BOOKSMART: Author Shari Lapena believes in the feline mystique
Poppy’s original owner was a struggling poet, “which I quite liked,” said Lapena. “He had named all the cats after flowers because the mother’s name was Daisy.”
Shari Lapena; Cat
ELISABETH EGAN
Here’s a bit of writing advice you won’t hear very often: Get a cat. Sure, a slobbery mutt might turn out to be your new best friend, but a steadfast feline has the potential to be a muse. Take it from Shari Lapena, the Canadian thriller author who owes a debt of gratitude — and peace and dignity, which cats deliver in spades — to a soulful tabby named Poppy.
“I have put her in my acknowledgements for every book that I’ve written,” Lapena said. In her latest best seller, “Everyone Here Is Lying,” the former lawyer and English teacher writes, “And finally, thanks to my family, even Poppy the cat, who seems to have retired and doesn’t join me in the office anymore.” She included a similar line in her 2021 novel, “Not a Happy Family.”
In “The End of Her,” which came out in 2020, Lapena took appreciation for Poppy to another level, declaring, “I couldn’t do this without you.” (She included her husband and kids in this statement.)
Poppy’s original owner was a struggling poet, “which I quite liked,” said Lapena. “He had named all the cats after flowers because the mother’s name was Daisy.”
Like many an opinionated feline settling into a new home, Poppy quickly selected her favorite lounging spot. It happened to be the chair Lapena sat in while writing. (If you’ve ever lived with a cat, this won’t surprise you.)
Lapena said, “Every time I got up to get some coffee she would get up and sit on my chair and I would have to pick her up and put her back on the bed. It got to the point where I went out and bought an identical office chair.”
The pair coexisted peacefully, side by side, through the births of three books. When Lapena and her family moved from Toronto to a farm outside the city, Poppy established two new thrones for herself: one on a bed within earshot of the writing process and the other beneath the table where Lapena keeps her printer. If cats could be bothered to have 15 minutes of fame, Poppy’s would have been her “interview” with Puddy, a feline belonging to the British crime novelist Cara Hunter. Excerpts from their conversation appeared in Hunter’s newsletter, where it was revealed that Poppy had a “cool rat toy called Nibbles” and that her favorite treats were “scrummy stuff” known as PartyMixPartyMix. Also, her nicknames were Popster, Popsy and Poptart (“not so sure about that one,” she admitted, “but I haven’t said anything”).
In March, Poppy died at 13 “of massive organ failure for no discernible reason,” Lapena said. “It was a bit of a shock. Cats are a big comfort when you’re writing a book. There’s a lot of hours when you’re sitting there by yourself. Poppy was an inspiration for me.” Poppy’s name will appear on one final acknowledgments page. After that, “maybe I’ll have to get another cat,” Lapena said. “I think I’m ready now.”
