Sometimes, when I meet people at book events or even socially, the question arises: “How long have you been writing?”
I look them in the eye and say, “All my life.”
That is a bit of an exaggeration, but my answer isn’t far from the truth. I remember writing stories as a child and winning an American Legion essay contest in the sixth grade that came with a $25 prize. I was sports editor of my high school newspaper, and a few years later, at the University of Florida, I wrote a highly fictionalized article about the study habits of my classmates. I submitted it to a long-forgotten magazine and was paid $25.
My broadcasting career involved a lot of writing, and I freelanced on the side, including writing a semi-regular column for a community newspaper. They paid me $25 a column. Are you beginning to see a pattern here?
It wasn’t until my retirement that I wrote my first novel. My wife had become involved with a cat rescue organization, and we were soon knee-high in rescued felines, including Duke, a feisty orange cat who had a habit of lounging on my computer keyboard. So, it seemed appropriate my first novel, WINDRUSHER, should be about a “Street smart cat on an epic quest and the adventure of a lifetime.” In this book, we meet my four-legged protagonist and learn he is much more than a simple housecat and destined to undertake an arduous and dangerous mission. WINDRUSHER won awards from the Florida Writers Association and the Cat Writers Association. Did you know there was such a thing as the Cat Writers Association? I didn’t until I searched the internet for people who might blurb my book. That is, write a positive testimonial I could put on the back cover. I found them at the Cat Writers Association and also reached out to celebrity animal lovers. Out of the dozen or so letters I wrote, only one offered to read the book. I sent Betty White a proof of the book and later received a nice letter with a quote I put at the top of the back cover: “I literally couldn’t put it down—it is so beautifully written. I can’t wait for Windrusher’s next adventure.”
WINDRUSHER became a minor hit, and taking Betty’s advice, I wrote two more in the series, Windrusher and the Cave of Tho-hoth, which one reviewer called “Superbly written. Windrusher and the Cave of Tho-hoth is thrilling, touching, and unforgettable. The enchantment of Windrusher belongs on the silver screen.”
I followed that book with an even more thrilling Windrusher and the Trail of Fire. The acclaimed author of cat mysteries, Clea Simon, provided this testimonial: “From the first thrilling chase through the last, DiGenti’s heroic Windrusher leads readers through a wilderness in which cats are as brave, loyal, and spiritual as any two-legged creature, and more sensitive, to boot. Great fun!”
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first WINDRUSHER, I updated all three novels with minor revisions and combined them into a “boxed set” collectible Kindle edition. They’re now available on Amazon. You don’t have to be a cat lover to be moved by Windrusher’s adventures, but you’ll want to hang on tight and remember to breathe.