Читать книгу The Third Cat Story Megapack - Damien Broderick - Страница 5

INTRODUCTION: HERE, KITTY, KITTY! by Robert Reginald

Our third offering of kitty delights and delectables features twenty-five cat stories, two nonfiction compilations, and nine poems—but the emphasis overall is decidedly more modern than in our previous two Cat Megapacks.

Heading the list this time around is Mary A. Turzillo, who contributes eight wonderful and wondrous tales and verses relating to our feline companions. Perennial contributor A. R. Morlan, another lover of our kitty friends, shares her affection in six stories set on the dark side of town. Her visions are both moving and unique.

California writer Michael Hemmingson, who penned the screenplay for the film, The Watermelon, stirs the heart with his sad visions of cats abused and dying. Australian-Texan author Damien Broderick provides his unique take of the universe in two stories that send his cats beyond-beyond the ordinary. Horror writer Kathryn Ptacek contributes a pair of poignant fantasy tales, including “Cat Burglar.” Our dear friend Douglas Menville adds a couple of delightful verses celebrating two different kitties that he knew.

Darrell Schweitzer uncovers the tale of a mystery-solving cat from an alternate universe. David C. Smith’s “Tommy’s Cat” tells the story of a boy and his pet—a creature who’s not quite what he seems. Marilyn “Mattie” Brahen gives us the real story of how the author created Alice in Wonderland—and, of course, that forced us to add the vignettes relating to the “Cheshire-Cat” from Lewis Carroll’s classic fantasy tale! Speaking of older material, we’ve included two versions of “Puss in Boots,” Dracula-creator Bram Stoker’s “The Squaw,” Mark Twain’s vignette, “Reverence for Cats,” Mary E. Wilkins Freeman’s “The Cat,” nonfiction compilations celebrating “Cat Sagacity” and “Cat Anecdotes,” and much more besides.

So, settle back in your chair, your couch, and your bed, cat-lovers everywhere, and enjoy this third selection of frisky feline tales!

—Robert Reginald & Mary Wickizer Burgess, 8 Oct. 2013