Hey all my wonderful felinista’s! It’s Deb here and all of us at Zee & Zoey’s Chronicle Connection need some help from you! Nominees for Dogtimes Pet Blog Awards – The Petties 2011 are taking place and we would love to have some support for the “Best Blog Design” category. And don’t fret – even though it is called Dogtimes, it  still has numerous categories open to our beloved feline friends! Now, even though Zee and Zoey might disagree, I know we are not remotely qualified for some of the categories like “Best Overall Pet Blog,” or “Best Cat Blog,” but “Best Design”… well… I can’t help but brag, but I think we deserve a paw pat on the back for that one! I hope you agree that our blog is an absolutely exquisite work of art, filled with stunning photographs, delightful artwork, and heartfelt posts to compliment the overall appeal and beauty for the reader.

We try not to ask too many favors of you, but we really would appreciate any bit of help we could get! We truly think our blog is worthy of this nomination or we wouldn’t ask – and the wonderful bonus out of all of this, if we win in the category, Dogtime will donate $500.00 to a shelter of our choice!

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3! Just go to this link and provide the following details:

Name:   Zee and Zoey’s Chronicle Connection

Nominee URL:  http://www.zeeandzoey.com/blog/

Nominee Email:  dbarnes@zeezoey.com

Then, just provide a brief reason why this blog should win!

Thank you all so much and we are grateful for all your help and support!!

The cats helping me as I type my final words of the manuscript

It was exactly one year ago today, that I finished writing the draft of my literary masterpiece, The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey – A Journey of the Extraordinarily Ordinary.  The first thing I did after I typed the last word of the book was cry. I cried with relief, exhilaration, pride, and sheer over-exhaustion. The next thing I did, was give it to Dan to read for the first time. I had holed myself in our office as a relative recluse for a whole year prior as I diligently poured my heart and soul into this story. I really hoped he would like the story – after all, much of it centered on him, since he is an integral part of my life with Zee and Zoey. I was definately a bit shy, hesitant, nervous, but proud to hand it to him for his approval. Not to mention, I had never written a book before, so I had no idea if it was even good! When I heard him in the background laughing out loud, I just thought I would burst with joy! Read more

Ta Da! The book cover unveiled for The Chronicles of  Zee & Zoey!

I know we’ve all been brought up with the mindset that we shouldn’t “judge a book by its cover,” and I usually agree with that sentiment. However, when it comes to the book cover design that we have finally chosen for Zee & Zoey’s book, “The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey – a Journey of the Extraordinarily Ordinary,” I must say I wholeheartedly encourage you to judge this book by its cover! Read more

The ink wasn’t even dry yet and I already had myself as a guest on the Ellen Show and a high-visibility table in Barnes and Noble displaying my best selling book with matching Zee and Zoey plush animals! Whoa… Slow down girl! What actually happened next is a bit more technical – I registered ZeeZoey Partners (ZZP) with the state of Florida as a Limited Liability Corporation and contacted my friend and graphic designer, Madalina, to help me come up with a logo concept for ZeeZoey Partners – no point in moving forward with a book, if I did not have a professional image.

I literally poured through thousands of images of cats, leopards, leopard prints, Bengals, Maine Coons – basically anything and everything related to the feline world to help inspire me as to what I felt the image I wanted would look like. I made copies of clip art, did rough Photoshop layouts, and badly drew many pencil sketches to bring to Madalina to help her understand what I wanted – I gave her carte blanche to use her imagination and creativity, she did not necessarily have to find inspiration out of what I gave her, but I knew I wanted the logo to portray the love Zee and Zoey had for one another, as well as to showcase each cat individually as a specific breed. Read more

October 9, 2010

Embrace the ordinary in your life and dare to make it extraordinary!

CORAL SPRINGS, FL, October 09, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ — Deborah Barnes, author of the upcoming book, The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey – A Journey of the Extraordinarily Ordinary, announced today the launch of her new website and blog www.zeezoey.com. Deborah’s blog will engage readers and subscribers in discussions that build upon the upcoming book.
“Zee, our lovable Maine Coon, and Zoey, our high-spirited Bengal cat have taken it upon themselves, with a little help from some human friends, to write a book,” said author Deborah Barnes. “They are so thrilled about this project that they want to share all the behind the scenes details with you and have developed a blog to chat with you about this exciting experience. While it helps to be a cat lover, anyone who enjoys a good story, a large dose of humor, and a heartfelt look at the daily tribulations of life will enjoy this blog and upcoming book.”

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