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Overview
UFOs in Mooseville? Rumors abound that a missing backpacker has been abducted, and it looks like Jim Qwilleran’s sedate summer may be interrupted by an investigation—with the help of his own little aliens, Koko and Yum Yum. And when the backpacker’s body turns up—and transplanted Floridian Owen Bowen is found dead soon afterward—the search for intelligent life turns into a hunt for a murderer...
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780515127393 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 01/01/2000 |
| Series: | Cat Who... Series , #21 |
| Edition description: | Reprint |
| Pages: | 304 |
| Sales rank: | 169,025 |
| Product dimensions: | 4.20(w) x 6.76(h) x 0.81(d) |
About the Author
Hometown:
North CarolinaDate of Birth:
1916Date of Death:
June 4, 2011Place of Birth:
MassachusettsPlace of Death:
South CarolinaEducation:
Graduated from high school at age 16Interviews
On Tuesday, January 11th, barnesandnoble.com welcomed Lilian Jackson Braun to discuss THE CAT WHO SAW STARS.
Moderator: Welcome, Lilian Jackson Braun. Thank you for taking the time to join us online this evening. How are you doing tonight?
Lilian Jackson Braun: I am doing fine. How are you doing?
kingkacahorrock.com from Australia: What made you choose a fictional cat for an adult theme?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Well, good question. I started out writing about cats because I wanted to write about cats and because I think they are terribly interesting. One thing that I feel about my own cats is that they are psychic. They know when I go to the fridge to get food -- they must be psychic. I thought, Here is a good twist for a plot. Although it is a tongue-in-cheek theme that is my premise: that cats are smarter than people, take it or leave it.
Frederick from Boston, MA: What would you consider the inspiration behind the latest Cat Who...mystery? Do you watch the "X-Files"? Is the millennium somewhat of a factor?
Lilian Jackson Braun: I write about Moose County, which is similar to a waterfront town where I used to spend my summers and the people there are very interested in UFO sightings, so I thought the combination of cats and UFO's would go well. I worked in those factors along with a couple of other things in THE CART WHO SAW STARS.
Freida from Spartanburg, SC: Hi. This is not a question. Just praise for you, the author. I love your books. I have a Siamese and have started studying her behavior intensely after reading your books. I look forward to seeing you in Spartanburg at Barnes and Noble on Saturday, January 30, 1999 to get your new book. I can't wait! Keep up the good work!
Lilian Jackson Braun: That is very nice. I am very much looking forward to it. I am always interested in meeting my readers especially those who have cats and understand cats and the books for that reason.
K. Lasley from Soddy-Daisy, TN: Dear Mrs. Braun, I have read all of your books. I read them as soon as they come out and then find myself frustrated because I have to wait a whole year for another episode. Two questions please: 1) Is Qwill anything like your husband? 2) Would you consider publishing a "The Cat Who Encyclopedia" that would provide a brief history of each character and significant places that have appeared in your books? Thanks!
Lilian Jackson Braun: 2) My publisher has authorized a woman (Sharon Feister) in Texas to write a guide to these books -- "The Cat Who Companion." 1) Qwill has about ten different men in his character with my husband included, but that is how all my characters are. They are like patchwork quilts of all the people that I have known.
Wendy Kowalewsky from Lincoln, MI: The question I have is one you have probably been asked many times before, but I was wondering how you came up with the name Qwill. I love reading your books and would like to thank you for the many hours of enjoyment you have provided me with. I am looking forward to reading about what Koko and Yum Yum get involved with next.
Lilian Jackson Braun: I wanted his name to have an initial that was not common. I have read books where the names are John, Joan, Jerry, etc. and I have trouble keeping the characters straight. Consulting the telephone book, I found out that Q is the most unusual. I was working for the Detroit Free Press at the time, and I interviewed a Dane whose name was Qwill and I thought his name was unusual, but instead I added Qwilleran and then I realized as a writer that I was referring to the goose quill pen. So that is how his name started.
Judy from Dayton, OH: My husband and I first became hooked on your books listening to the audio tapes as we traveled. We much prefer the unabridged tapes, and we feel like the abridged recent audio tapes just have the heart and soul taken out of them by editing. Will future audio tapes be abridged or unabridged?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Different companies do different kinds. I personally like the unabridged. Sorry for no more information....
Hubblegal from New Jersey: I love your books and have read all of them. The characters in your books are all friends of mine. Do you have cats of your own? Are the cats in your books just from your imagination or are there actual cats who have inspired them?
Lilian Jackson Braun: I have two cats, male and female (Siamese) and everyday they inspire me by doing something different. So I must say that my own cats do inspire me. The plots, however, are something different. I think up the plots, and they think up the cute ideas.
Rebecca Capowski from Great Falls, MT: Hello, Ms. Braun! I was wondering -- who is your most difficult character to write for? Is there a particular supporting character who's tough to write for?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Interesting question. Not really because I have a knack for putting myself in other people's shoes and if I am writing about Amanda Goodwinters(a bitter person), I become her. If I am writing about Polly who is charming and conservative, I put myself in her shoes. I also put myself in the shoes of male characters. This is just a knack that I have always had. Even my villains have some good points and my heroes have some bad points, so that is just life.
Mary from Minneapolis: I loved the little old lady you so callously killed off in one of your books...the one who baked the goodies. Any chance of her coming back as a ghost?
Lilian Jackson Braun: You are talking about Iris Cobb, and she was an interesting character but after several books, I got tired of her and she had to go. I doubt if she will come back but her recipes are still being talked about. But I am afraid that dear old Iris is gone forever.
Janet from Wayne, PA: Ms. Braun...I have been a fan for years. Your books are so rich in vocabulary, you make reading the dictionary such fun. Not so long ago, you had Qwill count Koko's whiskers and he has, I believe, an extra four, which I assume accounts for his intelligence. Is this based in fact or did you make it up?
Lilian Jackson Braun: I made it up. I am entitled to make up a few things.
Pat from North Carolina: Do you ever think that Qwill will marry again? And if so, will it be a character that you have already given "birth" to?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Well, I don't know. There is some advantage in keeping him single. I doubt whether he will ever marry again.
Sherry C from Grand Prairie, TX: Have you ever been approached about turning your stories into a movie or movies? Who would you cast as the major characters? Personally I think Tom Selleck would be great as Qwill!
Lilian Jackson Braun: I agree that Tom Selleck would be a great Qwill, but I have stipulated that there would be no filming until I stopped writing and since I am still going strong that won't be in the near future.
Beverly Reily from Austin, TX: Miss Braun, have you ever had cats like your main character's? I just wanted to tell you how very much I enjoy your books, and I have the whole family reading them now.... Thank you for so much clean entertainment...B Reily
Lilian Jackson Braun: When I started writing cat fiction, I had a cat named Koko. I now call him "Koko the Great." I also had a "Yum Yum." "Koko the Great" hovers over my books because he was so intelligent that he could have been a solver of crimes. He lived to be 18 and was born in the 1950s. I still remember "Koko the Great." When I sign books on January 30th at B&N I will have a framed photo of "Koko the Great." People are always so awed by his appearance; he looks so authoritative, noble, and intelligent. I take him to all my signings.
Jeanie from Port Allegany, PA: I love the Cat Who...series! I've read each one. Does Mrs. Braun feel that talking to her cats, like Mr. Qwill does, really allows the cats to know her?
Lilian Jackson Braun: I firmly believe that, and not only I, but some experts have said that the more you talk to a cat, the smarter he becomes. And I find it's true. I have noticed that the cats whose owners don't speak to them are entirely different animals.
Bob Gordon from Ottawa, ON, Canada: Mrs. Jackson, in a couple of your novels, Qwill has gone on vacation, to the Potato Mountains and to Scotland (or at least his friends did!), and once back to the city (THE CAT WHO LIVED HIGH). Do you know if Qwill has plans for any further travels away from Pickax?
Lilian Jackson Braun: I haven't thought of it at the moment. I have traveled extensively in Canada myself and maybe he should go to Canada. IN THE CAT WHO SAW STARS, Polly spends a month in Canada with her sister. I used to live across the river in Canada, and we used to go there all the time. One of my favorite countries is Canada. I put a little private joke in THE CAT WHO SAW RED.... Qwill and another man were speaking of a mutual friend about whom Qwill said, "She is very nice," and the other man said, "She is Canadian." I don't know if anybody else got that joke, but I liked it.
Scott Davis from Pembroke Pines, FL: It is *fantastic* to "meet" you through this chat! I absolutely *love* the books! My question: With all that Qwill and the rest of the characters have gone through over the years, have they developed any kind of "life" of their own? Is there anywhere you have tried to take a story that they just won't go, or anyplace it feels like they have led you?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Yes, I do feel they have developed lives of their own. Sometimes I think of clever things to say, but I can't use them because that character would not have said it. I bear in mind what that character would do, so they do have a life of their own.
Broucka from Highland Park, IL.: What is your favorite book from your series?
Lilian Jackson Braun: My favorite is always the one I happen to be writing right now, but lately, in my spare time, I have been listening to the recorded books -- I think there are about 12 unabridged -- and every time I listen to one, I think it is my favorite. So the answer is really the one I am writing now is my favorite.
Amy from Las Vegas: Did you base where the books are located in the Northeast on places you have been or visited in real life?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Of course the locales are imaginary, but I can't help but be influenced by the places I have lived and traveled. And since I come from Michigan and have traveled through Wisconsin, Canada etc., I have been influenced by these locales, but my settings are composites.
Sharion from Dayton, OH: I love all your books and devour them as soon as they come out. When is Qwill going to encounter a female to really make Polly worry?
Lilian Jackson Braun: That is an idea. I will have to think about that....
Kristie from Wheaton, IL: I love your books -- you are my favorite author. I've read every one of your books and am always waiting for the next one! My question is, How do you come up with the titles of your books? Do you wait until the end of the book to name them or do you have an idea of a title before you start?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Frankly I usually start with a title and hope I can write a book to go with it. That is how it works.
Amy from North Carolina: Ms. Braun, first let me say how much I enjoy your books. I look forward to each new one but love to go back and reread previous stories because I always find something I missed. I would like to know, however, several things. Is there any story twist in a previous book that you look back and wish you had not done? Do you think that Qwill will ever add a third "member" to his family? And, finally, will Qwill be doing any traveling in the future -- as he did to Scotland or the Potato Mountains? Thank you again for such wonderful stories.
Lilian Jackson Braun: 1)No. 2)I think his life is complicated enough already. 3)That is always a possibility. If I find some place I would like to travel, he might travel there.
daribus from Calgary, Alberta, Canada: I am the founder of the Unofficial Lilian Jackson Braun Fan Club. We have over 110 members, a web ring, and a Delphi forum. People can subscribe to the club at http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/lillian. You are known for the Cat Who... series of books. What we would like to know is what other books you've written. Selected Writings on Feminism and Socialism for example; this and other works are not widely known. Could you give us a comment on any other works you've done in the past? Also on a personal level, do you have hobbies and other interests that you'd like to share with your fans?
Lilian Jackson Braun: 1) No, I have not written other books. In fact, I tried, but my writing career did not take off until I started writing about cats. I also don't have any desire to write any other books. 2) I have had so many hobbies in my lifetime.... I love to sew, read, do needlework, and in my younger days, I was a cross-country biker and a modern dancer and I sang. Of course, as you get older your tastes and abilities change. Right now, I think my greatest hobby is writing the Cat Who... series. I also like movies and plays and such.
Scott from Pembroke Pines, FL: In a previous chat, you mentioned that you write your books longhand, yellow pad and felt pen. What is the rest of your writing atmosphere like? Music? Indoors or out? Etc.?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Anywhere in my house where there is a chair that I can put my feet up. I have four sets of locations, including a screen porch in the summer and another three indoors. Almost every room has a lounge, and I really do my best thinking with my feet up. And I am the world's largest consumer of legal pads and felt tip pens.
Jan Jankauskas from Arlington Heights: Koko and Yum Yum get on so well together, will they ever have a new little companion to mix it up with?
Lilian Jackson Braun: I don't think so.
Gina from Virginia: If you were not an author (and you are a very good one, by the way) what do you think you would do?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Anything I would do would have to do with words. I don't know if I would be a teacher. I have been a journalist and have been in advertising. I would love to do research for a dictionary. "Words, words, words..." -- a quote from Shakespeare.
Scott from Pembroke Pines, FL: Thank you so much for being with us tonight! I would like to know if you have any special way of working through the tough parts of a book, the roadblocks in a story?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Walk away from it; make a cup of tea. And I don't even have to drink the tea, just prepare it. It is just getting away from the scene of the crime.
Marie from El Paso, TX: Have you a certain number of books about Qwill that you plan to write, or will you just continue to write as long as you are able? My family and I hope there will be many more!
Lilian Jackson Braun: I just write one at a time. When I am writing a book, I always think I will never have another idea for the next, but the time I am finished I can hardly wait to get started on the next one.
Judy from Dayton, OH: Your characterization of Moose County has been compared to Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon. How do you feel about that comparison?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Ok with me. There is room for Lake Wobegon and Moose County.
Lee Harpootlian from Holmdel, NJ: I love reading your books. They have given me many hours of enjoyment. How did you develop the idea of Koko and Yum Yum having such a special diet? Will you ever be signing books locally?
Lilian Jackson Braun: When Koko was first introduced he lived with a man who was a gourmet cook who fed him very exquisite meals that one would never feed a cat, and when Qwill adopted Koko he had to carry on as well as he could. He was no gourmet cook, but he would bring home food from gourmet restaurants. It continued as a joke because everybody's cat has such a special diet and they love to chat about their own cat's diet. People who own cats love to pamper them, but I don't approve of serving people food to cats. It was just sort of a joke that started and carried on through several books.
Michele from Phoenix, AZ: I read THE CAT WHO SAW RED for my Cat Who...book club last month and thought the solution to the mystery to be one of the most intricate, interesting, and grisly ones I've ever read. Is it true that the ancient Chinese really achieved a true red on clay pots by cremating human remains during the firing?
Lilian Jackson Braun: It wasn't human but animal remains. I got that info from a very scholarly book on pottery.
phil bornemann from OCOEE, FL: Any memories from your childhood make it into any of you works?
Lilian Jackson Braun: All the time, all the time. Many of Qwill's memory of being a schoolboy or living with his mother are drawn from my own childhood.
Barbara from Philadelphia: I love the barn where Qwill lives. Is there a similar one you have been in or is it all your conceptualization?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Once upon a time I was traveling in Illinois and there was a restaurant in an old barn and it was on several levels, balconies. And I thought it was an enchanting restaurant. Then when I was looking for a place for him to live, I thought this would be perfect. At one signing, an architect showed up and told me that he thought it was an interesting design and could be done.
Valerie from Knoxville, TN: I also have always pictured Qwill as Tom Selleck. He would be purrrfect! Why have you stipulated that there would be no filming until you stopped writing?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Because I don't want to dilute it. I don't want it made into a comic strip. I don't want them on T-shirts, I don't want a TV show, I don't want a movie. I don't want to dilute the Cat Who...series.
Freida from South Carolina: Ms. Braun, Thank you for talking with us tonight. Do you think anyone can write if they really want to? Lately, I have sensed a strong urgency to write. How do you start? Pardon me if this sounds like a silly question. Thank you.
Lilian Jackson Braun: I think anyone who went to school can write, but writing well is another matter. Writing can be a lovely hobby. You can make interesting letters to friends. I started writing letters to friends and relatives. Long letters that I didn't care if they answered. Many serious writers keep a journal. This accomplishes the same thing, but I just happened to write letters. Right now, I dont have time to write letters, but if I ever stopped writing books, I will go back. It is very enjoyable.
Moderator: Thank you for coming online and fielding all of our questions, Lilian Jackson Braun. We can't wait for your next book and hope you'll come online again when it comes out. Do you have any parting words for your many online fans?
Lilian Jackson Braun: Let me compliment you on the questions. I receive much fan mail and read the same questions over and over, but tonight the questions were quite original.
