Peg Kehret Blog

Yesterday was the ninth anniversary of the day we adopted Lucy. Happy anniversary, Lucy!

When I needed a long, narrow picture of my books, my friend, Vicki, came to help me out. Vicki is a professional photographer who has taken many photos of foster cats for me. She has a knack with animals and always gets good shots.

For my books, she wanted to use natural light so that the flash wouldn’t bounce off the dust jackets. It wasn’t raining for a change, so she arranged a background cloth and lined all the books up on my front steps.

Kids often ask for information because they’re doing a school project about me. Sometimes they send pictures of the finished project or a copy if it was a written report. I always enjoy seeing their work. This project was done by Mary, who has read twenty of my books. I think she did a great job.

Many books stay in print for only a year or two. Mine have all lasted much longer than that, and some of them show incredible staying power. Earthquake Terror was published in 1996. The paperback is still in print, and new audio and digital versions are in the works from Audio Go. I am delighted to have these new editions of a favorite novel.

Twenty-five years ago today, my son got married to a wonderful woman. Carl and I loved Pam and got along great with her family, and they loved Bob but the romance was slow to develop and we were not sure the wedding would ever happen. When it finally did, we were elated and, at the close of the ceremony, Carl and Frank, Pam’s dad, leaped to their feet and high-fived across the center aisle! The congragation burst into laughter as the recessional music started. It’s one of my fondest memories. Happy anniversary, Bob and Pam!

One of my Christmas presents from Brett was a book of knitting patterns for dog coats. I knit one for Lucy and it was so much fun to make that I’m going to knit another one. When we walk on the trail, Lucy is quite the stylish pup!

My last name, Kehret, is pronounced “carrot,” and is not an easy name to spell. Even so, I am amazed by the variety of spellings that are used when readers write to me. One would think that a person who’s writing to an author would have a copy of one the author’s books and would see how the author spells her name.

This week alone, I’ve received letters where my name is spelled Kerhet, Kehere, Kayret, Kerhert, and Krehert.  

The town where I get my mail, Wilkeson, Washington, is a challenge for spellers, too. The most common mistake is to add an “r” and call it Wilkerson, but I’ve also seen it spelled Willkeson, Wilkesone, Wilkesen, and Wilkersonn.

I’m glad I have an easy first name. So far, everybody’s spelled Peg correctly.

Good news from Connecticut: Stolen Children has won the Nutmeg Award! This is the state children’s choice award, where kids vote for their favorite book. Thank you, kids in Connecticut! A big thanks, also, to the many teachers and librarians who make the award programs possible.

I spent this morning at the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project in Lynnwood, Washington. Today’s clinic was a memorial to Molly, my special cat friend for more than sixteen years. It was a full clinic, with rows of cats in cages being spayed or neutered. I know that many, many litters of unwanted kittens were prevented by today’s surgeries and I feel it was a fitting memorial for Molly.  My friend, Karrie, who stays with my animals when I travel, went with me.

http://www.feralcatproject.org/

After reading Ghost Dog Secrets, many fans have let me know they are knitting cat blankets for their local animal shelters. Now a reader has sent instructions for an easy-to-make cat blanket that younger children can make.

CAT BLANKET

1 yard of fleece material (makes two blankets)

Cut into four even squares.

Make small cuts about an inch in and an inch apart around all sides of the squares.

Match up two squares and tie together with yarn.

The cats like to sleep on the blankets and play with the fringe.

Thanks to Roxy and her mom, Kim, for sharing this pattern.