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The Authors
As you may have heard, Erin Hunter is actually two people! She is experienced
children's book writers Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry, who both live in the UK, work on stories together, and take it in the
turns to write the books. They came up with a single named, Erin Hunter, to avoid confusing readers by having books from the
same series on different places on the bookshelves.
I grew up on a farm, so of course I grew up with cats--working cats who kept down mice
the in the house and barns, but where still friendly house cats who would play and curl up on a lap. My first cat after I
married was a gray tabby called Tomlyn. We acquired him while we were out in Africa, teaching at the University of Sierra
Leone. He was part Siamese, part African bush cat, and one of the friendliest cats I've ever known. When we cam back to the
UK, we brought him with us; although he had to stay in quarantine for six months, he didn't forget us, and when we went to
visit him he climbed all over us, shedding hair and purring like mad! My next cat was Schriger, after the Austrian physicist--my
husband Peter was a scientist. He was ginger and white, and very playful. My two sons, Will and Adam, grew up with him, so
he will always have a special place in their hearts. Peter died a few years ago, and Will and Adam are grown up now, so I
share any home with two cats, Bramble and Sorrel. Sorrel is a tiny tortoiseshell and white cat, very dainty and demanding.
Bramble is a dark tabby, quiet and dignified, a real gentleman. When I'm working, bramble comes and sits on my lap. Sorrel
comes and sits on my work. They have their own secret world as Brambleclaw and Sorreltail, and I love writing warriors so
that I can imagine a cat's eye view of the world. They'll always be something mysterious about cats, and that's one of the
reasons I love them.
I have loved cats since I was a child. My dad gave me a kitten when I was six--a small,
gentle, black cat. She would follow me around the house waiting for me to sit down so she could could clamber onto my lap
and purr. Since then I have never been without a cat. Even at University I found a cat to love--a black tom who lived in the
halls of residence. He would slip into my room and sleep on my bed. And when I left University and set up my own home, the
first thing I acquired was a cat. I have three now. My eldest cat, Willow, is a grumpy granddad of a cat who loves to sleep
in the warmest place he can find to ease his aching bones. Flower and Miu-Miu are much younger--a brother and sister we found
in a rescue home. They love it when I write; as soon as I sit at my keyboard, Willow settles himself under the radiator in
my study and Flower curls up on the chair behind me, while Mui-Mui lounges across my desk pressing the keys with his paws
with languorous stretch. They graciously share their home with my partner Geof and my seven year old son, Joshua, who love
them almost as much as I do. Although Willow, Flower and Mui-Mui are soft kittypets, I know that at night when I'm tucked
up in bed, they go out exploring a world all their own. Writing Warriors gives me the chance to imagine that world. I used
to worry about my cats, out alone in the dark. But the ThunderClan cats have taught me that there is nothing for them to fear,
only adventures to be enjoyed.
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