It’s a dog eat dog world out there but Dundee-born author Duncan Leith has come up with a charming story as the Crew Cats of Kittenweem follow the lure of high adventure, in the teeth of opposition from their traditional canine foes.
The fearless Fife felines have been purring away in Duncan’s own imagination for years, as his love of cats and keen affinity with the beauties of Fife, particularly the East Neuk, have grown together into a swashbuckling story mixing pussy cats with piracy, clever characters with a dashing plot and a lot of fun for young readers along the way.
They may lead a dog’s life in the little Scottish port but the discovery by Captain Bobtail, a retired sea captain, of an ancient parchment leads the highly-assorted cats of the village into an adventure to recapture the Catsbell of Ninelives, the symbol of good luck, good fishing and as many mice as they could want, stolen long ago by the evil canine pirate Black Dog.
Their journey on the high seas takes them to the dog-infested island lair of Black Pup, Black Dog’s wicked descendant …
Writing for children (and the young-at-heart) was his job for many years on comics from the Beezer and Topper to the Beano and the Dandy, so he has a natural connection with young readers and their often lively imaginations.
Duncan started his writing career at the age of 17 with D. C. Thomson and for more than 30 years produced stories for the weekly comics, as well as the amazingly popular annuals.
It wasn’t, however, until he took early retirement and grabbed the opportunity to buy a little holiday cottage in the East Neuk heartland of Pittenweem that the idea for a children’s book began to take shape.
“A lot of things just came together, I think. I had always wanted to do a book for children but writing scripts is a very different form.
“It was, literally, when I found the place in Pittenweem and began to really savour the atmosphere of the place that the ideas began to gel.
“If there’s one thing working on popular comics give you, it’s an ear for a good pun, and being a cat lover, I suppose it was only a matter of time till the notion of ‘Kittenweem’ popped into my head. It grew and developed from there, simple as that. “Writing for a young age group came quite naturally but there are one or two references that older people will get, like Captain Bobtail, with a nod to Cap’n Bob Maxwell!”
Apart from his love of words and writing, Duncan, a keen cyclist and one-time racer, has biked nationally and internationally and most summers still goes abroad to challenging locations from the Alps to the Pyrenean routes of the Tour de France and demanding roads in the Scottish Highlands, islands and west coast.
He spent many years touring worldwide with his late partner Irena. His first children’s book is, poignantly, dedicated to her.
Although he now lives in North Fife, his base in Pittenweem, in the High Street, claims his attention at certain times of year when it isn’t let out to visitors from all over the world. He loves the place for its unique location and sense of history.
“The atmosphere is wonderful, like nowhere else for me. I used to cycle there and when the chance came up to buy a wee place, I knew I had to do it.
“The building hasn’t changed much in hundreds of years but it has a great feel to it and it’s a treat to be there during the summer and especially during events like the Pittenweem Arts Festival, where so many homes and flats are opened up to public as art galleries and events venues.
“This year there will be an artist using my house as a venue and I’m going to enjoy being there and experiencing the usual buzz. It’ll be a lot of fun to see how locals and visitors react to the book, too, when they realise they are in the very place that inspired the story.”
With the inspiration for his tale coming from such a strong spirit of place, Duncan reckons that he came up with the ending first and worked the rest of the story round that!
“That happened with comics, too, but this was a bit different in style and scale and I loved doing it. Playing with words has always been a part of my life I really like the fact that when the cover of the book was designed, there are lots of piratical and sea-faring references and clues but only one tiny cat figure. That leaves the characters in the book to the kids’ imagination.”
Reading the story, it’s one that strikes you would make a terrific animation.
“I’d love that!” Duncan laughed. “And I do have some ideas for a sequel. I think these cats and Kittenweem itself have a lot of adventures in them yet!”
Although he now lives in North Fife, his base in Pittenweem, in the High Street, claims his attention at certain times of year when it isn’t let out to visitors from all over the world. He loves the place for its unique location and sense of history.
“The atmosphere is wonderful, like nowhere else for me. I used to cycle there and when the chance came up to buy a wee place, I knew I had to do it.
“The building hasn’t changed much in hundreds of years but it has a great feel to it and it’s a treat to be there during the summer and especially during events like the Pittenweem Arts Festival, where so many homes and flats are opened up to public as art galleries and events venues.
“This year there will be an artist using my house as a venue and I’m going to enjoy being there and experiencing the usual buzz. It’ll be a lot of fun to see how locals and visitors react to the book, too, when they realise they are in the very place that inspired the story.”
With the inspiration for his tale coming from such a strong spirit of place, Duncan reckons that he came up with the ending first and worked the rest of the story round that!
“That happened with comics, too, but this was a bit different in style and scale and I loved doing it. Playing with words has always been a part of my life I really like the fact that when the cover of the book was designed, there are lots of piratical and sea-faring references and clues but only one tiny cat figure. That leaves the characters in the book to the kids’ imagination.”
Reading the story, it’s one that strikes you would make a terrific animation.
“I’d love that!” Duncan laughed. “And I do have some ideas for a sequel. I think these cats and Kittenweem itself have a lot of adventures in them yet!”