INTERVIEW
Tell us about yourself
My name is Viviana Maria Falleti. I live in Naples FL with my suave Italian husband Gino. I was born in Germany and came to America when I was 20 with my first husband (now deceased). Because he was in the military, we lived in Kansas for 3.5 years, after which we moved to Miami for the next 20 years. I have a beautiful daughter named Ashley. When it was time for her to attend middle school, we found an impressive choice in Ave Maria, FL, after which we decided to move to Naples. My daughter is now married and living with her husband in Nebraska. During this time, I dabbled in real estate.
About 2 years ago, my dearest friend Marylin, more less insisted that I come to her house to watch a movie that she was sure I would love. She had a lovely lunch ready for us, and then she put on the DVD. The movie was ‘Miss Potter’ which is about the life of Beatrix Potter, the author of the famous Peter Rabbit book.
As my friend knew me quite well, I did enjoy the movie, very much. It rekindled my interest in writing children’s books. My friend didn’t know this at the time, but years before I had taken a course in writing children’s literature, but never actually did it.
Later that same day, she told me a story about one of her crazy cats. It was a truly bizarre story of when they lived in Siberia for a while. Her Russian cat, every single night at 11, you could set your clock by it, would jump off a high shelve, fly through the air, and attempt to land on her head, while she was trying to mind her own business reading a book. For her defense, she learned a tennis move and would redirect the crazy cat’s landing. As this happened every single night, It was a very funny true story, indeed!
The next day, when my husband had an intensely boring and lengthy conversation on the phone with a banker, I felt the need to tune out completely and decided to write down the story my friend Marylin had shared with me the day before. The story was so funny and interesting that I did not want to forget it. When talking to her later that day, she was amused that I wrote it down and asked me to read her the story. She was quite impressed, which was encouraging, because she had worked professionally as an editor for 8 years, and was not easily impressed. She is also the author of a well-reviewed book of poetry. She encouraged me to write a few more stories, and so my writing career began.
Being a perfectionist by nature, this was one time when this condition lol came in handy. My books are top-notch quality from the paper choice, to the content, to every single illustration…. My friend calls them the “Louis Vuitton" of books. If one were to go to a local bookstore, they would rarely find something of comparable quality. When my friend and I set out on this journey, we looked around at the local bookstore, for inspiration. I found literally only one book in the entire children’s section that had captivating illustrations.
At Little Feather Press, the company that I started, the aim is to produce high-quality, wholesome, entertaining books that respect the innocence and dignity of childhood. Little Feather Press produces books for the parent who is “hungry for wholesome.”
About the Book
Book Description: The Cats’ Museum is an endearing and winsome tale featuring a cast of felines whose mild-mannered mischief intrigues young readers and cat lovers of all ages. A touch of history is added to set the scene. Catherine the Great, in 1756, recruited stray cats to protect her beloved Hermitage Museum from rodents. Generations later, to this day, the cats are still working there, protecting the artwork and doing their zany mischief. Tune in for a splash of fun!
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF CATS WORKING AT A MUSEUM ???
Catherine the Great, in 1766, recruited stray cats to protect her beloved Hermitage Museum from rodents. Generations later, to this day, cats are still working there, protecting the artwork and doing their zany mischief…tune in for a splash of fun!
Award-winning author Viviana Falleti has a new book out The Cats’ Museum. This spunky, historically-based book contains illustrations from the world-famous artist, Victoria Fomina. Victoria has just recently won an international award for the illustrations in this book. Publishers Weekly / Booklife and Kirkus have given The Cats’ Museum great reviews, and it has received the Mom’s Choice Award.
Just for your info, this is a high-quality, hardcover, oversized book (11” x 10.5”). This larger size makes the exquisitely-detailed illustrations even more beautiful.
Little Feather Press is becoming the go-to place for the parent who is “hungry for wholesome.” Happy reading!
Any message for our readers?
This tale is about cats. When Catherine the Great married Peter III and moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, she built the Hermitage Museum, which is one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. One day, she discovered a large rat population living in the basement of her beloved museum. She had the idea to bring in cats to solve the problem, which worked out exceptionally well. To this day, cats are still employed at the Hermitage Museum, and there is even a special day that was designated as the Day of the Hermitage Cats, which was instituted to be celebrated annually in 2005. In this book, however, some of the cats’ free time is interpreted with artistic license.
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