Let me cut to the chase: I’ve had a short story about our cat Smudge published on another blog here.
EDIT: That blog appears to no longer be active. So I’ve republished the story here.
A while ago I wrote about the sad passing of Smudge, one of the most unique pets I’ve ever had the fortune to have in my life. You can read my reflections of the sad day when his wild and crazy lifestyle finally caught up with him here. There is also a little video embedded there featuring Smudge, which is normally found on my “Personal” page.
Anyway, recently I learned about a blog called My Neighbor, the Spy, which features “Spy action and Aikido stuff for fans of the book by Becky Black Powell”. Now, I haven’t read the book by Becky Black Powell, but now I have an opportunity because she is running a contest in which you enter by submitting a story about a spy cats – cats that are also spies.
Anyway, I’ve submitted one in which I have taken a real life incident about Smudge and recast it as if Smudge were a spy. I guess, in real life, Smudge would have made a pretty poor spy because he drew so much attention to himself. But I guess that doesn’t matter because a basic premise of my story is that Smudge’s spying doesn’t have anything to do with the humans that he is contact with – they are just part of the world that he has to navigate through.
As I mentioned, the story has been published on Becky Black Powell’s blog, linked above. The contest is still open until October 1st. After that, I suppose, there will be voting for the best one. (So far, there are only two stories – mine and one from the guy whose blog first pointed me to the contest). If I get the most votes, I win a new book Ms. Powell. That’s not something I’m strongly hoping for, but it’d be fun to say that I have written a “prize winning” story.
