THE INCA CAT SERIES BY R.F. KRISTI
R.F. Kristi, the author of the Inca book series is a former professional of the United Nations Children’s Fund. She holds a doctorate in economic development and has travelled and lived in various countries of the globe. With a deep commitment to animal rescue efforts, Kristy has a keen interest and love for animals. She created the Inca Cat book series for younger readers up to age 8 or 12 and also animal lovers. Kristi currently resides in France. It is anticipated that the proceeds of the Inca Book Series will be donated to animal rescue efforts in developing countries.
She has always been fascinated with cats. The intelligence and allure of cats has always enchanted her and she has found them the best of companions. She often remembers reading a good detective story with her feline companions close by her side.
She says:
“Writing the Inca Cat Series arose out of the blue. I had never dreamed of writing stories for children. My specialty due to my work with the United Nations specialized agencies rather concentrated on lengthy reports of a more technical nature based on strategic planning. A world much removed from the milieu of children’s books targeted at all persons who love animal, both kids and adults.
I had acquired Inca two years ago, from a distraught neighbor who was undergoing personal challenges and fighting depression. She had purchased Inca, a beautiful Siberian kitten from a breeder in the outskirts of Paris, France. However, she just could not cope with caring for her in her current mental state. She had asked the guardian of our apartment building situated in central Paris if he knew anyone who would be willing to take on the kitten.
What a windfall, at least from my perspective. Our guardian, Monsieur Fernandez knew how fond I was of cats and that my own cat had passed away a few months ago, at the ripe old age. Although I was not ready to house another cat after Beffy who had been my companion since I found her in Africa while working for UNICEF many years ago, I was smitten with Inca. Above all she needed a new home.
It was a match made in heaven. Inca conquered my heart the moment I set eyes on her. She came home to stay that very same night and settled down comfortably as if she owned my apartment sleeping that night on my chest. To keep her company while I was away at work, I obtained Cara, a blue-eyed diminutive Siamese kitten. Inca embraced her instantly with love and understanding. I was amazed as I was aware that cats have a reputation for being jealous and territorial. My misgivings were in vain and they bonded on meeting – with Inca in the role of big sister, protective of her little sister Cara.
I am an avid reader. I can never remember a time that I was not visiting the local library scouting for books. However, I never read romantic novels neither science fiction nor fantasy stories. I never enjoy them. Detective stories on the other hand have me hooked. I can never put down a good who-done-it. I am rather nostalgic and like a more ordered world.
From watching and interacting with both Inca and Cara, the Inca Cat Series was born. Loving a good mystery, when I started writing about the cat adventures, the ideas started flowing. So much so that I could not stop writing once an idea germinated. The first book starts off in Paris where I am currently living and then moves to London with the well-known characters Inca, Cara with Fromage a cheese loving tabby male cat joining the family.
The idea for the “The Cats Who Crossed Over From Paris” came to me, rather from living and observation- and the details in a strange way, from reading rather than from living or observation. The “Christmas Cats” just followed and the third in the series “Cats in Provence” is currently bubbling waiting to jump onto the written screen of my laptop.
There is a sense of nostalgia and security about these cat characters, with a few other doggy characters and humans adding to the mix. While I am an animal lover, I have never owned a dog. But I am aware from reading, the positive qualities of dogs and it was inevitable that a few doggy characters emerged from my thought process into the Inca Cat Series, in addition to the human detective from the detective novels of which I am a fan.
In the end, the mystery is solved and peace and order is restored providing the reader with a story tale ending. I don’t think we choose our genre, I think that a genre chooses us or should I say, my fondness for Inca and Cara made the choice inevitable.”
R.F. KRISTI
