I have a much adored gray stripey cat right now named Lucy. We adopted her a few years ago:

• Pick Me! – We Just Adopted Lucy

When we adopted her, we had just lost Maggie, my previously adored stripey gray cat. I had no idea how to name her, so I literally let a stranger name her. When we were at the Farmer’s Market, I was holding her while Mike filled out the paperwork for adopting her. An old lady came up to me and fussed over the kitty and we talked.

Nice lady: Oh she’s so adorable are you adopting her?

Me: I am. We just lost our gray cat. She died…

Nice lady: My gray cat just died, too. I’m so sad. She was such a good cat.

Me: What was her name?

Nice lady: Lucy.

Me: Then that’s what we’ll name her. Lucy is a really good name.

I just realized that I have loved gray stripy cats my ENTIRE life. It started when I was just a baby. My mom even provided proof. Here is my father introducing me to the kitten.

This is 1969 in Norfolk, Virginia at Mrs. Cannon’s House. I have no memory of this event, but it’s obvious I was really interested in this kitty. As a kid, I would look at this picture as proof that the kitty liked me too, because she reached out her paw toward me.

I eventually cornered the kitty. I have no idea how this encounter ended, but I like to think that we were both happy.

Sometimes, when I’m half asleep and think weird thoughts, I like to tell myself that Maggie was ALWAYS there for me. She just kept coming back to me in the form of a gray stripy cat.

My second book, Merriton: Twelve Hours from San Francisco, is now available on Amazon.com. You can buy it here:

• Merriton: Twelve Hours from San Francisco – Kindle Edition
• Merriton: Twelve Hours from San Francisco – Paperback Edition

I actually wrote this BEFORE The Secret Heart of Charlotte Lucas, but it is WAY bigger, so the editing was harder. Oh, and I have already found typos in the print version, so no matter how long I work on something, I just cannot see my errors until they are in print. Most of this story was posted on the Merriton website, but the print and kindle editions both have 25 new chapters that were never published there. I’m so excited!!

I absolutely adore these two photos of Stacey and me. We are both wearing the same pair of pants.

I used to look at these photos and pretend that Stacey and I were twins. I am a full five years older than her, but every once and a while someone asks us if we’re twins. I always want to say yes. Yes, and here’s my proof.