Monday Mischief: Pooch Smooches Invaded by Cats!

Okay folks... We've got some SERIOUS mischief on the blog here today... We've been taken over by CATS!! I've had to restrain Rita (and it's not unlike when the gardener's here...). But because Rita has a love of cat toys...

Rita almost succeeds in eating my sis's cat's toy.

 ... and tuna treats, she agreed to allow the cats to take over for the day. So, please welcome Jane & Bingley, who own my fabulous writer pal, Laura Chapman. Laura just launched her first novel (**throws confetti**) and Jane & Bingley are here to take a lot of credit for that tell how they helped! 

And now... here's something we never thought we'd say on Pooch Smooches: Take it away, kitties:

Step aside, Rita. There’s a new top dog in town – or rather two top cats. Please kindly remove any chew toys, biscuits and rawhides from the premises so we can make room for our toy mice, tuna treats and laser pointers.

[Editor's Note: Aren't they gorgeous?!]

Hello, Pooch Smooches peeps and your humans. We’re Bingley and Jane Chapman. Bingley is the handsome orange tabby on the left, and Jane is the long-haired beauty to his right. Aren’t we the best? We’ve been fans of books since we were kittens. Now that we’re grown-ups, we still love curling up with our mom for a day of reading in bed or on the couch.

We took over the blog, because we wanted to tell you a little bit about what’s going on in our world lately. And boy, it’s been a little crazy in the Chapman household.

Our mom just published her first novel, and it’s all she talks about. It’s called Hard Hats and Doormats. It’s about this girl named Lexi who drives all over the place solving people’s problems at work. Then a few issues come up on the job, she starts drooling over this guy named Jason and everything gets complicated. So basically your usual human stuff.

But get this: There isn’t a single feline in the whole book. Trust us, we’ve seen the story at every stage, and there isn’t one hint of a cat or kitten. Can you imagine? Why wouldn’t our mom write a cat into all of her books? I mean, hello – you have the perfect inspirations sitting in front of you.

Even though our mom totally dissed us, we do our best to support her. I mean, she’s our human. If we don’t help her out from time to time, there won’t be anyone to change the kitty litter or refill our water bowl. And while we cats disagree on many issues, we both appreciate the lavish lifestyle we live.

Bing is the big picture guy in our set-up. He’s good at reviewing the overall plotlines, character sketches and everything else you need to plot a book. [Ed. note: Is he available for hire?]

We take turns supervising the writing process. Sometimes that means giving our mom a little company while she works. A lot of the time it means reminding her to get off of Facebook or Twitter and get back to her darn manuscript.

Jane is by far the more critical of us. She’s good at seeing what’s wrong, pointing it out and being vocal about it until the thing gets fixed. She’s also the best at dishing out tough love.

Sometimes that means manual labor, like helping with writing refreshments.

[Ed. note: At first I thought that was a beer. It's actually Starbucks.]

Or organizing a home office.

[Ed. note: Now I want to redo my office in black & pink & kitty]

All in all, we’re there for Mom. Even if it means dinner gets served a little late some nights, and she’s constantly click-clacking on her computer. [Rita's note: OMD, I can SO relate to this. Maybe I have something in common with these cats after all...] She’s our human, and we love her – and books – no matter what.

Thanks for letting us steal your blog, Rita. Because you were so nice and didn’t even try to bite us, we’ll let you have it back. We’ll even make sure to clean-up any hairballs.

About the Author

Laura Chapman mixes her love of romance and humor as a women’s fiction blogger and author. Born and raised in Nebraska – in a city, not on a farm – she is a devoted fan of football, British period drama, writing in bars and her cats, Jane and Bingley. Hard Hats and Doormats is her debut novel.

Connect with Laura

Website (http://www.laurachapmanbooks.com/)

Blog (http://change-the-word.blogspot.com/)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/laurachapmanbooks)

Twitter (https://twitter.com/lmchap)

Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/lmchap)

About the Book

Lexi Burke has always been a stickler for following rules and procedures. As a human resources manager for a leading Gulf Coast chemical company, it’s her job to make sure everyone else falls in line, too.

But after losing out on a big promotion–-because her boss sees her as too much of a yes-woman––Lexi adopts a new policy of following her heart instead of the fine print. And her heart knows what it wants: Jason Beaumont, a workplace crush who is off limits based on her previous protocol.

While navigating a new romance and interoffice politics, Lexi must find the confidence to stand on her own or face a lifetime of following someone else’s orders.

Buy the Book

Available as an ebook from the outlets below, and also as a paperback (coming soon!) via Amazon:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Marching Ink.


Thanks Jane & Bingley for the fun post! Rita says thanks for leaving behind a tuna treat or two! 

Also thanks to Laura for having me on her blog last week. You can stop by and read about my favorite things at Christmas time (fave treat, gift, tradition, book and movie). I watched that fave movie just this weekend and recited/sang along the whole way through!  

And, finally, thanks to Snoopy’s Dog Blog, Alfie’s Blog, and My Brown Newfies for hosting Monday Mischief!