People are starstruck over Miaow!

Sir Patrick Moore's new book, Miaow! Cats really are people! is flying off the shelves!

Everyone's talking about it, and about Patrick Moore! He's recently been interviewed in Weekend Magazine, The Daily Mail, and Your Cat Magazine, to name a few!
Take a look at some of the great interviews below and get a glimpse into the life of a true British Legend, not to mention that of his beloved cats!

Sir Patrick's interview from April's Your Cat Magazine

The Daily Express, 17/04/2012

Miaow! Cats really are nice that people! Is available now over at the Hubble & Hattie website.

Sir Patrick Moore does a great impression of a cat!

And we've got the video to prove it!


Check out this great promo vid for our new book, Miaow! Cats really are nicer than people! by none other than expert star-gazer and self proclaimed cat lover, Sir Patrick Moore! It's a really interesting 





"Given a choice between the average person and the average cat, I would go for the cat any time, and my book will explain why ..." 

Sir Patrick Moore CBE FRS

This little book is about cats; cats of all shapes, sizes and colours, and specifically those who have shared their lives with the great and well-respected astronomer Sir Patrick Moore CBE FRS, over a lifetime of nearly 90 years.
This is Patrick's very personal account of the cats who have been part of his family, beginning with Smudgie, who died at the grand old age of twenty, through to Jeannie and Ptolemy, his two most recent beloved felines.
Taken from the mantelpieces and walls of his home for use in the book, personal photographs of Sir Patrick -- in his younger days and more recently -- his late adored mother, Gertrude (also a cat-lover), and the many cats that have filled Patrick's life with love and companionship complement the intimate and enchanting text, written in the author's inimitable style.
Believing that cats are highly intelligent (and certainly more so than dogs!), Sir Patrick has devised his very own 'cat quiz.' Jeannie and Ptolemy passed this with flying colours, and it is included in his book so that others may test their own cat's intelligence!
The pages of this unique book reveal the delightful and charming side of a man who has attained international status as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter, and who is credited with having done more than any other to raise the profile of astronomy.

The book is due for release next week, and you can order your copy now over at the Hubble & Hattie website!

H&H top sales from January

Hubble & Hattie started the year with a bang, with these three books reaching the top three for January!


1. Swim to recovery: canine hydrotherapy healing - Emily Wong


2.  You and your Cockapoo: The Essential Guide - David Alderton


3. Walking the Dog: Motorway walks for drivers and dogs (RAC) - Lezli Rees


Well done Swim to Recovery! And well done to our new eBook edition of Clever Dog: life lessons from the world’s most successful animal by Ryan O'Meara, which has made it into the top five eBook sales for all of Veloce! 

You can find more info about our great books, apps and eBooks over at the H&H website.

Pet Mag NZ speak cat!

Cat owners everywhere can relate to this: your cat saunters up to you, looks you right in the eye and lets out a long, loud miaow. Then another one. And another. 

Wouldn't it be lovely to know what they're trying to tell us?

Well, with the aid of our new book, Cat Speak: recognising and understanding behaviour, we can get closer than ever to understanding what our cats want to say.

This unique book offers precise, detailed observations of the behaviour of cats at play, and explains in everyday language how to interpret their meaning. With clear descriptions and colour photographs throughout, this is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand more about their cat.

Cat Speak is due out next month, but you can have a sneak peek, thanks to our friends over at Pet Mag NZ!

They've got an excerpt from Cat Speak featured in their latest edition, so pick up your copy today! For those of you that can't get over to New Zealand, however, you can read the preview by clicking here.

The Hoglet Diaries part 3

'It's time for the next installment of the Hoglet Watch Diaries! Last month, the hoglets were going from strength to strength, which means a change of scene for the Weymouth Three...

One of the three has a weigh-in...

...While the other two wait patiently! 

  'I really needed to move my three indoor guests outside; otherwise they wouldn't acclimatise and gain the necessary weight in time to be released before winter set in. A hedgehog needs to weigh at least 600gms before he or she will stand a chance of surviving hibernation: any less than this and the chances are they will go to sleep... and never wake up.

'My problem was, hoglet number four was already occupying one of the houses and using the only run I had, and this wasn't big enough for four of them. In any case, I'd decided that he would be kept separate from the Weymouth Three as. Being a fair bit bigger, I hoped that within two or three weeks, he'd be ready for release, so there seemed little point getting them used to each other. 

'Hmmm. What to do ...?

Hoglet Four's outside home

'Thankfully, a good friend came to the rescue by making a large run, complete with top, that would comfortably accommodate the three, and I had another house that was also big enough for them. Without further ado, the three were moved en masse to their outdoor living quarters, alongside hoglet four. (I'd already weighed the three and was happy with their gain.)

'It was much easier now to care for the hoglets, and, in order to encourage them to dig for their food, their evening meal would be serviced scattered willy-nilly around the run, mixed a little with the earth, so that they also became used to the taste of this! Immie and I would go out into the garden last thing at night and check they were managing to find the food okay, and they were. At night, it's quite important not to use a white-coloured torch, especially when you are feeding your charges, as they will associate this light with good things, and will have no fear of car headlights. As road accidents are the biggest cause of hedgehog fatalities, this is a very important point. 

'As I'd hoped, a couple of weeks later I was able to take the solo hog to a friend with a very large, safe garden so that he could be returned to the wild. He weighed just under the 600gms, but, as this was late summer, I was confident that he would gain the rest before hibernation called.'

Next month: A race to gain weight!

Burns Night and Book celebrations!

Norm Mort, author of Veloce titles American Woodies, Micro Trucks and Anglo-American cars to name a few, sent us this great photo of his Burns Night celebrations with Austin, the cover star of his brand new book, Dogs on wheels - Travelling with your canine companion.

Dogs on Wheels takes a look at you, your family, your vehicle, and most importantly your dog, and tells you how to get the most out of travelling with your four-legged friend – whether for five minutes or five hours.
Helpful advice, insights into your dog’s world, and guidance on choosing the right vehicle are only a part of this comprehensive look at travelling with your dog.
Packed with original colour photographs, and containing invaluable information and opinion from veterinarians and an animal behaviourist.

Dogs on Wheels is due in August, and you can learn more about it over at the Hubble & Hattie website!

Meet Imani!

The resident H&H hound thought it was high-time she got online and introduced herself, and we couldn't agree more! Meet Imani (Immie for short), the fluffy face behind Hubble and Hattie!

We thought what better way than for her to share her story with you, so take it away, Immie!

'Back in November 2001, I never would have thought that I would be leaving the island of my birth – Northern Cyprus – and taking a very scary plane ride to begin a new life in the UK. 

Me in my old home in Cyprus

'Why ever my adoptive mum decided that, out of all the dogs at the rescue centre on the island. it was me that she wanted to give a forever home to I will never know, as I was a fairly pitiful sight; too scared, at first, to go out on the walk with her. In fact, she carried me for a good part of the way! She wanted me to enjoy the freedom, and run around like the other 8 dogs that were walking with us that hot day. When she put me down again, I ran back in the direction of the rescue centre at first, but then something made me change my mind and I ran back to her and the others and continued the walk. Lucky for me that I did as she decided that, even though she and her partner were in Cyprus on holiday, she was going to take me home with her ...

'After much frantic arranging and long-distance calls to a quarantine kennel back home in the UK, I left my unhappy start in life and flew the 4000 miles to my new home in Dorset, arriving on November 12, 2001.

'The six months I had to spend in quarantine were helped by twice - and sometimes thrice - weekly visits from mum, and we  would have a lot of fun playing with toys that she bought me, which I'd never done before! The rules were very strict; I wasn't allowed out of my kennel, and mum had to be locked in there with me. Very often the weather wasn't good enough to go out in the run, and so we would sit together on the dias that was my bed, and mum would brush me to get me used to being groomed, which I'd also never had done before!

'Eventually, one fabulous day in May 2002 - the 20th to be precise - my 'jail term' was up and I was allowed out of quarantine. What I didn't know until that point, however, was that my mum and her partner already had two dogs, Westie sisters called Hubble and Hattie, And the thing of it was, Hubble and Hattie weren't very pleased to see me at all. Oh, we all got along okay, and there was never any fighting, but the sisters made it quite clear that I was one dog too many at Winkle Cottage ...

'Nevertheless, my life was happy and I was glad to be in England rather than Cyprus, where all the other dogs bullied me, and I never got enough to eat as I was too timid to fight back when the other rescue dogs would steal my food. Now, I had enough to eat, lots of treats, a fab garden to play in, and two walks a day. Life was pretty damn good!

'Fast forward ten years and now there's just mum and me at Winkle Cottage. Hubble and Hattie both died in 2007, at the good age of 14 years. I know mum has thought about getting another dog or – heaven help us - a cat (yuck!) but I think she knows that I might find that a bit difficult to get used to; anyway, it's really lovely with just the two of us. 

'Mum still feels very sad about Hubble and Hattie I know, but the fact that she's remembered them in a very special way, by naming an imprint after them that publishes books designed to improve animal welfare and encourage understanding and compassion for all animals, has helped her feel better about them, and she knows her gorgeous girls would be thrilled to bits that the imprint is named after them! 

'So now, as always, I go into the office every day with mum and 'help' her work on the Hubble and Hattie books. So far we've produced over 25 different ones, with many more planned for 2012 and beyond. And, best of all, I'm actually in several of them! Check out our dedicated website - www.hubbleandhattie.com - to see the sort of thing we're doing.' 

Want to keep up with Imani's comings and goings? Friend her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ImaniCricket to see more great photos, plus keep up with all the latest news and stories from our favourite publishing pooch!