Susin Nielsen’s #TundraCats

We’ve asked our #TundraCats authors and illustrators to tell us a little bit more about their favorite felines. Today, we’re meeting Susin Nielsen’s two mischievous cats.

What are your cats’ names?
I have two cats: Erwin Schrodinger and Emily Brontë. One of my protagonists in We Are All Made of Molecules had a cat named Schrodinger; and Emily Brontë was absolutely the inspiration for my new fictional cat, Princess Puffybottom, because she is a total princess (and yes, she has a puffy bottom).

How old are your cats?
They are brother and sister, rescues from the Vancouver Orphaned Kitten Rescue Association, or VOKRA. They are turning 7 in 2019.

Which #TundraCats book are your cats’ favorite?
Miss Mink by Janet Hill. I adore this book. I’m not big on self-help books, but this one is like my own little self-help book, wrapped in the prettiest, warmest of packages. So many words to live by!

Can you describe your cats using only three words?
Purring Furballs of Love. (Technically that is four words.)

Have your cats destroyed any books before?
Yes. Emily is a terrible scratcher, and she destroyed an entire shelf of my own books (ie, author copies of ones I’d written), by scratching the spines to shreds.

What do you consider to be your cat’s weaknesses?
No offence to Erwin, but I believe his brain is about the size of half a Tic Tac.

Complete this sentence: If my cats are staring out the window, it’s because . . .
They are longing for me to come home. (Hey. A girl can dream.)

What’s the most expensive thing your cats have broken?
A beautiful art deco lamp that my mom gave my husband and I on our wedding day, almost thirty years ago. It was very heavy-weight, but they were chasing each other, and brought it down. We also had to get rid of a lovely Persian rug because one or both of them decided it was the perfect litter box. (I scooped a lot of poop off that rug.)

If yours cat could suddenly talk, what would their first sentence be?
“I love you, Susin, you are the best human in the world.” (Again – a girl can dream.)

Be sure to check out Susin Nielsen’s newest book:

Princess Puffybottom . . . and Darryl
By Susin Nielsen
Illustrated by Olivia Chin Mueller
ISBN 9781101919255 | Hardcover
Ages 3-7 | Tundra Books
“This is the first day I’ve written in a diary. The reason I am, is ’cos I love writing stories, and if I do grow up to be a famous writer, and later die, and they want to get a story of my life, I guess I should keep a diary.” Susin Nielsen wrote this poorly constructed sentence when she was eleven. And while she isn’t exactly famous, she did predict her future occupation. She got her start writing for the hit TV series Degrassi Junior High and went on to write for more than twenty Canadian shows. Nielsen is the author of five critically acclaimed and award-winning novels, including Optimists Die First, We Are All Made of Molecules, and The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen. Nielsen has been called the John Green of Canada. She once had a dream that John Green had been called the Susin Nielsen of the United States. She lives in Vancouver with her family and two naughty cats.