Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws.
pizza and me keeping each other warm
Mama Anna went to her first improv class in many cats last night, and she loved it and is going back next week. According to her, there were zero cats there, but she had fun otherwise. She also was working on her next project with Aunt Melva before and after class, and today, she worked on cover design for Aunt Melva’s nonfiction project. Safe to say there is stuff going on around here. In case you were wondering, I sat on the pizza box for about an hour. That’s how comfy Koolio keeps us here. The flowery thing behind me is Aunt Linda in her new dress. she looks nice.
Speaking of nice, I have a new toy. It has catnip in it and my humans tell me that Bigger Sister Olivia and Biggest Brother Ginger both loved this toy. Big Sister Skye was a straight edge kitty and did not indulge in catnip. This one was so nippy that I smelled it before it was even out of the packaging and came from another room to yell at Mama Anna to tell her that was mine and I needed it right away. Thankfully, she understood and opened it on the big bed so she and Aunt Linda could both watch me play with it. Papa is off at work. Suffice it to say I love this toy. It is great. I will be playing with it a lot.
10/10 would nip again
Mama Anna and I binged a show on Netflix the other night. It is called The Survivors, and it is Australian. At first, she thought it was going to be some kind of zombie or adventure story. She likes both of those kinds of stories, but this show is not one of them. It is a drama, which Mama Anna also loves, and one of the characters appears to have some form of dementia, which she knows because of some people in her life. She says the representation there was excellent, both of the person with dementia and their caregiver. There was also a story about a missing person and an unalived person and some caves in the ocean. It also had two timelines, and she really, really likes two timelines.
She also finished The Survivor Wants to Die at the End, by Adam Silvera. It is number three in the Death-Cast series and she wants the next one right now, please and thank you, but it is not out yet. I suggested she read something else. Reading got hard again, but she is working on that. In case you want to read this series, she says it is one hundred percent a read in order series. I don’t know what book she will pick next, but probably a historical romance.
Oh wait. She is reading Tears of the Wolf, by Elisabeth Wheatley. It is a fantasy romance but heavily Viking-flavored. If you are new to this author’s books, this is a good place to start. She still wants to read a historical romance, so I will keep you updated on that.
This is one of those days when I don’t know what I want to blog about today, so you get unhinged blabber. We are in the start of back-to-school season, the most wonderful time of the year for us stationery dragons. I have spent the morning organizing things around the home, and now come to the part of the day where I have to actually tackle the writing stuff.
current blogging notebook setup
The front pocket situation is an ever-evolving sort of thing. I’m not used to the sideways pockets (I am sure there is a name for that kind of pocket, but I don’t know it. I do know the secretarial (big vertical) pocket. That one is for sticky page tabs, which are immensely useful. This blog has a section, Storm’s blog has a section, and there are other sections. I like to keep everything I need for one project on hand, so I only have to pick up one thing. Neither the big nor small dot stickers fit my aesthetic, but they are easier to transport than a bunch of dot markers. The flowered card in the middle pocket is just pretty.
The dashboard is a clear pocket with inserts I can change at will. This one is from one of the boxes from Cora Crea. Inside the notebooks themselves are a collection of big furry messes because that’s how I think. Washi borders, stenciled phrases, homemade stickers, several different colors of ink, and wild blabber with the censor off. Lots of sticky notes
Today has been a boring day. I don’t think anybody wants to read about me organizing my sock drawer, but being excited over new sock drawer organizers actually does give me a dose of dopamine, so I will count it as a win. It also smells lovely, as I remembered the hack to stick a bar of scented soap (in this case, cedar and lavender) in the back of the drawer to act as a subtle sachet. Good-smelling drawers has always meant an elevated grown-up status.
With August approaching and me noticing that I have fallen back into not-reading and not-watching tv/movies, this is the time to haul out the neglected reading journal. I know myself well enough to know that I will be more accountable if I have to tell somebody (like the interwebs) about what I have been doing for story intake. I am watching We Were Liars on Amazon Prime, based on the book by E. Lockhart, but through my fingers, and with breaks, because the ending wrecked me. So far, it’s a good adaptation, and I like that they give the older generation a little more to do than they did in the novel, which is YA.
That’s about it for right now. This is also a reminder to myself to start writing in the blog notebook before the day the blog is due (or two days after, in this case) because I don’t like coming to the creative space and my first thought being, “uhhhhh……” Another reminder that I need to be taking in story in order to put out story. Right now, I am doing most of my writing longhand, so there will be a lot of transcription going on in my near future.
Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. I am blogging on Sunday this week because we finally got a break in the heat, and there was a while earlier when it was me-ing outside. That is Mama Anna’s favorite kind of summer weather. Papa is working a long shift today, which is nice for him, because he likes his job, but it does leave me without my Papa for such a long time that I do have to mention it. I will spend a decent amount of time on the Papa spot in the big bed, so he remembers where home is.
Since Papa is out hunting for cool stuff (that’s what working is, right?) we are having a chill girls’ day in with me, Mama, and Aunt Linda. Mama Anna is spending part of the day helping me with my blog post, and part of it playing Sims (one of her Sims families now has a calico cat, so that makes the game that much more fun) and part of it taking naps.
This has been an interesting week on the home front. Nobody likes heat, but Koolio takes care of that. Earlier this week, Papa had to do some stuff at the people vet. No cone of shame, but he does have to take some pills. He is brave. He doesn’t even have to hide them in tuna or anything. I am proud of him. Mama Anna picked up a low grade virus that she gets sometimes when stressed, but that is also under control. I have been working hard on nursing duties (the health worker kind, not the kittens-eating kind) which seem to be working because the humans are getting better. Aunt Linda appears to be fine.
I am still in love with the orange Ulta bag. The humans agree I get to keep it until it gets too worn or gross, at which point, Mama Anna and Aunt Linda obviously have to go to Ulta again. I wonder if they make pet beds. I bet they would be awesome. Mama Anna should show the picture of me on the bag to the Ulta people. I bet they’d love it. I pick it over some other beds when given options. Aunt Linda got me a canvas pouch with a calico cat on it, so the humans can keep my daily dose of treats in one place that is obvious in case a cat sitter or somebody needs to know where my stuff is. They can probably put the catnip there, too. There’s also a spare toy. Speaking of which, Mama Anna got me a laser pointer (that is safe for kitties) that has different options for the shapes I can chase. Variety is a good thing.
This is me on top of Mama Anna’s Kindle and one of her composition notebooks. I love this time of year, because Mama Anna gets super happy about school and office supplies going on sale. I, of course, have to inspect all new arrivals and make sure they smell right. That means like us. In about a week, we will be moving into the end of July and then it will be August, which is Papa’s Birthday season, and also shifts, at least for Mama Anna, from summer to pre-fall, and pre-fall is Super Powers Prep Time.
This is also the anniversary of the time I tried, without permission, to be an outdoor cat. Spoiler alert; I am not one. Many thanks to Mama Anna, Papa, and Aunt Linda for spending all that time looking for me and making sure I got home safe. I am never going outside again. I am an indoor cat for sure. Koolio, heaters, fans, comforters, electronic devices, toys, beds, Ulta bags, all that good stuff. Also treats. There are zero treats in the wild.
We are more than halfway through July, which is excellent news. We have had a couple of things with people vets this week. All should be well, but productivity for this week is…not. We are comfy and cool and have all that we need. That’s all good. Still, it’s July. Ugh. I do not like July. Maybe if I had a pool. Bonus points on indoor pool. I do not, however think we can sell our landlord on installing a pool in the apartment.
Enough of that. These are days for slowing down, taking in, and taking time to indulge in the art and stationery supplies we’ve laid in over the months. I am doing rather a good amount of writing fiction in longhand, which is a delight for me. Less so when I have to transcribe it, but that’s a problem for Tomorrow Anna. I am already on my second Landing Pad notebook (the last one, I joined in progress, so it’s not a full notebook) and still in love with it. I have a composition notebook for general novelling stuff :salute: (IYKYK) and then another for therapy homework. I am definitely going to hit the back to school sales as soon as the big orange thing in the sky stops trying to roast us like rotisserie chickens.
A5 traveler’s notebook for blogging
Back to school truly is the most wonderful time of the year for us stationery dragons. I have learned the hard way that I cannot have enough page tabs, flags, or sticky notes, and even if I don’t like the colors of the tiny dot stickers, they are super accessible and I use them a lot. One day, I will be able to buy single open stock black or gray dot markers in multiples, but today is not that day. Le sigh. It is still a day, though, and I can think of worse places to be than in my air conditioned home with plenty of food, beverage and internet connection. Also stationery.
Storm also approves of the composition books. She makes an excellent paperweight. She usually wants to hang out in the primary bedroom/office, of her special place under Housemate’s bed, which I can only assume holds a massive hoard of earbuds and hair ties. Neither heat nor humidity affect her desire for snuggles. We are fine with this.
Today is a low-demand day, aka TV/movies, air conditioning and bottomless beverages, a journal at hand to catch stray thoughts for a brainier day. Therapy Dude is highly in favor of my landing pad notebook. I am keeping an eye on my in-box for pictures and dimensions of a design assignment. I have the laptop next to the bed now, so working from the soft office is a very real possibility. I am not going to complain.
This is a post I didn’t want to write twice, so…I didn’t. For those wondering what the reversion of rights for Chasing Prince Charming means, keep reading.
Right now, I am elbow-deep in writing and publishing stuff, working on content for two blogs and a return to videos, and my ambassador program with Eryka Peskin. As I told Therapy Dude in session today, for such a long time, I wasn’t able to read fiction or watch TV, listen to music, etc, and now that things are changing, it’s all coming back in a big rush, which can sometimes be a lot. This is leading to a lot of journaling in multiple formats, a few of which I do want to share here. We’ll see what shape it takes.
TLDR on the MelvaandAnna front, rights on Chasing Prince Charming have reverted to us, and relaunching that title has now gotten in queue for indie projects. Phew. If you’re interested in that angle, please do hop on over to our site and subscribe so you can be sure to be in on all the doings. Also, I have not installed FB on my desktop computer, so I cannot fall into a FB hole when I should be doing other things :cough cough writing cough cough: Subscribing to this blog via the subscribe button is the number one way to make sure you get all of these blogs as well. Phew. Here, have a kitty picture.
Sleepy Storm
Okay, back to other stuff. Read on to get the roadmap for MelvaAndAnna, subscribe if you want, and drop any questions in the comments.
Tails Up, Storm Troopers. I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. We have landed in July. So far, it’s shaping to be quite the month.
First of all, my human cousin was born! They were expected a little later than this, but everybody is happy and healthy and home. We have not met them, of course, but seen pictures. I am not sure how much I am allowed to say here, so we will call them Human Cousin, pronouns they/them. There is no cat at their house, but there is a dog. I am sure they will be besties.
my greatest achievement of the summer
I am very proud of myself, having managed this great feat (with my great feet) this early in the summer. I managed to get on Mama Anna’s office chair, while there was a towel on it (she says terrycloth is the best texture for both heat and anxiety) and turned it so that I was both directly in the sunbeam and directly in front of Koolio (our air conditioning unit, if you are new here. Also, for those who are new, Hi. I’m Storm. You love me. We’re friends now. What’s your name?)
again with the terrycloth
Kitty fit check. If you were wondering if I would let Mama Anna put clothes on me, the answer is yes, but ONLY Mama Anna, and we have only done hats and scarves so far. We may try dresses later, but I am already gorgeous au naturel. Mama Anna did once see a video of a calico cat wearing a clear raincoat walking through rainy Tokyo, which cemented for her that if I ever need a raincoat, it will be clear. I probably won’t need a raincoat. I am an indoor cat.
Have I shown you this picture of me in a box before? Well, it’s worth a second look. I love boxes. They are pretty great. With the way Aunt Linda likes Amazon, I am not lacking in boxes. Right now, I have an orange Ulta bag that I love super super super much. The humans have agreed that this is a special bag and they will keep it until it’s beyond use. They are smart. Mama Anna had Papa take pictures of me on the bag because he takes the best photos, and the next step is to get him to send her the pictures so we can put them here. Did I mention I really love this bag?
That’s about it for this week. Mama Anna has some TV and movie stuff to watch while rubbing my belly, so we better get to it.
Happy Canada Day to all who celebrate. June was an interesting month, so let’s call this a fresh start. Right now, my desk area, and most of the apartment, for that matter, looks like the middle of a hurricane, which means I am organizing stuff both physical and otherwise.
I can attribute part of this to the marvelous Eryka Peskin and her Reclaiming Your Dreams and Desires workshop, which is a-ma-zing, and I will be sharing some of my personal experiences with that in future entries here. She recommends starting a new journal for her workshops, and as a stationery dragon, I am waaay ahead of her on that front. Combine that with my current excitement over back to school season and other matters, and I have plenty of material for future journal posts.
As of last week, The Wild Rose Press has returned rights to Chasing Prince Charming, the first book in my Love By the Book contemporary romance series with Melva Michaelian, to us, the authors. If you haven’t yet grabbed your copy (hi, new folx) you will have about ninety days (more like eighty-three?) to get it from current sources. This does not mean the end of the story, of the collaboration, as Melva and I are going indie with the trilogy and beyond, so CPC will be available again, with hopefully a bonus epilogue. Our time with TWRP was lovely and hopefully, we can work with them again in the future. I will go into more details on Melvaandanna.com, because I find this new adventure actually exciting. We have many more ideas for couples in this story world to get their unique HEAs.
Not the Storm referenced above. Hmph.
Then there are the historicals. I have had the rights back to My Outcast Heart and Orphans in the Storm for quite a while now, and they are in queue. I am most excited about getting my ducks in a row for A Heart Most Ardent (still dealing with red tape on the release of A Heart Most Errant) and finally, finally bringing Her Last First Kiss to fruition. There is new stuff brewing, and I love that feeling.
Storm will also be back at regular blogging this week, with lots of pictures and lots to say. I did not act quickly enough yesterday to capture her grand feat of turning my office chair so that she could sleep in it, not only directly in the sunbeam but directly in Koolio’s path. She’s a smart one.
Reading is coming back. I am still early chapters into Lace, by Shirley Conran, and am already super invested. I can already tell this is going into the idea soup already populated by The Wilds, Yellowjackets, and other similar shows, with a historical romance twist. I’m thinking gently-bred girls from some far-flung location, sent by ship to a fancy school in London, but a shipwreck delays things for a while. Better get an inbox started for that. I need to focus on the current projects first.
Gaming-wise, I am in love with the idea of a Sims 4 Forever Save. I may babble about that some here, possibly following one of my families. I think it has a lot to teach me about continuing story worlds. I still normally think in standalones, but this is a series market at the moment, so I want to find out how *I* do story worlds these days.
Back in 2013, I picked up Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, because I was intrigued by the concept of the protagonist being a fanfic writer. I have ficced a few things in my day, so wanted to see how this would play out in an actual novel. Not only did I end up liking the book (and more by Rowell) but that started on me reading YA novels for the first time since I was a young adult myself. There is a bit of time in between those two things.
From there, I read more Rowell and beyond that, more YA. A lot of that has had LGBTQ+ flavor, be it the writer, protagonists, supporting characters, or all of the above. I’ve been wanting to make a post with YA recommendations for a while now (also classic historical romance, but that’s another story (pun intended.) Since we are in Pride month, I figure that’s a good place to start. I can definitely recommend other YA in the future. Believe it or not, there are quite a few YA novels that use fandoms as a large part of the plot, and you know I grab those as soon as I see them.
Whittling this down to five choices has been hard. I do have a larger list, which I can post later. For now, if I could only take five such books to a desert island, these would be the ones, in no particular order.
Told out of chronological order, we get to piece together the events that led up to Nathan, aka Nate, being violently attacked by his best friend, Cam. Heartfelt, angsty, taking an unflinching look at the intersectionality of Christianity and queerness (Nate is both) and what a battlefield adolescence can be for a lot of people. I also highly recommend Mr. Smedley’s other novel, Tonight ,We Rule the World (unrelated) A list of trigger warnings for both books can be found on the author’s site here.
For this one, I will let my Goodreads review do all the talking:
In some alternate universe, I am still reading this book. In some alternate universe, Griffin and Theo and Jackson and Wade are together, in some configuration, as the complete squad. Heck, Jackson could pull in Annika and Veronika, though the gals are supporting characters, but that’s how relationships go sometimes.
Griffin and Theo and Wade were best friends, until Griffin and Theo came out to each other, at the same time. Griffin and Theo dated until Theo left for college on the opposite coast, but still figured they’d be endgame…until Theo met Jackson. Still, they were young, they had time to find their way back to each other…until Theo drowned, sending both Griffin and Wade spinning out of control, and toward each other. Griffin and Jackson should hate each other, but they both love (present tense) Theo, so that’s something, isn’t it?
It is something, but exactly what it is would be telling, and that’s not even counting the important part of the puzzle Wade has been holding onto all this time.
Emotional, engaging, and utterly filled with raw emotion, this book is a touching tale of friendship, first love, grief, and the new normal
This is one of the most raw, affecting, and poignant descriptions of grief I have read in a long time. I will likely write a proper review later, but I did read this book in one sitting. Quick read, and an extremely effective one, stark and cold as a lonely winter, but full of the warmth that comes from friendship and memory, with the sparkle of new beginnings.
I don’t want to think about this book right now, as I want to feel it a while longer. It’s one of those books, an unexpected treat wrapped around the nothingness and crushing weight of loss, the madness that comes in its wake, and the promise of a new normal.
I have indeed thought more about this book but have not written a proper review, but OOF. Our protagonist, Marin, left California with the clothes on her back to go to college on the East Coast. Now it’s Christmas break, and Marin is not going home. She is not going to her roommate’s home. She is staying in the dorm, the only student doing so, her only human companionship a visit from her best friend, Mabel, which means facing everything that made her flee like her life was on fire. To be fair, it kind of was. Nina LaCour wraps this all up in achingly beautiful prose. Be prepared for gut punches and a happy cry at the end.
Dual timelines. Two queer women, sixty years apart, and the pulp novels that tie them together. Once again, I need to write a fuller review, but here’s this for now:
Better review coming later, as I want to hold onto the feeling of having read this book for a while before sharing my impressions, but I knew I had to read it as soon as I first saw the title. Modern day Abby discovers the world of 1950s lesbian pulp fiction, and sets off on a quest to not only write her own novel in the genre, but discover what happened to the author of her favorite pulp novel, who disappeared after only one release. That alone makes for an interesting storyline, but when Robin Talley adds the second point of view, that of the abovementioned author, and that author’s own entrée into the world of the pulps, and weaves in the novels both women write, what we get is a nuanced story on a greater scale.
This book has a lot of what I love best about historical fiction with romantic elements. There may not always be a happily ever after for the couples involved (especially f/f couples in the 1950s) but there is love, and the history directly impacts the relationships of all couples, in both timelines. Though I don’t know much about this area of history, the story, and characters, spurred me to research and learn more about the era and people that created this branch of pulp fiction. That research led me to pick up on some of the Easter eggs (I am sure there are more) sprinkled throughout, referencing real life components of the genre and its time.
Update: Yep. Buying my own copy to annotate. Talley gets it right about the impact a genre can have on a writer.
This feels like cheating, as it’s not a novel but a short story collection, but if I could have only one Levithan, it would be this one. Very, very, very short review on this one, which I will let stand, as my advice is to go in blind.
I am head over heels in love with the way David Levithan uses language and how he taps into the raw, bleeding hearts of young lovers. Some of these loves turn out well, some don’t, and every point in between, but this is an unforgettable collection that will stay with you long after your first read.
My favorite story in this collection is “Breaking and Entering.” I don’t think I have healed fully yet from that one, and I can identify with both characters.
~*~
Five books is, of course, only scratching the surface. Keen observers will notice this list skews heavily toward emotional and angsty, though that is not at all the only option for YA, or even for the authors listed here.
First of all, the song is a longtime favorite. It’s also how I usually note visits to my friend, Mary, who lives in CT with her awesome family. I did not take people pictures this time, because we were busy having some fun.
First stop was Jerry’s Artarama, which is basically an art supply playground. They always stock my favorite sketchbooks, which I use for my nighttime journaling.
Pink and teal books are pocket size. The yellow pad is for alcohol markers. I have a few of those but haven’t done much with them. Since I am resolving to use things I have, that means alcohol markers as well. Disaster may well ensue. \
The store was having a Liquitex paint event, where anybody could try out their new plant based paints and mediums (not sponsored, but super fun) Later this week, I will put this on a teeny easel because I actually do like it. The red blob may need some glitter. Thankfully, I have some. The Liquitex rep was friendly and chatty. I have some acrylics that I haven’t used in a while, but I think it might be time to play around with them, too.
After that, it was off to The Book Barn, an outdoor used book store. We usually go to Romance Barn after the main location, an indoor location focused on romance, but didn’t have time. Mary and Mr. Mary had a puppy at home who had already been a very good girl and needed to go out. Oh well. Guess we’ll have to visit again. Which will also mean stopping by an Irish pub for bangers and mash.
Part of this visit was a very belated exchange of Christmas gifts. One of mine was this B6 size journal (my favorite size for morning journaling.) My friends know me well. Cover has skull doodles, pages are nice and substantial. Best guess is 100 or maybe 120 gsm? Ivory, lined, and so smooth I want to pet them.
Hotel was okay, though the breakfast area was something out of a sitcom. Flow was not one of its strengths, but the room itself was nice and comfy. Drive home was super easy (mostly for me, as I am Passenger Princess with a travel pillow) only to get one block from our building and find that we were not yet done. We live on the parade route, and this was Pride weekend, so parking was not an option for a few hours yet. I don’t know who was performing around noon, but the music sounded fun. We went out to lunch and ran some errands, then hauled our tired selves home and collapsed. Storm has almost forgiven me for leaving her for an entire twenty-four=hour period. (she stayed home with Real Life Romance Hero)
That’s about it for the weekend that was. I am mostly unpacked now. Part of my homework for Melva’s and my mini-group was to write one page of fiction. Melva is a college professor and former high school teacher, so she does not mess around when she gives homework. Funny thing, as soon as I buckled into the passenger seat for the trip down, a scene popped into my head. The characters are, for the moment, named Bob and Jane, from an exercise I include in one of my workshops (“Fun With Bob and Jane,” wherein the male character is named Bob and the female, Jane, for the exercise, no matter what their names actually are.) and I can only give a shrug for plot or setting (I think this is new) but it discusses the Welsh word, hiraeth.
We’ll see where it goes from there. How was your weekend?
Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. As the title might suggest, we have our air conditioning on, and it feels awesome. I have been unusually talkative lately. Papa and Mama Anna think I want to make sure they are okay because it is summer weather now, and Aunt Linda thinks I am reacting to the air pressure. The weather report says it will be me-ing soon and that does things to the atmosphere.
Mama Anna was curious to see if I would accept clothes. The answer is yes.
Mama Anna tells me that tomorrow’s trip will be the last one of the summer, as she and Aunt Linda are going to see Aunt Mary again tomorrow. That is why I am posting today. They will be back on Sunday, so only gone for one night, but that is still too long for my liking. I get to spend the weekend with Papa. He may work on the new headboard. You will all be glad to hear it is unanimous that I will be allowed to scratch it if I want (it’s distressed already.)
Now that we have the proper inside temperature, and nobody is sweating to death, the humans will be better able to function. I still get the open window in Aunt Linda’s room, so that’s good. Having air conditioning means that it is much easier to function. The humans had been stubborn and insisted that fans were enough, but Papa ended up at the vet last year, and then they broke down, got Koolio, and, well, Mama Anna hauled out her weighted blanket last night. She had her feet sticking out. Best of both worlds.
Last week, Aunt Linda put a lot of her extra yarn in storage. She still has more to put away, and all of the humans need to switch their winter and summer clothes. Seems like a lot of work. I just shed. Much more efficient. We also have new summer sheets, which I will have to inspect when the humans make the bed next. That whole bit about “remove cat” being every other step in instructions for changing sheets with a cat around is funny because it’s true.
the white thing is a t-shirt, so I will shed on that and not on Mama Anna’s pink chair.
Warmer weather means more daytime naps for everybody, and then more activity when it is dark and cool. I could have told them that. With Mama Anna’s desk in front of a window, that puts her in direct sun during the day. Thankfully, she can take paper and pen to the soft office, or her laptop, for that matter, and go back to the desk at night. In case I didn’t mention it earlier, Mama Anna got a whole big box of tiny bubble wands and keeps one at her desk. She says blowing soap bubbles is good for calming down when she has anxiety. I am not sure about them. I gave them my best Halloween Kitty posture, but they don’t seem to do any harm, so maybe they will be fun to bat with my paws, as was suggested. These are the regular soap kind. Mama Anna needs to try the catnip kind. I will probably like those.