Georgetown author Susan Walker…
was trying to come up with a Christmas gift idea for her coworkers at the Georgetown Waste Transfer Station, she couldn’t see herself baking cookies for 50 guys. So she did what she does best when she’s not working as a gatehouse attendant at the station—she told a story.
Trash Cat: Stories of Rose is a fictional collection of stories based on Rose, the beloved cat that has been at home at the Georgetown transfer station since 2014. The true stories about moving into the station and being adopted by the drivers, and saving the station when a fire started in the mulch pile, intrigued her. She eventually befriended the semi-feral, critter-catching feline that rules over the station. “She is the queen. She owns the station,” Susan says.
An Air Force veteran, former medical transcriptionist, and now transfer station gatehouse attendant, Susan’s lifelong passion has been telling stories that touch readers’ hearts and change the way they see the world. It’s a dream she struggled to fulfill all her life; ignoring naysayers and skeptics who would ask why she refused to give up even though she still hadn’t been published by the time she reached her 40s. “The passion runs deeper than the skin. It’s in my soul. I can’t give up,” she says. “People ask me what I would do if I was not able to be a writer. My response is, ‘I would be sitting in a corner telling stories to my socks.’ I have to write or my brain will explode.”
“I vividly remember reading Dr. Seuss’ Hop on Pop in kindergarten and thinking, ‘I want to do this,’ ” she says. Fifty years later, Susan’s multi-genre journey includes children’s, mystery, and romance—a journey that ultimately led her to Georgetown.
Hailing from North Carolina, Susan visited Texas for Air Force training and book conferences and, after each conference, she found it harder to get back on the plane. She made Georgetown her home in 2016 and when she is not working at the transfer station or spending time with her mixed-breed puppy Honey, she is coming up with new book ideas, the latest being the adventures of the transfer station’s cat mascot.
Rose’s legacy will live beyond the pages of Trash Cat, as 25 percent of book sales will be donated to the Georgetown Animal Shelter. Trash Cat is available for $5.99 on Amazon and for free on Kindle Unlimited.