Speaker 1: This is pet Life Radio. Let's talk pets.
Speaker 2: Hello, pat levers, want them to cap and tune. I'm
your show host, Michelle Byrne. What a great show today.
I have a very creative woman. She's not only an
author of several books, but she's also a chef. I
wonder if she ever does anything fancy for her kiddies. Anyways,
I'm so excited for you to meet her. Stay tuned,
we'll be right back.
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Speaker 4: Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2: Welcome back everyone. I'd like to welcome Samantha Maddox. She
is an author and very autistic individual. Welcome Samantha.
Speaker 1: Welcome Michelle.
Speaker 5: It's lovely to be here. Thank you.
Speaker 2: I am so excited to have you. You're an author of
several books. We're going to talk today about the Magic
of Mister Michigins, where you is just a really good book.
But can you share some background on yourself? And I
tease people with you're also a shep. You are on
Master Chef UK, which congrats, So give us some background
on yourself to share with our audience.
Speaker 5: Lovely, So hi everybody. Yes, I'm smunk that I live
in beautiful Norfolk, in very sunny England, and I've grown
up with my cats all my life. I've been blessed
to have four familiars as I like to call them, Minsky, Minsky, Merlin,
and now Michikins. And it's Michigans who's turned into this
star of this children's book series. I've always had my
cats with me. I could not bear to be without them.
They just bring so much. And I think anyone who says, oh,
I don't like cats has never actually lived with one,
because they're the most comforting, in tune and spirit animals
I think anyone can ever have. And yes, I was
on Master Chef in twenty nineteen, Master Chef UK, and
yes the cats do get some very special treats. From
time to time, they do their favorites and they do
have some interesting tastes sometimes as well. Merlyn, my old cat,
he liked apricot jam on toast. He likes what apricot
jam on toast?
Speaker 2: See your lovely accent compared to my I don't know
my yankee one apricot jam on toast. Well that's fancy.
Have you ever cooked like a chef meal for your cats?
Speaker 5: Not quite, But Michigans does have a big He loves prawns.
He really really loves prawns. And I have a great
fishmonger and every time I go in he gives Michigans
some prawns. So that's his treat. And we've actually got
launched over the book next Friday, so missions is going
to have a little prawn platter probably maybe there's some.
He loves rainbow traut as well, so a little fishy
platter for him.
Speaker 2: Oh fancy. Okay, your book, The Magic of Mister Michigans
is actually going to be released on August eighth, even
though this show might be a little bit later, and
that is actually International Cat Day.
Speaker 5: Yes, I thought it was a great idea too. Everyone
is away in August or because it is quite a
it's known as silly season in the press. There's nothing
really going on, but to tie a children's book in
that's all about cats with International Cat Day, it just
seemed perfect to me.
Speaker 2: Oh of that. So how did the idea of the
magic of Mister Michigan's come to you?
Speaker 3: Okay?
Speaker 5: So I had, as mentioned, I had my lovely Merlin
cat who was he was the most beautiful cat, who
was a long haired black moggie cat with green eyes.
And he was born at some stables just down the road,
so he was just a farm cat and I that's
where I found him and took him home and he
was my everything. And unfortunately he had cancer and he
died in twenty twenty one, and we did everything we
could save him, and we did manage to extend his
life beyond what the vets said was possible. They gave
him three months and I kept him going for seven.
And when he died, I was, understandably, as all listeners know,
absolutely bereft. And when he died, I said he was
sliding down rainbows with glitter coming out of his tail,
and that kept me going. And I was just so lonely.
I live with my family and we have family cats.
As I said, I've always had my own familiar, my
own cat. I was so unhappy not having my own cat.
I started looking, but twenty twenty one was lockdown, and
I don't know what it was like in America. In England,
it was nigh on impossible to get a cat from
a sanctuary, which is where we've always got all our
cats from. And I know you promote that a lot,
and you know I think that's the best place to
go and find your cat, but it was just impossible.
So I ended up actually buying Michikins. I knew I
wanted a ginger cat because they asked such characters and
I'd always had black cats before. And the night before
I picked him up, I thought I was playing with
the name, and I was going Minsky, Minsky, Michigans. And
I said to my family, I'm going to call him Michigins,
and if the name suits him, I'm going to write
a children's book about him, and he's going to run
an apope three. And it was as simple as that,
and I picked him up, look went, yeah, sure, Michigans.
And the most curious thing we got him home. He
was an eight week old kitten. We got him home.
At most kittens when you bring them home scared, aren't
they They run around and they hide and they were, oh
my gosh, for what's going on? And I put him
on the blanket next to me and he just laid down.
He looked at me, crossed his front paws side and
just went to sleep. I've ever had that before.
Speaker 2: That's incredible. So Michigans is a ginger and he is
the protagonist, the star of this is the second book.
You first book was Mister Michigan's apathe Carrey, and this
one is the Magic of Mister Michigins. You already told
us a little about why you decided to write the book,
but why did you want to make a cat the
protagonist of the story.
Speaker 5: When I grew up, my favorite book was Gobbilino, the
Witch's Cat, and I loved reading that. And yes, it's
a sad story and everything else, but my children's books
are quite sad in many ways. Think of back beauty,
and I just always wanted to write about my cats,
I suppose, And it was a great way to honor
all the cats I've had before, because every single cat
who appears in the book is real. So all my
previous cats are in their Minsky Minsky man and they're
the magical m cats who come to save the day
when things go wrong, and they all float around on
different cushions with glitter coming out of them, because why
not have glitter coming out of a cushion for a cat?
And it was just I don't know, I just really wanted.
I know children relate to children, but sometimes, especially post COVID,
life can be very isolating. And I think if you
have an animal, the bond that you have with a animal,
especially if you're an only child, that bond you have
with them is everything. And I've had this most amazing
feedback from parents since the first book was published. And
one mother her son is autistic ADHD, dyslexic and PDA,
and her son he very much keeps themselves to. He's
very friendly, but he can't read, and he would get
very frustrated because he couldn't read. He hate being read
to because he couldn't read. They tried all the different
texts that are meant to help with your autistic children.
He still struggled with those. And but he loves cats
and that's the thing. Children just love their animals. So
she got him Mister missions Apothecary, and she managed to
read him the whole chapter, which she's never done before.
And the next day he came from home from school
and said, can you read with some more please? And
that's the first time in his whole life he'd never
asked to be read to. He never wanted to be
read to before. And that's how his favorite book, well
book day. He dressed up his Michigans to go into
school with. And that kind of thing, that bond, that
unique bond that children have with their animals. That's I
think why I wanted the main star to be the cats.
Speaker 2: You know, I think cats from are associated with magic
and mystic and Alana. Then dogs, yes.
Speaker 5: They are, and I think, yeah, dogs tend to plod
alogue and they are very lovely. And I do have
a little dog character in the Magic of Mister Michigans.
I was staying with a friend in California and she
had a gorgeous mania are called Nero. I was with
her for two weeks and I didn't miss Michigans while
I was away because I had this lovely little snaws
that sat on my lap all the time and just
loving me. So I thought I need to put him
in the book as well, and he's going to have
his own spin off series, Nero the Hero. Ohow, But
I just love the fact. There's this great scene in
the book where Niro is outside the Apocycare, Michigans is inside,
and one takes two step forward. So there the two
steps back and then Nero goes into the shop and
the apocyecare and he says, but you're a cat, and
Michigan says, yes, but you're a dog. That doesn't mean
we can't be friends. And I think that's a really
good lesson for everybody in life.
Speaker 2: Yes, yes it is. I wanted to ask you if
Michigan's was a specific breed, but you gave a hint
at the very end of the bug, and I want
to tell you I did get Yes, I had a
feeling he was probably partner me in Kun because he
was so tall. Yeah, so one of my cats is
part me in Kuhn. He's not that big, but he's
super friendly.
Speaker 5: Michigan's is the most loving cat I think I've ever had,
and I've had some very very loving cats. My first cat,
Minski was basically my babysitter because I was born in
the seventies before the intercoms were developed, so my mom
would know I was crying upstairs because Minsky would leave
my bedroom and go down and me out at my
mum until she heard me. So I've had always had
this amazing bomb of cats, but Michigan's is something else.
I think it's that the ginger main coon combination has
just made him. I don't know. The bond I have
with him is just so strong, and he's very happy. Today.
He's in the office with me. He is so happy today.
That was he spent the whole night in my bedroom
for the first night ever because there was something going
on in the house, and he was so happy. He
was just like the cat who got the cream. He
was like, I'm with my mum all night and I'm
on her bed. This is just perfect. He did not
stop pairing. He was very happy, and today he's very tired.
Speaker 2: Are the excitement of the show gearing up for it?
The Apothecary? Does that have any significance other than it's
the home for all the cats, and I know it's magical.
It comes and it goes away. But does that have
any specific significance, not.
Speaker 5: Necessarily, I suppose. In many ways I'm quite old fashioned.
And you know, as a saiding Gobbolina is my favorite
cat growing up, you know, who lived in the hearth.
And I don't know where the apocketree came from. It
just came to me. And it's not really a word
that certainly many people these days are so familiar with,
but especially children. So it's always actually is a great
conversation opener right from the get go, because everyone's like, well,
what's the nippocketry? And I'm really lucky. I'm actually doing
the book launch in an old apocketry up in northern
Norfolk next week and there's still got all the original
pockety drawers in there. And maybe it was the drawers
that drew me to it because I thought I can
have the cats living in the drawers. But yeah, it's
a strange, but it's just it just worked.
Speaker 2: I love them and I want one of those. I
want one of those piece of burns or with lots
of drawers. They also look like to me old Then
some people might not know what I'm talking about, but
old library card catalogs. Oh look, you know with all
those bunches of drawers. I don't know, it's one of
my one of my dreams to get one. Anyways, we're
going to take a quick break and we'll be right back. Molly,
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Speaker 4: Let's talk past, Let's come Pet about.
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Speaker 7: Cat Live Radio dot com.
Speaker 2: Welcome back, everyone. We're talking to author Samantha Maddick. She
is the author of several books, including the Magic of
Mister Michigan's. So, Samantha, you told us about one story
with the book, how there was a child that wasn't
very interested and his mother read him the book and
he wanted another chapter another. Did you have any other
surprises from people that read the book that you were thought, Wow,
that's really great that happen. And also what age group
is the book for?
Speaker 5: So yes, I do have some surprises, and I always
say the book is seven to eleven, but it all
depends because I have people buying it for their four
year old children of reading it to them because the
book is fully illustrated. I think, as I said, COVID
has changed the way that children read, and I think
to go straight for a picture chapter book to her,
just a plain textbook, because it's a step too far
for some children now. And so I've kind of bridged
this gap and probably made a way unique market in
doing so. But it does work. So I had the
feedback I've had. The surprising one actually is I've got
parents buying it for their twenty thirty year old children,
but for whom English is not their first language, and
then learning to read English through this book. Because obviously
it's a lot easier be the children's book than it
is use some heavy text with a newspaper, for example.
And I've also had a parent who's she was a
fourteen year old and she hated reading, readably hated reading.
And no, I'm sorry, she was twelve at the time.
She was now fourteen. She was twelve at the time.
She absolutely hated reading. Had literacy lessons at school because
she just hated it. And she come home they said, well,
how is the reading today, and she'd go, oh fine,
and girl says to her room. They got her probably
mister Michigan's Apothecary. She took it into school, started reading
that in literacy classes, and she come home and they
say how is literally said, all my word, it was amazing.
There were cats coming out of drawers and I know
that thunder is just jasper, don't jumping down a mountain,
and it's really really exciting, and there's rainbows and there's
butterflies as all these cats, and she was really animated
by it. And she no, not got to use lectual
literous extra literacy lessons. Plus her dad actually contacted me
the other day and said, I now have to buy
By daw To a book every week at least because
she's now reading so voraciously and be able to do
that to inspire that gift of reading and a child,
that's for me, that's magic, that's everything. That's you know,
all the money in the world would not compare it
to how that feels to have turned on that light
bulb in a child and enable them to fall in
love with reading, because reading can just take you to
so many different places. And yes, I've got the apocrypsy realm,
but it can take that child all over the world
in the future and just open up their imaginations. For me,
that's what it's all about.
Speaker 2: I absolutely agree with you. I've been a vorracious reader
since I was a child. I can't imagine not reading.
And I was doing some research one day, and reading
has other benefits. It helps with vocabulary, imagination, and there's
probably more that if you research you can find out,
but it's I don't know. I generally I started reading digitally.
I generally have a q you know, of like eight
books at a time. Sometimes it's kind of nuts, but
I think it's amazing. So thank you for sharing that story.
How does the second book differ from the first one.
Speaker 5: That's a good question. I think people have met mister
Missions in book one him a little bit better. They
know more of the story of the apocy three, so
they can follow it better. But it also reads well
as a standalone book because I've had people read it
this time through beta readers and societies are members of,
and they've not read the first book and they've gone,
on my word, this is amazing. So's you don't have
to have read the first one, which I think is
actually quite useful. It's a lot deeper as well. We
learn a lot more about mister Michigans himself in this book.
We share that the real mister Michigans has got the
hip dyspraxia that maincoon cats can sometimes have. And that's
why you know Michigans. We have five cats, and Michigans
will spend his day outside in the office with me
because he can't run about door day. He gets tired,
he ends up in pain, but he chooses his moments.
He will go and have a huli as we call
a zoom time, and then he goes, yes, I need
to need to sleep now and just rest. And we
learn that about mister Michigans there's a bit more we
learn about the apoccree in this book as well, and
what's actually inside the drawers. It's kind of a bit
of a secret at the start, and then a child
actually jumps into the draws and goes running off because
he's he doesn't want to be told what to do,
and so we learn a little bit more about that,
and that the empocketrey basic is this massive thing of
feelings and emotions and any of the cats can control them,
which I quite like.
Speaker 2: Actually another thing, and I don't know why this. I
didn't think of this before, but another thing with reading
is that there's a lot of it sometimes even and
this is a fiction book, of course, but there's a
lot of hidden messages. So you spoke of, you know,
mister Michigin's with hip displays here, so you know, people
know that children reading it can learn, you know, people
have different ailments and it's okay, and you know the
different value of that message. I also love that each
chapter has a message that's dealt with.
Speaker 5: Yes, well did you do that in the first book.
Speaker 4: I did.
Speaker 5: I was a little bit more scientific in the first book,
and you people say, no, I don't. I don't like clouds.
I can't see the sun fed up because I can't
see the sun, so I'd put in just a little
scientific facts about why we have clouds and what they do,
what causes lightning, and things such as that. So it
was that was quite interesting. This one has got a
bit more of the second book, The Magic ofv has
got a bit more of a it's dark as in
nighttime skies, stars the moon, the moon's a bit of
fixation in this book. And just last Friday I did
some planning on book three, which will be called The
Kindness of Mister Michigan's and I've got the little under
theme current that's going to run through that one as well.
So it's very subtle, but it's there, and it's I
love it because children see things that as we as
I do, so off to miss. So I think just
by putting some little extra things in there, they will
pick up it a lot more than we would. And
I do think that's a fun thing to do.
Speaker 2: Yes, I love the saddle messages, but there is also ambius.
Each chapter has a different message, you know, one as
a child with loneliness, one a child's board, there's one
who scared of the dark, scared of the dark, yes,
and bump.
Speaker 5: In the night, the creatures that live under your bed.
That's one of my favorite lines is, yeah, everybody something
along the lines of everybody knows that if you have
your teddy bear over your shoulder looking at the door,
then no monster can come into your room. And that's
something I believed as a child if my teddy bear
was there. And it's just trying to remember how I
felt as a child and tap into that a little bit.
But the Lonely chapter is interesting because we got adopted
by a cat last year, Ricky, because again, all the
cats in the book are real. And he went on
the run. He went missing from his he was staying
with his in laws, and he escaped and was on
the run for eighteen months, wow, very eighteen months. Ended
up in our garden and he was here for about
six months before he finally said, you know what, I
can't run anymore. Can you please look after me? And
he's the loveliest, loveliest cat. And he's a very smart
gray with a white tuxedo with brilliant green eyes. And
as soon as we got him, I'm like, he has
to be a chapter in the book. And he has
to be lonely, because he must have been so lonely,
you know, the cat to survive phraty months living in
the countryside with foxes and dogs and farm traffic and
everything else. You know, he did really well.
Speaker 2: Yes, and that's a long time it is.
Speaker 5: He's so loving. When we tracked down we did track
down his original owners. They know that we have him.
They don't have a Japanese sharpee dog, so they said
that we can't have him back. But they're in touch
all the time. They see all the pictures and they
know that he's got a love at home and you,
so they're happy to.
Speaker 2: Oh, wonderful. You talked about the illustrations briefly, but they
are truly amazing. Can you tell us a little bit
about the illustrator. I believe her name Gerda smid Gnda Smith. Yes,
so Gerda is Oh, she's wonderful. She's South African. And
I was in the UK obviously looking for an illustrator.
I hadn't spoken of anywhere on social media that I
was looking for the illustrator, but I was looking at
I was really I knew exactly what I wanted and
also what I didn't want. I didn't want a pencil drawing.
I didn't want a cartoon. I wanted something really unique
and wonderful. And she does these amazing watercolors. And she happened.
She was just looking She's dommy herself since she was
just looking for all children's book authors, and she followed
me and mister Michigan's on Instagram and I was like, oh,
let's have a look at her. And she'd done this otter.
There's an otter story. It's very big in South Africa,
and the expression on the otter's face that was exactly
what I wanted. So we got in touch. We worked
together for the first one, and she sent me this
amazing message after us about how that came to a
certain point in time in her life and picked her up.
And I think that's the magic of Michigans. He healed
my heart after I lost Merlin. It's helped Gerda where
she was in her life. And then we've just done
book two and there's a wonderful picture in there. I
don't know if you remember it.
Speaker 5: It's when Selene is I don't say too much because
it's a bit of a giveaway, but it's the one
where she's if I just say she's dancing with the
Siamese cata around her, you might know which one I mean.
I think so she Girda sent me a message and
she said thank you for reaching for the stars and
taking me to the moon with you. And we've got
such a wonderful friendship now. And I've just literally yesterday
received all the original artwork a bit too, so she's
said it down from his studio, She's sent it from
South Africa. So I've got all the original A three
watercolors which will go in the book, which then goes
so the launch and they're so so special and we're
both on a bit bereft because this one's finish, but
we know that book three will be coming as soon
as I write it.
Speaker 2: And I'm going to ask you about Bug three, but first,
can you tell us about mister Michigan's charitable donations.
Speaker 5: Yes, so, I very much believe in giving things back,
because I'm so grateful for every single person who goes
and buys my book, and lots of people at the
book cost thirteen pounds, lighting I am lots of people.
Give me fourteen, say people change people give me fifteen
and say keep the change. And then I also got
some stickers done for him as well, which people could
just make a donation to. So he has this big
ginger it's actual tin in the shape of a ginger cat,
so people just put their money in there. And the
last year he donated twice one was too. I've sort
of saved all up and then rounded it up as
well with someone from me, and he donated to the
very local Cats Protection, which actually is where we got
one of our cats from when I was about eight
years old. And then he's also donated to Anesta's Cat
Sanctuary which is in Syria, and they've literally rescued thousands
and thousands of cats who were abandoned after the war,
and they actually got bombed themselves in October, and every
single cat was safe because they had to save face.
They knew where to go, they knew where to hide,
and they've got so many gingers there as well. It's lovely.
So he sent some money off to them too. He
sent quite quite a nice donation to them, and he'll
be doing the same this year and wonderful. It's always
nice to give back, it is, it's so important and
a fair bit for the grace of God. As I
always say, go any of us and if he can
help out some cats somewhere along the way. By his
words and his magic was he's the want telling the story.
Really not me, then so much the better.
Speaker 2: Oh yes, now we talked about you told this about
the book and it has to be mister Michigan's. The
third bug has to be written. Yet when can listeners
expect to see the new bug out?
Speaker 5: So the Magic of mister Michigans is out. As we've
said on eighth of Anger's International Cat Day, I would
actually really like, if it goes well, for the next
one to be the next International Cat Day. And I
think realistically a year is a good amount of time
because it has to be illustrated and the layout, and
it does take time to do. And I like to
go get the draft done by the end of this year.
But Friday I half wrote it in my head anyway,
so we're probably a little bit further along with than
I thought I would to be. Cats give so much,
and all animals give so much. Dogs and things as well,
dogs and things and rabbits. I think as a companion.
I think if a child has a pet when they
are young, I think it makes them a very very
rounded hum would be not naming him. But I had
an X and he never had any animals growing up,
and he was very cold. And we have horses as
well as Arabian horses, and they now the orders to
feed the horses first, and then he feed the cats,
so then the humans come last. And his way was
always like you do the humans first. It's I know
they're here because of us, we have to do them first.
And I think if you grow up surrounded by animals,
loving an animal, I do think it does it makes
you a little bit more of a rounded human being.
That's why I believe.
Speaker 2: Think you're right. Work in our audience and all of
our listeners by mister Michigan's bugs for themselves, for their friends.
Where can they buy their own book? So the best
place is mister michigans dot com.
Speaker 5: M I S h K I N S. And mister
isbel properly m I S t e R. Because he
had he's a very oldie worldy cat, so we'd had
to be mister so yet mister missions dot com. There
is a limited edition hardback as well, but you can
find both books on there. Plus you can read all
about the different Cats and their Inspirations. It is on
Amazon dot Co dot UK. I'm trying to get it
onto Amazon dot com. Mister Michigan's aproperies on Amazon dot com,
but I'm just having a I will get it sorted
for the Magic of Mister Michigans to be on Amazon
dot com as well, but mister michians dot com is
the best place, okay.
Speaker 2: I want to thank you so much Samantha for coming
Oncatitude and sharing your book, The Magic of Mister Michigans,
and I am very excited can't wait for it to
come out.
Speaker 5: Thank you so much for having on Michelle. This is
ba to beautiful podcast. I've been listening to them and
you share so much and you do so much for
the feline community. So thank you for that.
Speaker 2: Oh You're so welcome. I hope you andreyed the show.
I want to thank my guests Samantha Maddox for joining
us from as we in the US say, across the Pond.
Very delighted to have her on. This book is incredible.
It's a lovely story and the illustrations are just incredible.
The Magic of Mister Michikins. I read it to my
cat crew actually Dennis, Charlotte and Molly, and Dennis was
beaming because you know, mister Michikins's partnering is mean Kuhn
or partnering Kon and so's Dennis. So he had a
friend in the book, so it's really fun. I'd like
to thank everyone listening to Catitude. Thank you so much.
I appreciate your loyalty, and of course thank you to
my producer, Mark Winter because the show would not be
the same without him. And remember, lose the attitude, have Catitude.
Speaker 4: Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on petlifradio
dot com.