In conversation with Mollie Hunt.
Our guest today on Who are the Cat Writers’ Association? is Ann Katagiri. Ann is a half-Texan, half-Japanese woman of many talents and passions. Ann’s accomplishments include degrees in international studies and business and culinary arts, living and working in China for almost four years, and traveling to 30 countries before she turned 30.
Who are the Cat Writers’ Association? is a series of interviews with CWA members, but not your usual who, what, and where discussion. I like to ask a different set of questions for each new interview and am always amazed by the answers. I hope you are, too.
Ann is a polyglot author who speaks English, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese. Her three debut bilingual books, Den Chan: The Cat Who Crossed the Ocean, were independently published in December 2023. Based on a true story, the books follow the adventures of an orange tabby cat who travels from Japan to Texas. The children’s books are written in bilingual pairs of Japanese & English, English & Mandarin Chinese, and Mandarin Chinese & Japanese, and proudly printed and bound in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW).
Each book purchase supports five small businesses and proudly boycotts monopolies. They are written in hope of inspiring language learning in everyone, regardless of age. Ann often does vendor events around the DFW area, selling her books, T-shirts, and lots of different handmade kitty merch. Any items that she doesn’t craft herself are sourced from other creatives, supporting local small businesses 100%.
The New Den Chan Cafe.
As a trained chef/pâtissier, Ann’s newest venture is the Den Chan Cafe (spelled without the accent on “é”). Den Chan Cafe, based on Ann’s books, opened on September 28! (28 = “ni-ya” in Japanese, which is how Japanese cats meow).
The cat- and language-learning-themed coffee shop and bakery, located at 110 West College St. in Alvarado, Texas, welcomes cat lovers and language lovers alike.
Part 1
About My Craft:
For me, writing started off as a place to put words to my feelings; morphed into four years of travel blogs; then became my current trilingual blog, A Halfie’s Rambles, started in 2019. It is often just rambles and offers thoughts I have as a “halfie” (mixed-race human), but also is heavily influenced by my travels, language learning, and recipes. My passion was to create a blog where readers could read in all three of my languages side-by-side and also prove that a successful blog can be ad-free.
How Cats Inspire My Creativity:
Cats seem to keep adopting me recently, so they are quite literally always in the corner of my eye when I’m typing on my laptop, keeping me company. They have inspired my books, as well as several blog posts for the CWA. Den Chan, my family’s cat growing up, is now the inspiration for my cafe and the menu that will be available.
What I Enjoy About Belonging to the CWA:
It’s funny how much people don’t believe me that I’m a proud member of a Cat Writers’ Association. This always brings up a great opportunity to talk about what a wonderful organization it is! I love that we are a group of people of all backgrounds, connected through our love and passion for cats.
Part 2
Mollie: Did you grow up with cats?
Ann: Cats, more specifically stray kitties, were always prevalent around our neighborhood when I was growing up in Japan. That is how my siblings and I first met Den Chan, our golDEN tabby kitty, who I ended up writing my three bilingual language books about.
Mollie: What crosses your mind when someone tells you they don’t like cats?
Ann: They just haven’t met the “right” cat. I feel like cats are pretty easy to read, so if you’ve had a bad experience with one, there’s always a reason. I usually try to suggest giving it another chance. Or just have them meet my kitties in the attempt to make them fall in love with cats.
Mollie: Does cat love run in your family?
Ann: Looking back at some family photo albums, I realized orange tabby cats specifically run in the family. My parents had adopted cats before us kids were even born and my grandparents also always seemed to have a cat in their home.
Mollie: Where are you sitting right now? From where you are, how many cat-themed objects can you see? How many cats?
Ann: At the dining room table, with my youngest, Pudding, sitting on her cat-laptop scratcher. There are probably about 20 objects, either cat-themed or for the cats.
Do cat toys count? Because they usually start off in the toy basket and somehow make it all over the house, under the couch, and hidden deep in the dressers in the bedroom.
Mollie: How would you identify your cat in a lineup?
Ann: They would definitely come to me, instead of standing still. My babies know their names and respond to them well!
Mollie: Please give us the names and short descriptions of your cats.
Ann: Mikan, my oldest who just turned 3 years old, has a bobtail just like Den Chan did. A friend found her on the side of the road and after seeing her picture and how similar she is to Den Chan, I couldn’t not adopt her. She is super fluffy and loves to be independent. Her favorite pastime is cuddling on your chest for petting and attention.
My youngest, Pudding, is almost 2 years old and is a perpetual thrill-seeker who also happens to be a very skilled fly-catcher. Her favorite places are super-high-up and she is an avid cat-grass eater. She walked straight into my hands and hasn’t left since.
You can find Ann Katagiri online at https://www.instagram.com/denchanthecatbook. You can also find her on Instagram or Facebook as Den Chan Cafe.
About the Author:
Cat Writer Mollie Hunt is the award-winning author of two cozy series, the Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and the Tenth Life Mysteries. Her Cat Seasons Sci-Fantasy Tetralogy features extraordinary cats saving the world. Mollie also released a cat-themed COVID memoir. In her spare time, she pens a bit of cat poetry as well.
Mollie is a member of the Oregon Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, the Cat Writers’ Association, Willamette Writers, and Northwest Independent Writers Association (NIWA). She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and a varying number of cats.
It was a pleasure reading about Anne and her journey as an author and now business owner.
Great interview!
Congratulations on opening the Den Chan Café, Ann! A cat- and language-learning-themed coffee shop and bakery is such a great idea. A wonderful way to open children’s (and adult’s) minds to other ways of being.
Wishing you, Mikan, and Pudding all the best!
Thank you, Ann, for doing the interview. I love learning more abut my fellow members. And I especially loved seeing pictures of your cats!
I love the cafe idea. Congratulations your opening and I just love your cats, they look absolute sweethearts!