Enjoying My BowTie Experience

For a person who loves pets, I had an absolutely delightful experience the other day. I was invited to visit the offices of BowTie Publications and be interviewed for some of their on-line web channels.

BowTie is the publisher of lots of excellent pet-related magazines, including Dog Fancy, Dog World, Cat Fancy, Ferrets, Bird Talk, Reptiles and Critters, as well as annual magazines also relating to pets, other magazines that feature particular dog breeds or training of a specific breed, trade magazines for pet shop owners and others, and hard-back books involving pets... and even more! They also have several different websites that support and promote their magazines, such as DogChannel.com, CatChannel.com and BirdChannel.com. They are all under the umbrella of AnimalNetwork.com.

What was the topic of my interview? My Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries, of course! I was interviewed by Executive Editor Melissa Kauffman, who had read them all so far. She seemed really to like Kendra, and her questions were both fun and incisive--like, why did I start the first story, SIT, STAY, SLAY, with Kendra in such sad circumstances in her life? (She was watching her new tenants move into the big, beautiful house she loved so she could pay the mortgage without having to sell it, and her Cavalier, Lexie, and she were moving into the apartment over the garage.)

I also got to meet Crystal Apilado, Assistant Web Editor, who was a huge help in getting the interview scheduled, despite several delays. She also helped out a lot at the interview.

Many, if not most, of Melissa’s questions involved animals. Along with her oversight of many publications, Melissa is the editor of Ferrets and Bird Talk, so she had lots to say and ask about Kendra and her adventures in NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FERRETS and FINE-FEATHERED DEATH.

I also learned things from Melissa, including how controversial it’s becoming to allow cats to roam the streets--both for their own sakes and for the neighbors’. Cats can unfortunately become coyote food in my area and are subject to being struck by cars. Plus they sometimes harm birds and other wild animals. Not to mention other cats, or dogs. And cat scratches can become infected and do all kinds of damage.

We of course discussed the controversy surrounding the illegality of ferrets in California. They’re said to harm endangered species, but probably no more than other animals do that roam wild. (See above re cats--oops, that’s my lawyer side talking!) They also don’t generally survive long on their own.

And then there’s the controversy surrounding Designer Dogs--combining recognized breeds, such as Cockapoos and Labradoodles. Breeders of the kinds of dogs that are combined tend not to be pleased. The Bengal cats featured in MEOW IS FOR MURDER are also a combo of other kinds of cats--Asian Leopard cats and domestic cats--and therefore not held in highest esteem in some quarters, despite how popular they seem to be getting.

I understand that portions of the interview will be posted on-line one or more of the AnimalNetwork channels. I feel as if I didn’t make an utter fool of myself in the interview, but I’m not the most photogenic person in the world. If I wind up not looking too bad, maybe I’ll add the links to a future blog!

-- Linda