If you love cats, or Christmas stories, you will love the book Three Wise Cats, by Harold M. Konstantelos and (my friend) Terri Jenkins-Brady, available November 3, 2009 from Berkley Publishing (check your favorite online retailer - the ISBN number is 978-425-23036).
When an old Siamese cat notices a star of unusual brightness shining in the heavens - indicating an event of momentous significance - he sends three young cats to journey and fulfill the prophecy: The three shall find the one. The three cats will cover many miles and have many adventures. And finally they will arrive in a far land, where the star bends close to the earth over a humble stable...
Yes, an old story, wonderfully re-told. And the story of its publication by Berkley is pretty amazing, too. Harold and Terri originally self-published the book in 2005. Somehow a copy of it made its way to the desk of an editor at publishing giant Berkley Publishing. When you think of how many thousands of book manuscripts move through publishers' offices each year with hardly a glance by an editor, it's a small miracle that this editor took the time to read and fall in love with Three Wise Cats, track down the authors, negotiate a deal, and bring it to market in less than a year.
Not surprisingly, Terri and her husband Tim (also a writer) have two "clowders" of cats - one for their office, one for their home - some of whom inspired the characters in Three Wise Cats.
Check out the specially commissioned cover artwork. Isn't it beautiful?
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