equestrian activities on her horse, News Flash. She lives with her husband, Dorian, and their beloved cats at their Dun-it Farm. Her books on historical events and topics include: Until the Guns Went Silent; A Quiet Glory: The Life and Times of Dr. James Skelton Gilliam of Northumberland and Lancaster Counties, Virginia; The Home Front: Northumberland County, Virginia in World War II; Menominee, Lost Lights! The Sinking of the Unarmed Tug and Its Barges off the Virginia Coast in World War II; Lucy Long, Robert E. Lee's Other Warhorse: The Mare with Mysteries; Barge Dog: Virginia Coast, 1942; Horse of the Sand Pounder: East Coast, World War II; The Ditch of the Bells, World War I: The Story of Red Cross Nurse, Bessie W. Omohundro, from Northumberland County, Virginia; and Adrienne, La Fayette's Sweet Fire. In addition to several children's books, Susan's novels include: When the Red Jacket Sings; Harmonic; A Modern American Christmas; The Lynx and the Lioness: When a Sibling Kills; The Sweet Man in the Woods; Woman to Woman! Two Novellas of Friends and Enemies; Signs, Sounds, Silences and Secrets and "Tin Noses, Tim Roses: Love Stories from World War One." Recently she has written several books of poetry and rhyme: Rhymes without Reasons! Stories for All Season! and Traces! Poems from My Everyday Life.