I have Internet access at home again, thanks to a new replacement modem! Keep reading for updates on writing and the recent adventures of Oreo the cat and Bobbi the dwarf hamster...

Hello! I'm back online and off the Grid! Well, I was off line (except via my iPhone) for a few days. Worst. Time. Of. My. Life. LOL! But it helped me in the Writing Batcave. I finally received my replacement modem and hooked it up and voila! Internet access on the computer again!

Of course, my time in the Writing Batcave was disrupted by another dwarf hamster emergency. As you may have read in a previous blog I wrote, my dwarf hamster Bobbi has had some crazy adventures, including major surgery earlier this year. In a nutshell, Bobbi had developed a tumor on her tummy. The vet recommended surgery, and after much soul searching (why pay $$$ for a hamster that cost 5 bucks at PetCo?)... we decided although she was tiny, she was a huge part of our lives. Little hamsters deserve the same dignity in life as the rest of us!

So the blog about Bobbi's surgery is at this link below:

http://paulayoo.com/content/bobbi-blog-yes-i-am-procrastinating-mon-7609

Well, Bobbi was fine after the surgery... but then we saw TWO new tumors on her tummy! And then two days ago, I noticed one of her tummy tumors had doubled in size. AND she had super long nails that needed to be trimmed, AND there was a weird lump on her right paw.

I had a horrible feeling we might have to put Bobbi to sleep. We made an appointment with our awesome vet. Here's a cute photo of us strapping Bobbi into the car seat. She always wears her seatbelt. Safety first! LOL!

And guess what? The vet said Bobbi was not in pain and was still healthy and spirited enough to live! She told us that once Bobbi stops running in her wheel and stops eating... then it would be time.

So as our vet reached out to put Bobbi back in her cage, Bobbi got scared and freaked out. She raced across the examination table before any of us could stop her... and she fell three feet to the ground! Oh no!

Fortunately, nothing was broken. She survived the fall. But she was in shock and started breathing funny. So our vet recommended we leave her at the animal hospital so she could give Bobbi extra oxygen. So we left for a few hours to do errands and have lunch. I felt like I was in a super suspenseful episode of "ER"! Would Bobbi make it on life support or not? 

Fortunately, Bobbi survived! This dwarf hamster will probably outlive us all!

So clearly yesterday's hamster emergency messed up my writing batcave time. 

In the meantime,  despite the lack of wireless DSL in the house, my cat Oreo managed to continue writing his daily few sentences for his Twitter novel, "CATastrophe!" on my iPhone. So below is the latest version which includes Chapter 9! What an industrious little cat! (Follow Oreo here: http://twitter.com/oreothecatyoo)

CHAPTER ONE:

She is finally asleep. I sneak down the dark hall.

I notice the front door is open. I hear footsteps. Who can it be? Are they stealing my tuna?

I sneak towards my food bowl. I see a dark shadow and hiss. I hear footsteps. Someone's running away!

I scurry to the kitchen. Someone's overturned my food bowl! Tuna is scattered across the floor.

I notice the backdoor is open. I am about to investigate but ... sniff sniff... mmm, tuna on floor!

After nibbling the tuna off the floor, I notice something's wrong. Where's my owner's violin?

I peer outside the living room window. A black car roars by. My owner's violin is in the backseat!

I meow loudly but the car disappears. I gallop back to my owner to wake her up. But she's gone too!

Suddenly, footsteps! My owner picks me up. I meow loudly, warning her about her violin. But she ignores me.

I wriggle out of her arms. She follows me to the living room. "My violin" she cries. I see a footprint nearby. A clue?

The footprints go out the back door. My owner opens it to investigate. I race out! "Oreo!" she cries. "Come back!"

I've never been outside the house before. I'm scared. But I have to find my owner's violin! Is that a squirrel?

I chase the squirrel. He scurries across the street and points his tail at broken glass on the ground! Another clue!

The sun glints off the shards. I spot a nearby torn bit of paper. "22 Sycamore Lane." I know that street! I leave...

I arrive at Sycamore Lane. There's the black car with my owner's violin! I duck behind a tree. The car door opens...

A tall man clutches my owner's violin case and heads for a house. I follow. He knocks on the front door. It opens...

A woman and her small child appear at the door. They smile at the man with my owner's violin. What's going on?!

Before the door shuts, I race across the street and sneak inside. They don't see me as I follow them down the hall.

They enter a violin workshop. The man hands my owner's violin to the little girl who plays it beautifully. What's up?

CHAPTER FOUR:

The little girl finishes playing the violin and hugs the man. "Thank you, Daddy!" I feel sad. She has no idea!

The family leaves. I sneak into the workshop. I tug at the violin case but it's too heavy! Suddenly, I hear a crash!

I whirl around. The little girl has returned. She smiles. "Kitty!" She grabs me. I wriggle but can't escape!

The little girl hugs me tightly. "Now you're my kitty!" she says. "But you have my owner's violin!" I protest.

The little girl feeds me a treat. I purr & feel sleepy. Wait, is this a trap? She still has my owner's violin!

I wriggle out of the girl's arms. I head for the stolen violin. The man returns. "You look familiar," he says to me.

"Can we adopt him, Daddy?" the girl asks. He frowns. "This cat's trouble," he says. "He might scratch your violin."

I paw at my owner's violin case, trying to drag it away. The man laughs. "What are u doing w/our violin?" OUR? I hiss.

Before I can drag my owner's violin away, the little girl grabs and squeezes me. "Let's play!" She takes me outside...

We r outside. I immediately dart away. I'll return 2nite to get my owner's violin. But the girl cries. I feel bad!

CHAPTER SIX:

I sneak back after midnight. I drag my owner's violin to the door when I hear footsteps. It's the little girl!

"What are you doing with my violin?" she asks. I try to meow that it's my owner's violin. She opens the case & gasps.

The girl pulls out a piece of paper. It's a photo of me. "It's you!" she says. "Does this mean the violin's yours?"

I nod. She gasps. "My daddy's not a thief!" I meow, trying to make her feel better. "Let's go find him." I follow her.

The girl finds her dad. "Kitty says you stole his owner's violin!" "I knew u looked familiar!" he growls. I run away!

I stop running. I realize I have to get my owner's violin back, even if it means making the little girl sad.

But first, I decide to trot back to my owner's house. Maybe I can convince her to follow me to where her violin is!

I am home. My owner sobs. I jump on her lap. She pets me. I jump off & head 4 the door. "What is it, Oreo?" she asks.

I scratch at the door. My owner opens it & follows me to the little girl's house. Puzzled, my owner knocks on the door.

The little girl opens the door, clutching the violin. My owner gasps. "That's my violin!" The girl starts crying.

CHAPTER EIGHT:

We find the girl's daddy. "Why did you steal my violin?" my owner asks.
"I'm sorry," he says sadly. "I had to steal it."?

"Your violin?" the little girl asks. "But Daddy gave it 4 my birthday!"
"Let's find your daddy," my owner says sadly.

My owner hugs the girl. "Don't cry. I'm not mad @ u! I just want my violin back." I hear footsteps & meow!

My owner frowns. "I know times are tough but it's no excuse for stealing." "I know," the man says. "But I can explain."

CHAPTER NINE:

"The factory closed down, so we are poor," the man tells my owner. "My daughter's birthday was coming up..."

"I met a violinmaker who said he could sell me a violin," the father continues. "But he made us drive to your house."

"He insisted you had sold your violin to us," the man says. "I had no idea he had lied to us." His daughter comes over.

"Thank u for my birthday violin," the little girl says. "Can I play for you all?" She holds up my owner's violin & plays.

The little girl plays Twinkle Little Star on my owner's violin. She sounds beautiful. My owner cries. I have an idea!

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I wonder what will happen next! Only Oreo knows! Stay tuned by following my cat Oreo's Twitter page here: http://twitter.com/oreothecatyoo

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Well, it's time to go back into the Writing Batcave. My goal is to finish revisions on a spec script. As a working TV writer, you have to have a fresh "spec script" every year for staffing job possibilities. After I finish this script, I plan to work on a new idea I have for a middle grade novel, do revisions on a new picture book poem I wrote, and get back to an adult novel I've been working on and off all year. The fall semester is also starting, so that means I will be substitute teaching K-12 again until the next writing gig. It will be a busy fall!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Happy writing!