Speaking of those holidays though...Have you started your shopping? I have and man, sticker shock was a real thing this year. Luckily, I've found some good sales. It seems the older my kids have gotten, the more I have to stretch that budget. With that in mind, I wanted to do something for all of you!

From now (November 15th) until the end of the month (November 30th), I have marked down my books from $10 down to $8. These are signed copies that come directly from me. My Amazon prices are set so if you prefer to order from them, know that those copies aren't signed. Signed copies can only be ordered directly from me. Shipping will be $5 for the first book and an additional $2 per book after that. I've included copies of three of the book covers below. I don't have a good image of Tales from the Toy Store. If you'd like more information on each book, head over HERE to read their descriptions. To place your order, message me on Facebook or send an email to Katrina@KatScratchPress.com -- Books will arrive in time for the holidays! 

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If you'd like to pre-order your copy and choose from other cool rewards, including copies of Tales From the Toy Store, go on over to Kickstarter and check out the campaign! Remember no money will be taken from your account until May 31st so you have plenty of time to get the funds ready to go.

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Speaking of the Kickstarter, that will launch on May 1st. I'm so excited to be bringing this to all of you. It's going to run for 30 days and you'll have the opportunity to buy not only Apo's Army, but Tales from the Toy Store, handcrafted keychains, and figurines. I already have ideas for stretch goals including bookmarks and stickers. 

My favorite reward tier is the final one. I'm going to create custom stories for five people. They'll tell me about their pet (preferably cat) and I'll write a story that will be in the actual book! I'm only offering up five of these because of the time commitment involved so if that's one that you're interested, you're going to want to pledge right away. 

If you'd like a reminder for when the campaign goes live, make sure that you click the link above and Kickstarter will email you after I hit that launch button!

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When we were young, we all knew that being King of the Hill was the highest honor that there was on the school’s playground. Whoever was king got to walk at the front of the line wherever we went. They decided which games we played at lunch. They were the unspoken ruler of our class.

Regal was just a small kitten when he started going to school. Like most kittens, he would watch the recess competitions to see who would win. King of the Hill didn’t happen every recess. It only happened a few times during the year, so whoever won would be king for at least three months. It was a very big deal at our school.

Every time there was a challenge, Regal would be there watching. He really wanted to be king, but you had to be at least a third grader before you were allowed. Third graders never won though. It was almost always a fifth grader. Regal didn’t care though. He practiced whenever he had a chance. Unless there was a competition happening, the hill was empty. Every recess we would watch Regal running up and down it. To become king, you had to be the first cat up the hill.

Regal did this for over a year. He grew bigger and all of the practicing made him really fast. He was so fast that he was the first kitten chosen to be for any race. As soon as someone yelled go, he’d be the first kitten off of the starting line. It didn’t matter if it was a regular race or one that had hurdles. He would fly down the track and always came in first.

When he was in third grade, he knew that it would be his chance to be king. He’d trained for it. He’d worked so hard. He knew that he was ready and that he could win. He just had to wait for lunchtime. The morning seemed to go on forever. He had a hard time paying attention during math and instead was doodling pictures of him running up a big hill. Lunchtime was even harder.  He didn’t want to eat the turkey and gravy that the cafeteria was serving. He just wanted to get outside to race up that giant hill.

As soon as the bell rang to release us from the lunchroom, Regal was the first of us out the door. He ran right to the bottom of the hill and started stretching. Tons of other kittens joined him. A few of us climbed up the hill so that we could judge who made it to the top first. Then, once everyone was in place, a whistle was blown, and the kittens were off!

Some raced as fast as they could, but then slowed down about halfway up the hill. Others took off slowly and actually passed those who slowed down. But, where was Regal? At first we didn’t see him. Then, as the crowd thinned out, we saw him. He had passed those who gave up halfway up and was passing those who had taken off slowly at first. He was already almost to the top!

Then, just as we were all sure that Regal was going to win, a grey cat named Swiffer ran right past him and up to the top! Swiffer was a fifth grader and had won King of the Hill the year before. When Regal got to the top, he was disappointed to see Swiffer there, but still clapped and cheered for him. When I talked to him later, he said there would always be more races and he wasn’t going to give up.

Except Regal didn’t win any of the races that year. Swiffer won every single one of them. We all thought for sure that Regal would give up, but he never did. He kept training and he kept racing. The next year, he was right there at the front of the pack when the whistle blew.

He took his time getting up the hardest part of the hill. Once he got past that though, he took off so fast! He was a cream blur as he ran past the other kittens. As he got to the top, he almost ran right past us and back down the other side but came to a sliding stop just in time. Everyone clapped and cheered for him. He had worked hard and now was king!

In fact, he was the longest reigning king. He was king for all of fourth grade and all of fifth grade. Nobody really minded though because he was always super nice. He listened to everyone and when he had to make a decision, he always thought about what everyone wanted to do. He may be the greatest king that we ever had at our school.

Now that we’re all much older, a lot of us still live near the school. Regal is now in charge of all of us who live in the area and I like to think that he’s such a good leader because of the kind of king of the hill he was all those years ago. Sometimes we sit around and we talk about those days, but mostly Regal is always looking for ways to make our lives better now. 

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