Mark Nelson

I was born in the town of Castro Valley, California in 1958, raised in a military family, and traveled mostly throughout the United States with the family. I never thought of myself as a writer even then. During Junior High, High School, and College I enjoyed writing poetry, never thought about writing a book. In 2016, my daughter said I should take some ideas I was tossing at her and turn them into books. With that "The Cats Made Me Do It," "Holmes Investigative Services," and "Ms. Huxley and her Kitty" came into existence. Along with that, I have written several short adventures published on the Cats Made Me Do It Website and later will be compiled into books of their own. 

I must say having a cat whisperer for a daughter makes for some interesting naming of cats and storytelling. Dorothy sits down with them and helps the cats who come through the sanctuary to select names like Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes who inspired "Holmes Investigative Services'' or "H.I.S," and King Authur who inspired King Author Reigns?" on the website along with Lasalle, Tony Dinozo, and PPP who inspired "NCIS" or "Nocturnal Cat Investigative Services'' in several of the short web stories. All the cats and kittens used in my stories are or have been residents at Crazy Cat Sanctuary and Black Cat Rescue, the humans though are fictitious, except Jo Ann, my wife, Dorothy, my daughter, or myself. We are usually referred to as Mommy, Daddy, and Sister by the cats and kittens. Because of these four-legged kids, my writing career started in earnest in 2016 with the first draft of "The Cats Made Me Do It" and a couple of web shorts that we do not share any more due to some very sad memories of "the kids'' involved. Someday I may rewrite them to share again. One thing for sure, once a CAT DAD always a CAT DAD. These four-legged creatures become your other kids for sure. They have and will continue to inspire many stories short and long, They will always give us hours of love and fun.

If I had to pick one author who truly inspires me to write, I would have to say Lilian Jackson Braun with her "Cat Who..." Series of books. As she brings the two stars Kau Ko Kum and Yum Yum to life along with their human Quilleren or Mr. Q, you can see them in your mind walking off the pages. I just hope you have as much enjoyment reading my stories as I have reading hers, and writing them for you.	A little bonus for the cats. One hundred percent (100%) of all profit from the sale of my books goes to support Crazy Cat Sanctuary and Black Cat Rescue, and the precious cats and kittens I get to write about. So be sure to let your friends and family know about them. If you would like to help support the sanctuary or sponsor one or more of the permanent residents such as Jules Verne, Donna Noble, Tiger Man and his sister Tiger Tye, or any of our others who call the sanctuary their FUR-EVER home click here for the Details (Coming Soon).