About the author:

Janice Clark was born and raised in Corona, California. Later, she fell in love with the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and lived in Washington for nearly thirty-five years before returning to California to be near her mother.

She has four (grown-up) children plus a number of “borrowed” children and many grandchildren. She has always enjoyed working with children, in Sunday School, scouts, day care, and other settings, and especially likes to encourage their imaginations with crafts and stories. After resuming her interrupted education to earn an Associates degree at the age of sixty, she began sharing her stories outside the family.

Ms Clark’s stories and poems have appeared in Retrozine, Fool’s Motley, and three books: Our Own Stuff (a writer’s group chapbook), Christmas Brings Joy to Every Heart, and Love Lives Here—The Heart of a Mother.

About the inspiration:

This story began when a granddaughter asked me to “write a story about a little girl like me, whose parents split up and her cat died.” I did a lot of thinking first. I remembered how I felt as a child, when bad things happened. I tried to imagine what my granddaughter was feeling, and what she needed to hear from me to make it better. Then I started asking myself, “What if…?” What if the cat doesn’t really die, but goes off to a magical world where she can be young and healthy again? I watched moonlight shining through a window, and wondered how moonlight would feel if you could actually touch it, and wouldn’t it be fun if you could climb up a moonbeam like walking up the big slide at the park?

When my granddaughter couldn’t come for her usual summer visit, I began to actually write the story. I sent her a chapter a day by e-mail. It was as exciting for me as it was for her, because I didn’t know for sure what was going to happen in the story until I sat down at my computer each day.

About the story:

Sammy’s cat BB (Princess Buttermilk Biscuit) often disappears when the moon is full and may be gone for days. No one knows where she goes. Sammy decides to solve the mystery, and follows BB up a moonbeam to a magic world. There she meets BB’s friend Selena, and explores some of the wonders of Selena’s castle. In this magical place, the elderly cat is frisky as a kitten.

Selena tells Sammy the sad news that BB may die soon if she goes back home. Sammy panics, and runs though a magic doorway, into a dark, cold place. By “thinking like a cat,” she finds her way back, joining her friends in the crystal garden. There she realizes that when you love someone, you may have to put their needs ahead of your own. She persuades BB to stay with Selena, and slides back down the moonbeam into her own room.

The characters:

BB (Princess Buttermilk Biscuit): A very old cat who has the ability to cross over into another world.
Sammy (Samantha Jane): A young girl with a lot of curiosity and courage.

Selena: BB’s friend in the other world.

Sammy’s mom: A loving mother, but less imaginative than Sammy