Rat-Wrangling and Jones -Jazzing

In 2005, Cathe married longtime love, jazz musician Mike Jones, and is enjoying every minute of it. Aside from changing her name, she's changed her goals. One pal, Bill Fayne, created this sign for her office, "World's Greatest Rat Wrangler", but additionally, Cathe has the title of published author.

You may be aware that Cathe, (or CJ, as she prefers), has been battling Ehlers-Danlos. This has left her limited in her physical abilities, but not in her thought processes. She has used the time she's been unable to move around to research and learn. Although she's no longer rapier fighting as Louise Labe in ren faires, she IS still enjoying some motion.

As a result, she has found a purpose doing the thing she has done since she first held a crayon in her hand. CJ is now writing again. Instead of monologues and teaching materials, she is taking up nonfiction work, completing books she started on and off for the last three years. She will have sample chapters on this site. Today, Cathe continues writing for websites, music, and her nonfiction books are currently being published.

Her poetry, prose, and several essays are on the site CatheB.com, and will make their way here. Her memoir piece, TimeLine, is published by Books For Grown-Ups, a subsidiary of ByShayne.com. These are available for purchase here. But her most important book to date is Godless Grief: An Atheist Discussion of Death, Divorce, and other Family Losses. Before publication, this book has garnished hundreds of fan letters from around the world, and has even developed a full forum of its own.

She has also written two novellas. One, "Token White Chick Writes Great America Novel", is a tale of a woman in search of the perfect bagel as she hitches a ride across country from a Casket Company Truck Driver, who at one time was a child star. The second one, "Two Old Ladies Living a Mystery Novel" focuses on two women a generation apart, seeking the murderer of policemen, all tied to the younger woman's mother.

Oh, the rats? They are doing wonderfully. Some have had recent appearances on Pet Star on Animal Planet, and are once more on CSI. Cathe has been approached to serve as "wrangling captain" over the animals being used in several motion pictures.

For some time Mrs. Jones has had a "thang goin' on" with her work as a public speaker on the topics of:

• Disability
• Writing Nonfiction
• Women and Writing
• Comedy
• Rats, Comedy, Jazz, and Wheelchairs
• Godless Grief Workshops and Seminars

The rates for Public Speaking range from $300 for a half hour, plus cost of travel and per diem, up to $3500 for two hour workshops in comedy, dealing with disability, or on the topic of Godless Grief. (This fee includes travel and per diem for the continental United States only, and additional fees apply for handouts, or if travel outside of the continuous states is necessary.) Other workshops are designed depending upon the needs of the client. Nonprofits are offered a sliding scale or waived fee!

What about the Music? In 2007, Cathe is to complete two albums. One is a standards and retrospect piece, and the second is an entirely original session, featuring guest artists such as Vegas jazz songstress, Gail Holmes, her amazingly talented husband Mike Jones, and other guests performers from the Las Vegas stages where she held court for a few years. Who knows, maybe she'll rope a 6' 6" bass player into it?

Art man, what happened to the art, man? Her MFA, which she states stands for "mother f-ing artist" from Calarts, has awarded her opportunites she never dreamed she'd have.

Lastly, Cathe lives in Las Vegas, with her husband, and their thirty or so rats, and the newest additions to their house hold their chinchillas and kitties, Oscar (Peterson) and Dave (McKenna). Cathe has taken on the role of Moderator and Facilitator for a women's writing group called The Las Vegas Quill Keepers. You can find her on MySpace, and she is the Deity of The Godless Grief forums.

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