Guyanese Soma Persaud debuts children’s book “Rascal the Cat”

Based on true stories of her beloved pet cat Rascal, 30-year-old Soma Persaud has debuted a children’s book on the feline’s adventures around her home community of Kingston in Georgetown, Guyana, where she was born and raised.
In an interview with Guyana Times, Soma – now living in Hamburg, Germany, where she migrated after getting married in 2022 – reminisced on having had to leave her cherished cats Rascal and Bengali in Guyana, and of struggling to adjust to her new life, at times even feeling depressed. Passionate about creative writing since her high school years, Soma said, she decided to channel her emotions into writing the book “Rascal the Cat”.
She disclosed that she had begun writing this book while living in Guyana, but had later set it aside. However, nostalgia for home and her cats reignited her desire to revisit the project.

“During my first two years in Germany, life was very hard for me. I struggled a lot with the language barrier, the food, the culture, and everything to the point where I would sometimes feel depressed. I remember my German teacher making fun of my Guyanese accent and saying it would be hard for others to understand me. I also ended up passing the same German exam (and) being among the few who did,” she detailed.
“I also struggled a lot to find a job with my language barrier. It was around this time I used to miss Guyana, and especially my cats Rascal and Bengali that I left behind. I always regret now not bringing them with me. During that time, I decided to do what was best for me and channel all my thoughts into writing. From that day on, I decided to write more and more as a way of an escape. Writing was a way to express what you could not say aloud,” Soma explained.
Noting that many of the adventures in the book are based on true stories, Soma said, “Rascal truly was an adventurous cat, and he is very popular in Kingston. He will always visit the neighbours and go on long walks on his own, and return days later. You can say he is an independent cat and chooses not to stay home, unlike my other cat Bengali.”
Writing the book was pretty easy, Soma reminisced, but it was challenging to find an illustrator.
“I did not have a clue about publishing, writing, illustrator, or anything. I then decided to research online, and found an illustrator on Fiverr. At first, I was a bit skeptical, but then decided to risk it and send a message. It turned out to be the best decision. My illustrator and I worked together to create my first book, and he truly did a tremendous job,” the young author expressed.
Thereafter, Soma started searching for a publisher. “I emailed a lot of publishers, but didn’t get any response,” she noted. Determined not to let her dream die, she decided to take the self-publishing route. “I basically watched lots of YouTube videos and learned a lot about Amazon KDP, Ingram Spark, and about self-publishing,” she explained. It took her roughly four months to complete the entire process, and she is overjoyed at finally being able to realise her dream.
Soma recalled always wanting to pursue a career in writing since her time as a student at Richard Ishmael Secondary School. “English was one of my favourite subjects. It always brings me joy when writing; I always wanted a career in writing, but back then I didn’t know how to go around doing that, so I just ended up dropping that idea and started to look for a job,” she explained.
Soma says her book, a great read for both children and cat lovers, teaches about patience, love, friendship.
“It would give you that warm fuzzy feeling that an animal lover and all kids will enjoy,” she expressed.
The book is currently available on Amazon Kindle, and a paperback edition is also available. Soma says she is working on getting the book more accessible in Guyana.
Although she currently has a day job, Soma says, she would continue to explore her passion for creative writing, and would endeavour to publish a second book, based on the adventures of her other cat, Bengali.