Cats Love Stories Too!

The imagination of a writer is limitless.

I love to play with pictures in Photoshop and today as I was cropping cat pictures for illustration, a silly idea popped into my mind.
What would cats think or say if I'd read them my books?

Who says cats don't love stories?

I went with the idea and played a little with pictures, and I imagined what cats would say about my children's stories and romantic, historical fiction novels.

I hope you will enjoy the cats' stories told in pictures as well as my books.

Creepy Hollow Adventures: heroic fantasy for kids 8-17

Pepper loves the fun story, but Monty gets a little scared, and as usual, he hides his fear behind brave words. He doesn't like Evila, the evil witch, but he laughs when I read about Sparky, the little dragon, and Champ, the young, clumsy horse.

​"I’m unable to do justice to the wealth of detail and action Szabo and Bonadonna managed to pack into this book."
~Fletcher Vredenburgh
"Szabo and Bonadonna make a great pair. Their Creepy Hollow Adventures is a perfect starting point for young children making the leap from "kids' books" to "novels."
~S E Lindberg

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Pico, the Pesky Parrot: bilingual storybook for kids 4-12

Peeps is, as always, thinking about food, but softy Cameow gives him an angry look and sheds a few tears when Pico gets frustrated. Whiskers? He prefers to nap, as usual.

"As a bilingual teacher, I am excited about sharing this book with my students and think it would make a wonderful addition to all school libraries. 5 stars for Pico the Bilingual Parrot!" ~Janet Balletta
"As a former ESL teacher, I was impressed by author Erika M Szabo’s bilingual story about a pesky parrot and wondered why books like this one (written in both English and Spanish at many reading levels and interest ranges) were not available when I was teaching." ~Bette A. Stevens

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Look, I Can Talk With My Fingers: storybook for kids 4-12

Chip, the talkative twin, well, he talks too much. Mittens, who is always annoyed by Chips'  blabbermouth, listens intently and loves the idea that if they'd learn sign language, Chip would be finally quiet.

“I love this little book that teaches children and adults about the difficulties people of all ages face with the loss of hearing. In this book Erika shows us a fun and exciting way to communicate with the hearing impaired.” ~Cathy Collar ​

English

Spanish

Who Stole Terry's Music Box?: storybook for kids 4-10

More cats gather to listen to this story. Wigglebutt, who always looks like she's ready to pounce, favors Oliver, the hedgehog, and Ginger's favorite is the cute dog, Pansy. Oreo doesn't really like dogs since the neighbor's Sheppard chased him up a pine tree, and Boss doesn't like stories about dogs.

"​What a great story. I read this book to my niece she is two years old. She would not let me put it down until I read the whole book to her. Ellie loved the illustrations and so did I. I give this book 5 stars." ~R. Robbins

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Terry and the Number Fairy: picture book for kids 2-8

Oreo is very protective of his toys and he has a hunch that Hunter has been stealing some of them. 

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​Terry is struggling to learn numbers. Pansy, Terry’s dog, and Pansy’s best friend, Oliver, the hedgehog, want to help but they don’t know how. When Terry wakes up in the morning, she tells her mother that the fairy showed her the numbers in her dream. 

Metoo, the Annoying Little Sister

Boss is gentle and loves every living creature. He often saves birds, chipmunks, and squirrels when he catches Hunter in of of his many hunting moods. Hunter backs off because he knows how strong Boss is, and his crooked tail is a proof that Boss not kidding. 

​Penny always wants to do what her big brother does. She imitates his every move and constantly tweets, “Me, too.” Spike is angry at his sister and threatens to name her Metoo, but when the two young chickens face danger, Spike realizes how important family is and happy to have a sometimes annoying, but loving and brave little sister. 

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A Basketful of Kittens: storybook for kids 4-12

As soon as the Kitty Bunch found out that the next story is about kittens, everyone showed up to listen to the story.

​When Bianca, Daniel, and Peanut, the St. Bernard, are confronted by Mark and his cronies, the BFFs stand up to the brute bullies with the help of Peanut. Their adventure continues when they see a woman throwing four tiny, meowing kittens into the river. Can the BFFs save them? Find out what happens to the kittens. 

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Cursed Bloodline: romantic, historical suspense novella

This romantic suspense story didn't interest the bunch, only the romantic, softy Oreo stayed. He's in love, and quite often actually. I think Romeo would be a more befitting name for him.

​Dark family secrets separated Emily and Daniel when they were teenagers, but fate brought them together. Jayden, Emily’s brother, finds a book that was written in 426 by a shaman. Reading the ancient runes, they learn about their family's curse. If it remains unbroken, the curse will bring tragedy and ruin their lives as it destroyed many of their ancestors' lives for centuries. 

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Protected by the Falcon: romantic historical fantasy
Book 1 of The Ancestors' Secrets

Wigglebutt loves fantasy and magic but poor little Ginger, who was the runt of the litter, is a bit slow to follow and understand things. The older cats are very good with him, though, they patiently explain everything until he catches up with the story. Wigglebutt feels sorry for him, but he's so absorbed in the story that he ignores poor Ginger.

Love, ancient tribal legends, secrets, time travel and magical powers collide in a compelling fantasy series, hailed “Original, Mystical and Unique.”
​“Erika has brought a new kind of fantasy story into the realm of fantasy fiction. The narrative is magnetic and entertaining.” ~seriousreading

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Chosen by the Sword: romantic historical fantasy
​Book 2 of The Ancestors' Secrets

Cameow craves romance but her partner, Whiskers, just don't get it. For him, a nice nap is more important than romancing Cameow. When she complains, Whisker's excuse is, "I brought you a mouse once, and that should tell you how much I love you." 
Cameow sighs, "Man! They have no clue what makes a feline happy!"

​“This is so different from the usual fare churned out by ordinary writers.” -Valerie Byron
“The characters felt real, and the secrets are alluring. You will get hooked in right away.” -Brenda Barry
“Szabo introduces readers to a fascinating world of ancient rights conducted by a secret order.” -J.E. Rogers 

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The end, hope you enjoyed this post!
​Erika M Szabo

Oh, Muffin said on Facebook that he's going to cause a little trouble, but he's a good boy, he listened to the stories and really enjoyed them. The cats didn't even know he was there :)