Suzanne Hills

'Yanmara, Ship's Cat' is my first book. Based on true events, it was a story I felt compelled to write.

My partner and I were sailing the Patagonian channels when we crossed paths with a starving stray kitten ashore. The kitten latched onto us and joined our sailing boat, becoming 'ship's cat'. We named her Yanmara after her appreciative purr that seemed to rumble as loudly as our boat's Yanmar engine.

Together we crossed the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand. During the voyage, Yanmara had close encounters with all sorts of creatures – often she appeared to be communicating with them. Wondering what might be going on, the story 'Yanmara, Ship's Cat' emerged. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Yanmara has since sailed with us across the Tasman Sea to Australia and back again to New Zealand. She has more than 18,000 nautical miles under her paws – almost equivalent to a circumnavigation of the world.

Now in 2018, we are once again landlubbers. We live in a tiny house (even smaller than our sailing boat) on the west coast of New Zealand. Fish and fishing were Yanmara's obsession as ship's cat, now on land it is hunting rats and mice.

Yanmara can be contacted at yanmarashipscat@gmail.com