My pets are always helping me with chores and such, but if only they knew just how shamelessly I use them for my own dirty deeds sometimes. Take Mr. Meow for instance. He unwittingly just got me some press in a local paper.
It all started last year when I submitted an essay to Bylines. It’s a calendar by, for, and about writers. It’s a really nice calendar. For every week of the year there’s a writer with a story meant to inspire and uplift.
I really wanted to be a part of it. I had submitted an essay the year before but it didn’t cut mustard. But my second submission? Bingo! Accepted for Bylines 2008.
Author stories are also accompanied by author photos. But Sylvia (the calendar’s editor) doesn’t want the standard smiling author photo head shot. She likes photos with heart, humor, or a mix. Basically, something with personality and spark. When I got accepted I knew just the photo to send.
When my mom and sister had come to visit last August, my sister had taken a picture of me trying to check emails with Mr. Meow sprawled in front of the keyboard as he’s sometimes prone to do. While it may not be the best photo of me, Mr. Meow is always Mr. Photogenic. And it showed me behind the computer so…
Into the calendar it went. And this is how I used my cat to net myself some publicity.
One of the writers for the Tennessean has a column called The Wag, in which her dog Sally keeps dibs on the scoop of pets (and their people) about town. Well, Mr. Meow appearing in the calendar was scoop-worthy, so I sent her a copy of my press release with a note about how Mr. Meow appears with me, his mom, in the calendar.
She wrote back almost immediately after receiving it to verify his exact name and to request a copy of the pic. She then informed me she’d get our story on their calendar. Awesome! Mission accomplished!
Thanks, Mr. Meow!
FYI
Interestingly, of the 53 authors featured in Bylines 2008, six of us chose shots we shared with animals. Two with dogs, two with birds, one with a horse, and me with the cat.
Question to Readers
Have your pets ever helped get you into the spotlight?