‘Misty the Cat…Unleashed’ Is Unleashed into the Book World

Posted by

131

Misty and me. (Photo by my wife, Laurel Cummins.)

My third book — Misty the Cat…Unleashed — has just been published! It’s partly factual and partly fictional, so I guess it’s partly a novel. Along with being partly a memoir, told in Misty’s comedic voice. (A voice you’ve occasionally experienced here when that commendable kitty has guest-blogged about literature.)

In the 242-page book, asthmatic feline Misty slips his harness during one of his daily leashed walks and gets lost in Montclair, New Jersey. To pass the time and try to control his fear, Misty cracks MANY jokes, reminisces about his life, imparts information about his species and human family (mine!), discusses his favorite novels and music, gets philosophical, fantasizes about things, and more.

This NOT-a-children’s book includes 11 cartoons of Misty amid the text, and has paperback and Kindle editions. (Links in the boldface paragraph near the end of this post.) If you end up buying and reading the book, an Amazon review would of course be very welcome. 🙂

I came up with the idea for a memoir “by” Misty several years ago, but couldn’t quite figure out a good plot to hang the story on. Then, in 2022, Misty slipped his harness one morning in real life and was lost for about 16 hours. We were frantic and devastated before finally finding him after much searching and much leaving of our contact information with neighborhood residents. A few months later, it belatedly occurred to me that I had a plot for my (Misty’s) book.

Then came the writing and rewriting, from March to September 2023. After that, I figured I’d make a long-shot attempt to find a literary agent — researching agency web sites and sending out 88 individually crafted queries whenever I had some free time in late 2023 and early 2024. I received some nice responses, but not an offer of representation.

So, I decided to again enter the wonderful world of independent publishing, as I had done with my 2017 Fascinating Facts literary-trivia book after going the small press route with my 2012 memoir Comic (and Column) Confessional. After all, Misty and cats in general are all about independence. 🙂 (But they are of course very loving creatures, too.)

“Misty the Cat…Unleashed” can be purchased on Amazon in a paperback or a Kindle edition.

In addition to this weekly blog, Dave writes the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece — about a final Council meeting, a beloved independent stationery store closing, and more — is here.

131 thoughts on “‘Misty the Cat…Unleashed’ Is Unleashed into the Book World”

  5. Congrats or..concats, on self publishing Misty the cat part memoir,part factual and non. I plan to order from Amazon as a birthday gift for a friend who has been taking care of 2 feral cats outside his Long Island apartment building. With help from other tenants, the cats Oreo and his sister live in a fenced , wooded area,they have been spade,have vax,have a cat hotel to sleep in, toys, have tags,, have been safe. They are well fed, wet and dry foods. I’d say a good 5 years,maybe longer as feral cats, a long time for outdoor pets. Success with your new book!

    Michele

    E & P,way back. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, Michele! 🙂 I greatly appreciate your comment, and hope you enjoy the book! “Concats”…I’ll have to remember that word. 🙂

      Sounds like those two feral kitties have a terrific life thanks to some wonderful humans!

      Like

      Reply

  7. Congratulations, Dave. I have ordered a copy. 88 Query letters, my, I am impressed. I’ve never even written one. I like self publishing and can’t even handle the thought of dealing with a corporate for a hobby and outside of my work life which is inundated with corporates.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Congratulations Dave! 🌟👍

    I would buy the ebook in a heartbeat, if I wasn’t boycotting Amazon. I have boycotted them for 10 years now.

    I buy ebooks on KOBO. I have a Kobo reader.

    You should check it out! $0 to list your book.

    “Kobo will also convert your manuscript to the ePub standard format entirely for free and with no strings attached. Please see the payment section for details on royalties.”

    Again, CONGRATULATIONS!

    💥✨🔥☀️🥂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, Resa! 🙂 I totally understand. 🙂 I’m no fan of big American corporations, but sometimes I put idealism aside and make decisions for practical purposes. When I do buy books, I use independent bookstores as much as possible, but those wonderful outlets unfortunately tend to not stock independently published books. 😦

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Couple guys wrote a bridge about this unlikely circumstance:

        Can’t you see that you’re leading me on?
        And it’s just what I want you to do
        Don’t you notice how hopelessly I’m lost?
        That’s why I’m following you

        No hint from me as to song’s title…

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

          • The music is by Erroll Garner, who was a fantastic auto-didact pianistically, though occasionally,he can be heard to grunt along with what his hands are doing. The lyricist, Johnny Burke, wrote the words for “Pennies From Heaven”,”Moonlight Becomes You”,both Bing Crosby hits. The big hit version of “Misty” belongs to Johnny Mathis.

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply

  14. Pingback: ‘Misty the Cat…Unleashed’ Is Unleashed into the Book World | CAROLYN HAYNES-AUTHOR OF ADDICTIVE BOOKS

  17. Congrats and concats, Dave and Misty! I look forward to reading this! I see a little similarity in the combined fictional and factual, to the way I wrote my cat book. Although, I only slipped in a minimal amount of fictional cat voicing when the Editing Cat just wouldn’t keep quiet. If you’d like, you can apply to join the Cat Writers’ Association as a professional, on the basis of one book that has a minimum of two thirds cat content. Meows and purrs from us on getting the book out!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, Leah! 🙂 A mix of fact and fiction can be the way to go with cat books, as was the case with you. The basic story line of “Misty the Cat…Unleashed” is true, but I changed some things a bit — and of course Misty’s ability to write a book, his pop-culture knowledge, etc., are not exactly 100% realistic. 🙂 Also, I appreciate the suggestion to try to join the Cat Writers’ Association! Will think about that.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  20. Pingback: Check this out! – KC Books

    • Congratulations to Misty on the success of his latest book, which, in my opinion, will become a blockbuster hit. I started reading”Misty…Unleashed” last night. The book is a page turner, with its engaging storyline and compelling characters (you have a wonderful family, Dave). Misty’s talent as a writer shines through in this remarkable achievement, solidifying his position as a rising star in the literary world.

      I have waited for this book for over a year, Dave – I am so pleased that I now have my very own copy!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Thanks so much, Rebecca! 🙂 I appreciate the very kind words, and am thrilled that you’re enjoying “Misty the Cat…Unleashed”! Somehow I found that it worked to use my “voice” to create Misty’s narrative “voice” in the book. 🙂 I’m confident that Misty will give me at least 10% of the book’s proceeds. 😂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  22. ‘Partly factual, partly fictional, partly novel, partly memoir’ ha, that’s a lot of parts, but being a cat and having 9 lives, he just has to feel at home in the multiverse. Congratulations to Misty who turned a potential tragedy into a magical mystery tour. Many kudos if just for that. Will he have a book signing? After all, Misty looks like he has that celeb face going on, and of course, he is a bit of a nepo baby so re his new status, I think he should go for it. Thanks for the update. Hoping to read this and perhaps more. Thanks again, and to your wife also for the wonderful photo. BTW, Happy Father’s Day, which is a wonderful day for Misty’s debut. Timing is everything. Susi

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  24. Congratulations to Misty! It’s good to see that, despite using a ghost writer (Dave Astor) Misty nevertheless undertook in-the-field research for this memoir. It’s unfortunate that Dave was stressed by Misty’s unannounced departure, but I’m sure gauging that reaction was a necessary part of Misty’s dedication to his Realist principles – and I’m sure Dave has forgiven him, given the success of the venture. Very best of luck with it. 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  25. Pingback: ‘Misty the Cat…Unleashed’ Is Unleashed into the Book World – Edimatech

  27. Congratulations. And sounds a great fun read.
    Both you and M have the same expression in the photo !
    I’m currently surrounded by two strays we’ve taken in, ‘watching over me’. Heaven forbid they start copying our expressions – that’d be really unnerving.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you, Michael! You’re right about the similar expression — plus Misty and I have similar whiskers, too. 🙂

      Wonderful that there are two strays are in your life. You never know; when pets are with us long enough, some unnerving (but good) things can happen. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

Leave a comment