Meet The Developer!

What was the initial inspiration for your app?

The app is based on my children’s picture book My Cat at Home in the Wild, which was inspired by my curiosity to understand my cats’ behavior.

My husband and I adopted two kittens from the same litter. We named them Merry and Pippin after characters from the Lord of the Rings. I call my cats my first set of twins, because 18 months later, we were blessed with twin daughters—who are not named after characters from the Lord of the Rings. Although one of them has the initials JRR which is purely coincidental—I think.

Our cats were a constant source of entertainment. Why did they destroy house plants? Why did they love the sink and jump in the toilet? And why did they sit outside our newborns’ bedroom at night like guards at Buckingham Palace? I found myself asking these questions, doing the research, and writing a book about it. I haven’t stopped writing since. I’ve published three more picture books, and just finished writing a middle-grade novel—that does have a cat as one of the major characters.

With the publishing world embracing eBooks and Book Apps, I decided to try to reach a wider audience with this book. Wild cats are fascinating. I was surprised to see how the instincts of my house cats were similar to their big cousins in the wild. I hope parents and educators who use technology will find my app a fun source of information for children at a reasonable price.

What is your favorite aspect of your app?

Adding the interactive features and sound effects to the app added more dimensions to the book. These cats are beautiful to see, but to hear them too really brought to life the gorgeous illustrations by Dwight Kirkland. The images of Kingsley the cat are based on photos of Merry and Pippin. But, the artwork for the big cats was all Dwight. The illustrations are stunning!! (I mean it, and I don’t use exclamation points lightly.)

I found Dwight on elance.com. We never met in person, and communicated mostly through email. He created my vision of the book design with the split-page illustrations so beautifully. After the book was published in 2007, Dwight and I didn’t speak as often. When I reached out to him about creating the app, I discovered he had passed away. I’m so grateful to have worked with such a talented artist, and although the book was a tribute to my cats and my kids, the app is a tribute to Dwight.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

My hope with this app is for it to be a fun read for young children, but to also educate them and hopefully instill a sense of curiosity for wild life and their environment. I plan to update the app to include vocabulary words, and more fun facts about the various habitats the wild cats live in. Many of these beautiful cats are endangered.

Not only did my books inspire my daughters to read, but this particular book inspired them to volunteer at cat shelters. This led to fostering a cat who we adopted. We don’t foster cats anymore because I can’t give them back.

Lastly, this is my first app, so I worked with OCG Studios who helped me every step of the way. They are fantastic—although I’m not sure any of them sleep. I’d get responses to my emails at all hours of the night. Maybe they’re nocturnal—like cats. 

My Cat at Home in the Wild – Website

My Cat at Home in the Wild – FaceBook

My Cat at Home in the Wild – Twitter