A New Beginning

Happy 2014 -- and may this be your best year ever!

I'm anticipating some new beginnings as well as life as usual: hoping to share many more stories, feelings and experiences with my fellow bloggers. I so appreciate your postings, your comments  and your amazing life perspectives.

If you have noticed I have been blogging -- and commenting on your blog posts --  a little less lately, it is because of new developments in my writing career that are, temporarily, taking most of my time.

The big news is that my proposal for Timmy and Marina: The Therapy Cats has sold to HCI, the publisher of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series among many other inspirational and psychological self-help titles.

The publisher is calling the book PURR THERAPY:  WHAT TWO THERAPY CATS TAUGHT ME ABOUT LOVE, LIFE AND LOSS.

This book -- one I've wanted to write for a long time --  is a memoir about the two cats who worked with me from time to time in my private psychotherapy practice in Los Angeles. Timmy and Marina were unusual cats -- as friendly with strangers as with family, quick to comfort and to soothe. They were both rescue cats that I adopted by chance when I wasn't looking for a cat. Both worked with me at different times in my practice with patients who requested animal-assisted therapy to deal with depression, anxiety or relationship conflicts. Both were also beloved companion animals and members of our family. And both Timmy and Marina died young, like angels lent for a limited time: Timmy of melamine poisoning in 2007, Marina from leukemia in 2010.

                                                       

                                         Timmy the Therapy Cat - 1998-2007


                                        

                                          Marina the Therapy Cat - 2006-2010

The publisher wants the completed book  -- I wrote only the preface and two chapters for the proposal --  submitted by the end of this month for publication in October 2014. So my holidays have been quiet this year, but lived in gratitude!

The second bit of news is that I have two books related to my blog now available in both e-book and print form from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. They are also available in e-book form from iBooks.

The first is Aging and Other Surprises.  The second is Making Peace With Your Adult Children. Both are collections of blogposts from the past three years along with some new material. Both are available online from the above retailers OR you can go to my new website for instant connection to retail sources.

                                                     

The third bit of news is my new website: drkathymccoy.com

There are several sections to this website -- descriptions of my books, a bio, a page where readers can ask questions and a video page featuring a couple of sample videos, including one with snippets from some national t.v. shows I've done over the years, including OPRAH and THE TODAY SHOW. Friends who have seen this 9 minute time travel through 17 years of shows have been teasing me about my many different looks -- vastly varying weights, hair styles and hair colors. One friend said "I would never have guessed that any of them were you, except for the voice." Maybe it's a bit of a demonstration of how we all change over time, though I suspect that my weight fluctuations are more dramatic than most!)

So good things are happening. My writing career appears to be reviving after a long hiatus and I'm delighted. 

But I'm also delighted and grateful for life as usual: continuing good health, the love of family and dear friends, including blogging friends, the joy of writing this blog and reading yours! Although I may not be posting or commenting as often in the next few weeks, as I work long hours to finish PURR THERAPY on time, I'll be back.

And in the meantime, I wish you all the best of everything in the New Year!