Writing has been a passion and an important outlet in my life. Born in Belgium, I lived in South Africa for fifteen years before moving to Toronto, Canada, where I now live. As they say, "life is a journey," and I try to use all of my varied experiences and exposure to diverse cultures to enrich my writing.

Another passion in my life is a deep love of animals. Cats are especially close to my heart, and I use my writing to bring awareness to their issues. Most importantly, I try to focus on the critical need to educate more people about the importance of neutering their pets, and encouraging support of local animal rescue organizations.

I will soon be releasing a book entitled, "Kitten Diaries." Both stories in "Kitten Diaries" are based on real cats and, although their humorous adventures are fanciful, both are based on a real life event. First there is "Chanel's Story" about the time when I adopted my wonderful cat, Chanel, at an animal shelter. This story is followed by "Queeny's Diary" and is about a kitten sent to spend time with family friends while her owners go on vacation. Fur flies when Queeny finds herself at the mercy of a household full of older cats.

I also have opinions and points of view that I like to share here on Helium. Networking with other writers, sharing ideas and stories has been an especially enriching experience.

My next two projects will be more children's stories with cats, and even a ferret, as characters. Then I step into the workplace for a serious expose about temporary workers (aka temps) in the office. If you think you know what it means to have a temporary job, think again.

When not writing for Helium, I work on my column at www.agpress.net, a site for authors run by authors, who offer manuscript editing, critique, formatting, book cover design, and much more. This column starts in October 2008.

I am also planning to start my own blog. Please check out my website www.connymanero.com for further updates.

My passion is ...

Writing and cats

I know too much about ...

Temporary work

My parents always told me ...

You're walking with your head in the clouds

My childhood ambition ...

Being a veterinarian or hair stylist

My favorite memory ...

The six weeks I spend with the guy of my dreams

Why I write ...

Because there is so much to write about

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Someone Special by Sheila O'Flanagan

My first job ...

Assembling electrical equipment

My best moment ...

Is yet to come

My inspiration ...

A blanc sheet of paper

Pets & Animals > Pet Ownership Pets: Part of the family

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At one point we had seven cats. We did not adopt them all at once, of course, so I thought I would share with you how those seven cats came into our lives.

First there was Mickey, a grey and black tabby.

In South Africa we adopted Mickey from a shelter. We did not know, or care for that matter, whether Mickey was male or female. We saw her, she looked ever so sad, so we decided to take her. The fact that she was female, we found out a few weeks later when Mickey had a litter. We found good homes for her kittens, but decided to let her keep one kitten. After all, it would be her ...

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