Lake County >> Gene Paleno has no idea why his cat is more popular than he is. When people run into him on the street, they don’t ask how he’s doing — they ask after Cleo.
It wasn’t even really his idea to release his latest book, “Cleo Chronicles: The Adventures of Cleo the Cat.” Over the past two years of writing his Record-Bee column, the Witter Springs Chronicles, Paleno has sprinkled stories of Cleo. They were met with enthusiasm, and enough people asked him to compile those tales. So that’s what he did.
Paleno began writing the various short stories relayed in Cleo Chronicles since adopting his long-haired cat from the SPCA when she was just barely out of kittenhood. Then he arranged them in chronological order. The book is sweet and humorous, and likely something all cat owners can relate to.
“They [cats] are symbiotic with human beings,” Paleno said. “They like to be with humans.”
This is especially true for Cleo, who makes of habit of greeting guests at Paleno’s home. He also likes to sit between two people, just waiting for one of them to pet her. Paleno often reminds her not to bother their company. And at night she prefers to sleep in an apple box in Paleno’s room.
Cleo Chronicles was released just a couple weeks ago, and the publication has given the cat quite a large head, Paleno joked. Just the other day, after he threw a copy of the book on his bed, Cleo waltzed in and sat directly on top of the paperback, like she owned it. “I must say that now that it’s been issued she’s gotten uppity,” he said. “She was sitting on my chair today thinking she deserves more credit than the author. Maybe she does.”
Cleo’s been a good companion to Paleno, keeping him company while he lounges at the keyboard and writes. Paleno likes to call her his helper. But she’s not hesitant to interrupt him when she wants a head scratch or some food. “I like Cleo,” he commented. “She’s a good cat despite her uppity ways.”
The small, 68-page book comes after Paleno’s last publication, “Lake County History”. While the two appear drastically different on the surface, they have more in common than it may seem. Far from a dry textbooks, the history tome was also comprised of narrative stories. And over Paleno’s long background in writing, a background that includes more than 20 published books, he’s tackled so many subjects that Cleo Chronicles hardly felt out of the ordinary.
Lake County History has been well-received. In fact, Paleno is nearly out of the third printing of the book. “I hope people stop buying it because I want to get on to the next books,” he said.
His future book will cover stories about the Civil War, which will be followed up by two science fiction novels, then a trilogy. He often works on multiple projects in one day, sitting down in front of his computer as early as four in the morning. “I just like to write. I’ve been writing for 35 years. It’s all I do, is write,” Paleno said.
He simply has too many stories he’s just bursting to tell. “They just keep coming out and I can’t stop writing,” Paleno added. “I hope I live to be 125 so I have time to get them all out.”
Cleo Chronicles costs $8 and can be found at the Upper Lake Mercantile, Watershed Books in Lakeport and at Mendocino Book Company in Ukiah.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
