Meet my writing mascot – Neko-chan. Early in my learning process to writing Choosing Life: My father’s journey in film from Hollywood to Hiroshima, I spent a week at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in a writers’ residency. ACA is housed on a beautiful nature preserve in New Smyrna Beach, FL. A young orange kitten jumped on my arm one morning from a railing as I waited in the breakfast line. After I put him down, he insisted on following me around. But feral cats are disastrous to a nature preserve and he could not stay. After failed efforts to find an owner in the area, I persuaded the center to let him stay in my room and studio (on which I posted a sign to “Beware of Fierce Kitty”). He has been an inseparable companion on my writing journey ever since. As you can see, he is always alert and vigilant on the job!
