Interview with Marcello and Karate Cat!

Today's interview is with Marcello, an author and graphic artist. He created the cute little Karate Cat, Ronin, which is now the Melly's Spot mascot. He'll also lie for the sake of the interview, so now he's my favorite! ;)

So without further ado, my interview with Marcello, the uncut version:

On a scale from 1 to 10, how awesome am I? No excuses about how you hardly know me…

A definite 10, this is the funnest interview I've done!

Your book is called Karate Cat. Ronin, the cat, is sooo cute! Can he please be the official Melly’s Spot mascot?

He's all yours! He even does birthday parties!

Karate Kid was one of my favorite movies growing up. Does Ronin do any “wax on, wax off” in this book? Are there any older gentleman grooming bonsai trees?

Most definitely, its a homage of sorts because kids of the new generation probably don't know about the great karate movies of the 80's. This has all the the fun cliches from all the old genre movies I love. You have the whole 'Wax On' Montage where he goes through a transformation, and the book wouldn't be complete without an old sensei with absurdly long eyebrows to mentor him.

I also see you’re a graphic artist. Can you make me a picture of a shape-shifting hamster?

Karate Cat's original form is a hamster!! But 'Karate Shape-Shifting Hamster' didn't have a good ring to it.


Now for the hard hitting question… Are you ready? Do you have any strange phobias?

Oh, I can't stand it when there’s time left on the microwave. If you put something in there for 30 seconds and you pull it out at 28 and leave it like that, it drives me nuts!! Sometimes I fear walking into the kitchen because of this.


Are we going to see any new adventures for Ronin?

Most likely, so far this book has exceeded my expectations as far as sales and general attention. I might take a break and create something different, but sometime in the near future I see myself coming back to do a sequel.


I see you’re from Texas. When I interviewed Bobby Ozuna, he mentioned he was a Cowboy’s fan. Are you? Because if you are, I might not be able to post this interview. ;)

You'll be hard pressed to interview a Texan that isn't a Cowboys fan. But for the sake of this interview.....I'm......a......Redskins fan? Yup, Redskins all the way! *looks around*

It’s your turn now to talk about yourself. Promote, etc… I’ll be over here trying out my “paint the fence” moves.

Don't hurt yourself now!

If you would like to purchase 'Karate Cat' you can head on over to www.Amazon.com and type in Karate Cat in the search bar or visit: http://www.amazon.com/Karate-Cat-Marcello-Milteer/dp/1440415161/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224076926&sr=8-2


I kept a book creation blog that has inserts, additional information, and news about Karate Cat that you can find here:
http://cello-man.blogspot.com

You can also contact me here:
www.myspace.com/celloman
artstateofmind@gmail.com