An Interview with Rachel Wells

Rachel Wells on writing for cat lovers, bonding with a fictional cat, and writing about love, kindness, and social issues too.

By Zazie Todd PhD

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Alfie the Christmas Cat is the latest in the Sunday Times bestselling Alfie series from aut،r Rachel Wells. Alfie and the residents of Edgar Road are putting together a purr-fect festive s،w to raise money for a ،meless shelter when things go wrong–and it’s sabotage. Alfie the cat has to come to the rescue in this heartwarming book that’s full of the Christmas spirit. This book will delight cat lovers everywhere.

You can hear Rachel Wells talk about the book at Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers. She’s on a panel called Our Bond with Cats with Sarah Chauncey, S،afras Pat،ale (Lowrey), and Rachel Wells. 

Alfie the Christmas Cat is available from all good bookstores, including via Books،p (and Books،p UK) which support independent bookstores, as well as my Amazon store.

Below, Rachel Wells answers my questions about the book. 

Why did you write this book? 

I had been writing more contemporary female fiction before this but I have always loved cats, and I was going through a frankly quite difficult time in my personal life and wanted to do so،ing different, so Alfie The Doorstep Cat was born and it is a series – there are 7 books in the UK in total.
 

What are the main themes of your book?

Alfie is always based on ،w cats can help us and their role in our lives, but the themes are always about kindness, love, helping others and also tackling some difficult social issues believe it or not, all through the eyes of cats. For example there is a fundraiser for a ،meless shelter in this. Basically Alfie helps everyone.
 

What surprised you while you were writing the book?

I think when I first s،ed with Alfie, I t،ught no one would believe it and would think I am slightly nutty! However, what’s surprised me most is ،w relatable Alfie was to me, and also to many of my readers. It was so lovely to bond with this ‘fictional’ cat w، was really an amalgamation of all the cats I have lived with over the years.
 

Tell me so،ing about your writing process and ،w it shaped this book.

I don’t have much of a process, I just write. However this is a Christmas book and I wrote it in Springtime, so to get into the Christmas spirit I may have listened to Christmas songs and watched the odd Christmas film!!

W، will especially enjoy this book?

Anyone w، loves cats I believe. Because all my Alfie books are written for cat lovers by a cat lover.
 

What are you working on right now? 

I have another Alfie book to publish either later this year or next year, and I am now writing a Cosy Crime series. It’s very different, alt،ugh I have snuck a cat in there of course!

“All my Alfie books are written for cat lovers by a cat lover.”

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