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Bookstore Cat Love

grey and white long coated cat in middle of book son shelf
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Given that libraries have kept cats as far back as Ancient Egypt, it’s probably safe to assume that bookstores have had resident cats for as long as there have been bookstores. Besides stopping rodents from destroying the books, cats are a soothing presence to (non-allergic) staff and visitors, act as a store’s (or library’s) public face, and add life to what can be a sterile environment. On top of all that, cats and book people are simply a natural combination. Here’s a small sampling of the bookstore cats who keep books safe and hearts warmed…

Spike at Left Bank

“Magnificent” Spike lives at Left Bank Books in St. Louis, Missouri. Spike has his own page here, where you can find out fun facts about him, like his one-word description mentioned above.

 

parrot at pegasus

Parrot, from Pegasus Books in Oakland, California, may be grumpy but she still gets fan mail.

 

The Wild Rumpus (Minneapolis, Minnesota) kitties:

booker at wr

Booker T (who loves strollers)…

 

Trini Lopez at wr

Trini Lopez (has a thing for tasty crickets)…

 

Walter Dean at wr

…and Walter Dean (the youngest and the biggest of the three). Wild Rumpus has several other store animals too, including Ferdinand the Ferret and Thomas Jefferson the tarantula (my kind of place!)

 

Kona Stories on Kailua-Kona in Hawaii also has two cats in residence:

Noble at Kona

Noble (once a twosome, along with “Barnes,” who found a forever home with a garden)…

Chloe at kona

…and Chloe (who adores attention). They have their own page on Kona Stories’s website.

 

Copperfield’s in Healdsburg, California, is also a multi-cat store:

sweetpea at copperfields

Sweetpea (who lives up to her name, although she thinks she’s tough)…

 

jack at copperfields

…and Jack (who’s a bit of a bully to visiting dogs).

Coincidentally, all these stores carry Love Lies Bleeding in paperback (and some also offer it and my FREE short story Blood Magic in ebook–check their sites.) You can also get Blood Magic here.

Does your favourite bookstore (or library) have a cat? Share in the comments 🙂 You can read more about the history of library cats here.

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4 Ways Travel Can Help Your Creativity

person pointing at black and gray film camera near macbook pro
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I recently read a great article about how travelling can enrich your writing. In it, the author outlines how travel is unpredictable, fosters empathy and reflection, and creates authenticity in your writing. All excellent points. The article got me thinking about how travelling has helped my writing, and how it can help you with your creative endeavours. Here are four more ways travelling is good for creativity, even if you go no farther than the other side of town…

1. It breaks up your routine. Even the most imaginative person needs inspiration, and nothing is less inspiring than doing the same things and seeing the same few places over and over again, day after day. Going somewhere new shakes you out of your rut, gives you a fresh perspective, and re-ignites creativity.

silver car beside building
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2. It helps you learn. If you go somewhere you’ve never been, you’re bound to learn something, whether it’s a few words in another language, facts about local history, or even a new skill (so many places now offer classes and workshops for tourists). What you discover can be the spark you need for your current project, or the impetus for something new.

asphalt dark dawn endless
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3. It gives you the chance to be a different kind of creative. There are so many opportunities for creativity while you travel, and if you can do so in a way that’s not your usual, so much the better (I’ve written before about how creativity begets creativity). Take pictures, write a journal entry (or poetry or even short fiction) about your trip, sketch what you see, take part in a workshop, talk to interesting people you meet along the way. Use it all as inspiration when you get home.

ball shaped blur close up focus
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4. It can help you in unexpected ways. When I was having trouble finding the right image for the cover of Love Lies Bleeding, I decided to look through my photos to see if anything would be useful. Going through shots I’d taken in Paris, I realized the statue at the base of the Medici fountain at the Jardin du Luxembourg was perfect, so I ended up using it:

Love Lies Bleeding by Aspasia S. Bissas

(The statue at the top of the fountain is on the back cover.) Not only that, but another photo I’d taken at the Louvre became the cover for Blood Magic:

BLOOD MAGIC by Aspasia S. Bissas jpg

And I have a third photo in mind for my next book, which I’m currently working on. The point is, I didn’t go to Paris to take photos for my book covers, but my travels led to exactly what I needed. You never know what going somewhere new could end up doing for you.

You don’t have to travel to be creative, but it really does help. Even if you can’t make it to another country or continent, try getting on a bus and exploring a different town, or go for a walk and visit a neighbourhood in your own town that you’ve never been to. The important thing is to break out of routine and try something new. It could lead you to places you never expected.

What do you think? Has travelling helped your creativity? Share in the comments…