A little over a year ago I started writing a story about all the cats I ever had, based on a bedtime story I told my daughter. Entitled “Día de los Gatos,” I was hoping to finish by Día de los Muertos of 2016, but other projects took over and I didn’t come back to it until about a year later. Maybe I can finish it by Día de los Muertos of 2017, I thought, but then I blew that deadline as the story grew and grew to encompass all of the minute ins and outs of my relationships to the 29+ cats I have loved and lost in the course of my life. Yes, it’s true.

Originally, I had thought to simply write the story and post it to this site. But then a writer friend with far more publication experience told me that anything you put on your site – or even on Facebook – is considered published in the eyes of journals and presses, should one be thinking of submitting for real. I wasn’t – who would possibly publish a 30-page essay about 29 cats? I thought – but it put the thought into my mind that maybe I could at least try first, before self-publishing.

So I sent it off to a few different places seeking creative non-fiction, and here is is! I’m so excited to be featured in the inaugural issue of Cagibi: A Literary Space, which looks spectacular and vital both content-wise and visually. Poke around the issue when you get a chance.

Oh–and remember that Día de los Gatos is a bedtime story, so read it out loud to loved ones. Or maybe to your cats.

Click below to read: