Biscuits & Books with Black Swan 02 – Helen Cox

Helen Cox has dived into children’s writing by hilariously describing the antics of her very own cat! Henry stumbled unexpectedly into her life and sure did make a mark that would not only inspire her to fall utterly in love with her feline friend, but to write a whole book about him!

I was so lucky to speak with Helen recently, this is how it went…

BSBP: When did you start writing? 

HC: As soon as I learned how! English was always one of my favourite school subjects, and I loved reading and writing stories. I published a lot of articles and reviews for professional journals throughout my former heritage career, as well as writing reports and training materials; but I didn’t start writing creatively until late 1999, when I conceived my adult fantasy, The Lay of Angor. 

From then on, all I wanted to do was to retire, stay home and write. My wish came true in 2005, when I moved in with Hubcap (we married in 2007), became a ‘writing housewife,’ and started up my new publication and lecturing business, Herstory Writing & Interpretation. Since then I’ve self-published three non-fiction history books, the Angor trilogy, compiled and edited the autobiography of champion ice dancer Courtney Jones OBE, and recently released Henry Wowler & the Mirror-Cat, my first attempt at a children’s story – plus various fact and fiction items published in magazines, newspapers and historical journals. 

BSBP: I’m sorry to hear you’ve lost Henry. We have a few cats of our own so we can sympathise. What is one of your favourite memories of Henry?

HC: Among ten years of memorable moments – Henry was such a character – one I particularly treasure is of the evening he cracked his new cat-flap. He was five months old, and so fiendishly naughty we had to confine him to the kitchen at bedtime – which we didn’t have the heart to do for the duration when we needed to go away overnight, the first time he’d be left alone for more than a couple of hours. But we daren’t give him the run of the house for fear of the damage we might come home to, so the only answer was to fit a cat-flap the week before and hope he’d get the knack of it in time. He’d hop in and out happily enough when I held it open, and watched attentively as I made it swing and Hubcap stood outside with a handful of treats, but showed little sign of getting to grips with it himself until the day before our trip. We were watching TV after dinner when we heard a bang in the kitchen and the skidding of tiny paws on lino. Henry burst in, looked at us, and announced, ‘RRROWL!’ in a deep, full-throated voice we’d never heard before (and seldom heard again) as he galloped the full width of the living room. Then he galloped out again, and a few seconds later we heard another bang as he hurled himself back out through the flap. We looked at each other dumbfounded, then fell apart with laughter. Yes – our kitten really had just rushed in roaring triumphantly, ‘I DID IT!’  – the first of many such ostensibly meaningful exchanges we had with him over the years. Henry had an extensive vocabulary, was very good at communicating his demands, and often gave the impression of understanding every word we said, (when he could be bothered). He certainly knew what, ‘Henry Wowler, Mummy-cat needs to move’ meant – and would get visibly annoyed if we talked about, or even worse, laughed at him.

From then on, there was no stopping him, and he eventually learnt to open every door in the house from either side, unless it was firmly latched – even the bathroom and loo at inopportune moments – but never learnt to shut them behind him, of course. And he still preferred human opening service if available, to the point of walking past his cat-flap all the way through the living room to demand an exit via the patio window.

BSBP: What inspired you to write a novel about your cat?

HC: Henry himself – specifically his morning routine of ‘Love on the Rug.’ After breakfast and a good wash, he’d start purring and treadling Mummy-sheep, his beloved old fleece hearthrug – my cue to hunker down over him and rub his sides and belly, a sort of full-body fondle:

I noticed that he used to watch his reflection in the black glass fire-back while this was going on, and wondered what he made of it. Then I started wondering what the room was like for the cat on the other side of the glass – I felt it had to be topsy-turvy in some way – and the ideas started coming thick and fast. It was very easy to write once I got started, because so much of it was based round a real cat in a real place – I just had to describe what I saw, and embroider the rest from imagination. Great fun!

BSBP: Our cats are notorious in the house for their levels of sass. How would you characterise Henry in 3 words? If you can pick just 3 that is… 

HC: Grumpy, greedy and foul-mouthed! (He used to hiss, growl and grumble at us like no other cat I’ve ever known). On the plus side, he was cuddlesome, companionable and incredibly cute – I adored him.

BSBP: Do you have an affinity for any other animals?

HC: Funny you should ask! I’m fond of all animals, but we recently acquired three rare breed sheep – very shy and feisty – and I’m completely besotted with them. I’ve never had much to do with sheep before, but these boys are fascinating and gorgeous, and I now have the bravest one eating out of my hand. It’s a wonderful experience to be slowly gaining acceptance from animals who grew up as part of an 80-strong flock, and only ever had contact with people when something nasty (like ear-tagging or castration!) was about to happen. I just love them, and they’re a great consolation in our loss of Henry.

BSBP: The illustrations in the book are so gorgeous, what was the process of artistically interpreting Henry like?

HC: You’ll have to ask Janet Flynn, the artist! It seemed quite easy to me; Janet had never met Henry (very few people did), but she knew me well, had read the story, and started making sketches from photos of him in different poses/doing different things. You can tell from the style which ones are taken from photos, like the cover image; then when she got the hang of Henry/his markings, expressions and attitudes, she let her imagination run free on the rest. I also supplied her with photos of the other cat breeds I wanted to include – I felt it was important to illustrate things children might not be familiar with, like old-fashioned mousetraps and certain animals – and was delighted with all the results; they’re just the sort of pictures I’d have loved myself as a child. 

BSBP: Our cats are obsessed with ‘Dreamies’, what was Henry’s favourite treat?

HC: Pretty much anything – as the vet remarked, Henry was ‘very food oriented’! He loved any flavour of Dreamies – a friend used to buy him a big selection pack for Christmas, and I rationed him to 5 a day. But he also loved the dental biscuits he got as dessert after breakfast to help clean his teeth; dried duck breast pieces; Webbox strips; and any scraps of raw or cooked meat – the snip of kitchen scissors as I filled his treat bowl with raw trimmings would bring him running from one end of the house to the other.

Henry adored peanut or almond butter, and used to beg for bits off my toast. He also loved cheese – I’d break off little pieces and roll them between my fingers to make them soft, and he’d make an incredible meal of even a single one, gnashing and chomping; then afterwards, have a thorough wash as if he’d just eaten a full bowl of cat-food. Maybe he just wanted to spread some spit around and make himself smell nice and cheesy (or nutty).

BSBP: It’s so wonderful to have Henry immortalised in writing, image and illustration, what would you like any cat-loving reader to know going into this book?

HC: Perhaps that the pain of losing our animal friends when they die is the price we pay for loving them, and it’s a price worth paying… Henry appeared in our lives like a feline Nanny MacPhee – he arrived when I needed but didn’t want a cat, and left, mission accomplished and the book he inspired published, when he was wanted but no longer needed. It was quite uncanny that he went on New Year’s Eve, before the fireworks he hated so much – end of story, close the book, start the new year with a new one. I’d always dreaded losing him, and it was every bit as awful as I expected – but even if I’d known exactly what would happen from Day One, the joy and fun he gave us was worth it; I wouldn’t have missed a second of our decade with him for the world. And even though our loss can make promoting his book a heartrending experience at times, I’m glad to do it – Henry was such an amazing cat. I’d like other people to share and enjoy his fictional adventures, and to help other lost/needy cats in the process. (A tithe of profits will go to Cats Protection and Syros Cats sanctuary in Greece, a charity Janet supports).

BSBP: You’ve got a sequel under works right now! Exciting! What do we have to look forward to? 

HC: Henry Wowler & the Mirror-Cats will incorporate a short story I wrote for Christmas 2020, ‘Henry Wowler and the Cat of Christmas Past,’ and some other chapters will feature Stevie, the sassy Maine Coon who turned into one of my favourite characters from the first book. I hope to get down to it this year and have it in print for Christmas 2023 – watch this space!

Big, big thank you to Helen for speaking with us.

Where to find Helen

Twitter: @helrae1461

Website: http://www.helencox-herstorywriting.co.uk/

Where to find ‘Henry Wowler and the Mirror Cat’

https://www.ypdbooks.com/Biscuits&Books/HelenCox

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