Promo
New Release
From
Melange Books
http://www.melange-books.com/index.html
Just in time for Valentine’s Day
“Skinship”
By
Imari Jade
Shy and mild-mannered Harou Kikuchi dreams of far-away places and hopes one day to leave Osaka, Japan to see the world. But until then he does his best working for Mr. Suzuki, the owner of Suzuki’s Bakery.
Kenta Yamada lives a lonely existence, reading books and working on accounts. He dreams of one day finding someone to spend time with and share his love with.
He meets Harou, a young man starved for human affection. In Korea, Skinship means the act of caressing or hugging between loved ones. If one kiss awakened the passion in Harou’s eyes? Would one caress and a hug win him Harou’s heart and make them a family?
The door to Suzuki’s Pastry and Café Shop opened.
“You have a customer,” Mr. Suzuki, the shop owner said to his pastry apprentice Harou Kikuchi.
The bakery sat on a corner of a quiet suburban neighborhood in the Japanese Prefecture of Osaka. It was a quaint little white building with pink and yellow awnings to match the pink and yellow trim of the doors and windows. The shop’s customers were mainly people who lived in the mixed Japanese/Korean neighborhood, but every now and then a vacationing tourist would stop in to sample one of Mr. Suzuki’s sweet tasty pastries.
The inside of the shop had a homey atmosphere with white tables and chairs and a couple of private booths. The inside walls, like the outside, had been painted in pastel colors to give it a friendly feel and make it pleasing to the eyes and senses. Students from the local high schools and universities kept the shop filled in the afternoon. Today, students from the soccer team and the cheerleaders were there to celebrate their latest victory, keeping Harou and the other apprentice, Bae Karm, very busy.
Twenty-two year old Harou bowed to his boss, straightened his white uniform jacket and walked from behind the counter to escort the customer to one of the little booths. “Good afternoon, sir, and welcome to Suzuki’s.” He bowed politely and handed the man a menu.
“Arigato,” the man said. “You are very kind.”
Harou brushed his bangs away from his eyes. “Would you care for coffee, tea or milk with your dessert?”
“Tea,” the man said. “Hot.” He lifted a hand and moved some of his hair out of his face and tucked it behind his ears.
Harou went off to get the tea and found himself gazing over at the customer. The man appeared considerably younger than Harou first thought when he entered, maybe because he walked with his shoulders hunched beneath the pea green trench coat. The man had real nice eyes. They were large, arresting and heavily lashed, similar to his.
Harou finished preparing the tea and carried the pot over to the table to serve it.
The man thanked him.
“Have you made a decision?”
He nodded. “Yes, a slice of apple cake.”
“A good choice,” Harou told him, “Mr. Suzuki just took one out of the oven.” He smiled and walked off. After returning with the slice of cake, Harou left to wait on some other customers who had arrived.
The man finished up about twenty minutes later, got out of his seat and walked up to the counter. “Do you have any day old bread?” he asked Harou. “I would like to feed the ducks on my way home.”
The man’s deep sultry voice startled Harou. Why hadn’t he noticed it before? “Yes sir,” he said, reaching beneath the counter and pulling out loaves of bread. “I used to like to feed the ducks when I was a kid.”
The man smiled. “You’re still a kid,” he said. “You should enjoy it while you are young.” He paid his bill and left the shop.
“He is an odd one,” Mr. Suzuki said, joining Harou at the counter. “He comes in once or twice a week and always leaves with loaves of day old bread.”
Funny, Harou thought as he wiped the counter top. He’d never noticed the man before today. “How long has he been coming in?”
“About a year,” Mr. Suzuki answered. “I remember him because he always orders cake, never pie or cookies, just cake.”
“You do make the best cakes in Japan,” Harou told him. “Perhaps he knows this too.”
“I just think he is lonely,” Mr. Suzuki said. “He always comes in alone. Sometimes he brings in a book or a newspaper to read and then he leaves right around this time.”
Harou understood loneliness. He didn’t have any living family. His parents had died right after his birth and he’d gone from one foster home to another. Finally, at the age of ten, he came to live with Mr. Suzuki. So now, every evening he went home to a tiny apartment, fixed himself some dinner, read a book or watched television until time for bed. Occasionally he went out with Bae Karm for a drink, but Bae Karm had a girlfriend and usually spent most of his free time with her. “Maybe you’re right,” Harou said. He promised he’d make it a point to smile at the man and inquire about the ducks the next time he came in.
http://www.melange-books.com/authors/imarijade/skinship.html
Upcoming Events
By
Imari Jade
Good morning,
I can’t believe July is almost over. I’ve been very busy so I haven’t had much time to socialize. Five days a week I work as a financial analyst and a month ago our office moved into a beautiful new building in Algiers, Louisiana. The only problem is most of the site is still under construction. We had to wade through mud and water a couple of days last week, and the Internet sucks, but on the good side it’s a much lovelier building than what we were in. One of the downsides is that I have no sense of direction and I get lost trying to find my office every day.
I’d like to remind you all about the release of my new book, “Prying Eyes,” debuting Monday, July 18, 2011 at Total Ebound. You can pre-order it right now at:
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1285
Hopefully it will be available for Kindle and Nook real soon.
Also on Monday, I will be a blog guest at:
Teresa Jones’ Writing on the Go blog:
http://writingonthego.blogspot.com/
and
Interracial and Multicultural Books (IRMC Books):
Please stop by and leave a comment.
My upcoming releases include:
August
Curse – (Horror Romance) – A female Royal Canadian Mountie hunts for a serial murderer in Gabriel Corners, Canada.
MoonGypsy Press - http://moongypsypress.com/
Bite Me (Part of the Midnight Thirst Anthology) – (M/M) – A young man falls prey to a sexy male vampire.
Melange Books - http://www.melange-books.com/
September
Rhapsody – (Menage) – A beauty female singer almost destroys a rock band because she can’t make a decision between the two lead male singers.
Total Ebound: http://www.total-e-bound.com/
Will update more later.
Series Notes
In Deep Kimchi – Sugar and Spice Press (Book 1) – (Doing well). http://www.sugarnspicepress.com/
http://www.amazon.com/In-Deep-Kimchi-ebook/dp/B004JHYMWW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1310820379&sr=8-2
Saranghae (I Love You) – Sugar and Spice Press (Book 2) – (Surprising Everyone)
Untitled Book – Sugar and Spice Press (Book 3) – Almost finished.
Coming Soon
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye – Horror/Vampire/Romance – MoonGypsy Press
French Teasers – (Chocolate, Boys and Bed) – M/M Romance - Lethe Publishing
Imari Jade
All Good Things Must Come to an End
By
Imari Jade
I wrote four whole pages yesterday while I was at lunch. Not bad for thirty minutes. But when I got home I put a big X through all the pages because what I wrote didn’t make sense, even to me. So I knew it wouldn’t make sense to my readers. It was a pivotal love scene and it didn’t slide into transition easy enough and it just got pretty stupid.
It was in the heroine’s Point of View, so I tried to rewrite it in the hero’s POV and it still didn’t read right. So I just tossed the tablet aside and went on to something else (Watching pretty Asian boy bands on Twitter). Like fine wine and cheese some things just have to age to get better.
Woke up this morning and was watching the early morning news before leaving for work. I heard a “pop” and a “sizzle” and looked to my left only to discover that my television had died. I unplugged everything to make sure no fire would start and then I went to work. The first thing I thought about as I walked to the bus stop was, how am I going to get to sleep tonight without a television?The last time this happened was about fourteen years ago and I had to plug in a sound machine so I could have noise to lull me to sleep. Tonight it will probably be my MP3 player. But let’s back this story about the television up and start from the beginning.
On December 17, 2010 I ordered a television from Florida and paid for three day shipping. By December 21, the television hadn’t arrived so I checked the tracking and it was in Texas. I checked the UPS site and it had the same thing. On December 26, 2010 I called the company where I ordered the television from and was told that the last thing they had on it was that it was in Texas on December 21, 2010 and nothing else. I was told that either it had been stolen or lost in transit. Okay I was pretty cool about it. I asked her were they going to get any more in stock. She told me, yes. So I told her to just ship me out another one when the shipment came in because I didn’t want a refund and I wanted the television at the same price. She told me, okay. Note: I ordered it from Florida and the last place it went was to Texas. I live in Louisiana and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that UPS never stopped in Louisiana with it.
I couple of days later I got an email that they had done an investigation and that I would hear from them soon. I did hear from then. They returned my money. I checked the site and the television was back in stock but now it cost $300.00 more and the shipping was more expensive. Apparently they thought I wanted that television bad enough to pay that price for it. They were so wrong. What happened to good old customer service? I think it has come to an end. They did give me a $25 gift certificate which I plan to use before the 90 days expires.
My grandson spent a night with us on Monday night so he came into my room and I turned the Cartoon Network on for him to watch Family Guy before he went to bed. He asked me, “Maw Maw, what is wrong with your television?” The people were all red and splotchy. I told him, “Maw Maw needs a new television.” He politely told me that he was going back in the den to watch television with his father. “You’re not hurting my feelings, little boy,” I told him. “I got to get up at five in the morning, anyway.” Apparently television is more important to him that I am.
So now I’m back to square one…an unfinished story and no television. Of course I can cry like a big baby and ask why everything happens to me. But I was never one to sit around and wallow in sorrow. My objective is to rethink the scene of the story. I think I’m having problems with it because my mind is trying to come up with a creative way to describe the sex scene and make it interesting. I thought about just ignoring this scene all together. The story is about voyeurism and I just had a scene where the couple was watching another couple get busy and this turned them on so naturally they had to get busy. How do you follow one great sex scene up with another one? Is it possible?
I was outside talking it over with an editor friend of mine and he was laughing at my crazy behind as usual. I’m telling him I have the characters in the bedroom and it’s so boring. He told me that making these characters have sex in the bedroom is so normal, and he knows I don’t do normal. So now I have to find some far out place to have them make love and to do this I have to back them out of the bedroom and get them to this other place. Now that I don’t have a television I probably have time to concentrate on it and get it right. I’m going back to the tablet. Chat with you later.
Imari Jade
Giving Thanks
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I just finished my NaNoWriMo project and now it’s time to get back to work. After printing off my winner’s certificate and posting it to Facebook, I took out my green 5-subject tablet to see what’s next on my list for 2010. As I flipped through the pages I noticed that I have a lot of novel titles listed but I haven’t completed many of them. It would be nice to finish writing everything I have a premise for next year, but even I know that would be impossible since ideas are popping into my head every day. I am thankful to the NaNoWritMo competition because I have successfully written a 58,000 word novel in 25 days. Now I look forward to editing it and submitting it to a publisher for consideration.
I did most of my Thanksgiving cooking yesterday. The turkey, dirty rice, baked macaroni and cheese, and cornbread dressing are done. Now it’s time to get up and fix a quick breakfast and finish the rest of the meal before the kids arrive. I am thankful that I have lived to see another Thanksgiving and to be able to share it with my family.
So right now I’m sitting on my bed wondering in which direction I should go now? The house needs to be mopped, which I should have done at six o’clock this morning. I know the minute I put the mop on the floor everyone will get up and track over it. If I start breakfast the little ones will be up and under my feet. They need to sleep as long as possible because they are very bossy and demanding on Maw Maw’s time (smile), especially the little two year old girl whom I heard tell her four year old brother yesterday to “Get out of my business.” She always wants to sit on lap while I’m typing and she doesn’t understand that I need both hands to type. She just wants Maw Maw to go to YouTube and put on the Elmo video so she can hear Elmo sing, Beyonce’s Single Ladies. The four year old just opened my door and crawled into my bed. This is a sign that I must get up and prepare breakfast because his parents are still sleeping. Yes, I’m thankful for them too because I know long after I’m dead and gone a little of me will live on through them.
Maybe I won’t get as many things accomplished today as I want to. I need to update my website but I’m still waiting on two novel covers. I am thankful to my web mistress Rae Monet who takes care of my website.
Yesterday while cooking I took a few minutes to figure out what novels I need to complete to send to my publishers. Currently I write for nine publishers (with three upcoming books to be published in the beginning of the year), so if I do the math correctly, six editors are due manuscripts. I have several books completed. I just need to get off my butt and send them in. So I guess that is what I will do tomorrow…update manuscripts and start submitting. I also have a slew of short stories that need homes. I guess I need to get started finding markets for these too.
Sponge Bob Squarepants is flying in the air on my television during the Thanksgiving Parade and keeping the four year old occupied while I finish this. I am thankful to the creator of Sponge Bob Squarepants because the kids love him and will sit still for a moment to watch it while I’m busy.
I made a promise to myself that I will start my Korean Language course next month. I’ve watched a lot of Asian dramas over the last couple of months and I’m thankful that most of them have been translated to English so I can understand them.
Lastly I am thankful to all my networking friends and fans who have taken the time to write or to post to my sites. I look forward to sharing time with you as I write and experience life. I’m also praying for peace between North and South Korea. Be safe Jaejoong, Micky, Junsu, Max and Yuhno. (Hwaiting.)
A decision has been made. The four year old is requesting that Maw Maw get up and fix him some pancakes.
Imari Jade
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Before I was a cougar I was an angel. Join me at fellow Star Dust Angel, Charisma Knight's Blogspot for a warm and wonderful interview between two old friends.
Imari Jade
http://charismaknight.blogspot.com/2010/05/author-spotlight-on-imari-jade.html?zx=6003ce0996577a04
12/27/2009
Review – Charmed and Dangerous by Candace Havens
I was halfway through Ms. Haven’s third book when I realized that it was the third book in a series so I immediately went to Barnes and Noble and ordered book one, entitled Charmed and Dangerous because I just had to find out how this story began.
Bronwyn is a beautiful and sexy high witch with some amazing kick-ass powers, who uses her gifts to protect a British Prime Minister. Bronwyn doesn’t like mixing business with pleasure but handsome men are coming out of the woodworks as she travels to far away and exotic countries with her charge. Back home in Sweet,
Bronwyn has a host of magical friends who come to her aid, a female cat named
I found the book fun and refreshing and I love the way Ms. Havens uses comments to set the upcoming events at the beginning of each new scene. The book has a fast pace but Ms. Havens don’t leave you hanging. It’s a page-turner that makes you want to know what happens next to Bronwyn just to see how she’s going to get herself out of it. I give this novel five Fleur-de-lis for excellence.
Just in time for Halloween
Halloween Hijinx
http://www.midnightshowcase.com/Hijinks.htm
Love Never Dies, Imari Jade
Donovan Flowers follows a woman no one else sees. She naked…waiting. Perhaps it’s a trick, but it’s not a treat he’ll refuse.
At The Stroke of Midnight, Lanette Curington
Although Olivia DeBenning doesn’t realize it, she’s already had three brushes with death in her lifetime. During a masquerade party, Death visits one last time.
The Cat’s Meow, Mae Powers
On All Hallows Eve, Prince Draemond must seek a new bride; especially one that won’t cheat on him with his mistress.
The Kissing Frog, Jen Bokal
What’s a girl to do when she discovers her deceased Grandmother’s book of spells? Try a little practical magic of course.
Setting the Mood for Romance
The lights are dimmed, the kids are napping, and it’s raining outside. What a perfect way to set the mood for writing.
So how do you set the mood for romance in your story? It all has to do with the five senses. Use them when you’re about to develop a love scene. As a romance writer we have to come up with different and unique places for romance to take place. Tried and true, the bedroom, the shower and in an airplane restroom has been done to death. Usually before the story is even told I try to come up with the when and where I want to sex to begin. Things to take into consideration:
In Oasis, my characters are riding on a camel in the desert in
The possibilities are endless. The bed is nice, but less face it, beds are for sleeping.
I also like to use sound to set the mood. The sound of rain makes me feel relaxed, so I try to put my characters in a relaxed state of mind when they’re dealing with each other. And depends on who I’m with, rain makes me very amorous. (Wink, wink, get the picture?)
Music – There’s not a better prop to use than music – Put in a CD or turn on the radio. Let the type of music you’re listening to set the mood of the story. If I’m listening to the Beatles while I’m writing, I’m in a lively mood and it reflects in the words I chose. If I’m listening to Michael Jackson, I’m in a youthful mood and my words tend to get a little giddy and joyous. If I’m listening to Tina Turner, I’m feeling empowered and my female characters are bound to be a little over the top. And when I’m listening to Barry White, it’s no hold’s bar. Clothes are flying off all over the place and my characters are getting down and dirty.
In this case music does not soothe the savage beast. It brings it to the surface.
Food – Oh my gosh. Food can really set the mood. Whipped cream, cherries, and chocolate syrup. (Yummy). Fried oysters and champagne (ooh), macaroni and cheese (?) Hey, young mothers need love too.
What goes through your head when you kiss someone who just drinks your favorite wine? Do you find icing on a spoon sexy when you see her eating it? Does a beer gut turn you on? Have you ever watched your best girl eat a banana split? The possibilities are endless.
Touch and Props – The single sexiest feeling in the world is having someone touch you. What do you like? Having your head, feet or back massaged. Getting your hair combed or styled by the opposite sex. What do you do with someone gently runs a feather up your spine or kiss your fingers or the back of your legs. It can be as simple as the heroine reaching up to remove his glass and innocently touches his eyebrow.
Like I said earlier, the possibilities are endless. So when you hit that roadblock, just think about what turns your own. Remember your characters are an extension of you. If you like it, I’m sure they will too.
Imari Jade
http://www.imarijade.com/books.html
New Excerpts
Midnight Showcase Fiction
http://www.midnightshowcase.com/MustlubCats.htm
MUST LOVE CATS! EXCERPTS:
A Girl's Best Friend
By
Imari Jade
Chapter One
"Everything is going to be alright," Vince Carson said to his four-year-old German Sheppard Butch. "I'll be right with you for the whole ordeal."
The Sheppard looked up at him with big soulful brown eyes, thankful for the backup. It was his annual physical and the first one with a new veterinarian. Doc Martin had recently retired and he recommended Doctor Whelan with great enthusiasm.
Something tipped into the room. It was the biggest, fattest feline he'd ever seen. Butter-yellow spots on its beige coat made it look even more menacing. Vince sneezed. He was seriously allergic to cats since he was a child.
Pandemonium broke loose as soon as the dogs in the waiting room became aware of its arrival. The cat seemed to know what its presence was doing and it continued to prance into the room like it owned the place. Fur, claws, and chairs flew in every direction as the chase began. Owners stared in shock as their normally well-behaved dogs succumbed to their natural instincts to hunt and destroy the cat. Three male clinic orderlies ran into the room once the frantic receptionist pressed the panic alarm on her desk.
They arrived in time to see the tabby gracefully hopping from one cabinet to another while dogs in all shapes and sizes stood on hind legs with their paws against the cabinets trying to get at the cat. Even Butch who normally was too lazy to chase his own tail.
Vince grabbed Butch's leash and tried to get the fifty-pound dog to obey while other owners tried to control their pets. The three orderlies tried to catch the cat using strategic maneuvers but unfortunately, the cat was smarter than all three of them. It took about ten minutes for them to get everything back in control.
"Mr. Carson, Doctor Whelan is ready for Butch now."
Vince rose with leash in hand. He tugged gently for Butch to follow him but the Sheppard whined like a puppy. "It's not going to be that bad."
The receptionist peered over the counter at Butch. "Doctor Whalen is an excellent veterinarian. She's very gentle."
Butch rose obviously reassured that the receptionist knew more than he did about the situation. He sniffed around for the tabby that had been removed from the room. Satisfied he pranced toward the back prepared to meet his fate, leading his well-trained owner. They passed various examination rooms where dogs barked from inside their kennels. Vince spotted a pretty, dark-haired young woman standing at the end of the hall, dressed in a pair of white slacks and a white lab jacket. She walked up to greet them.
"Good morning, I'm Doctor Aubrey Whelan. You must be Mr. Carson." She extended her hand and Vince shook it, surprised at the firm grip.
"Nice to meet you Doctor Whelan. Doctor Martin spoke very highly of you."
"Thank you but I'm afraid he's a bit biased. I was one of his students." She went down on her knees in front of the dog. "My, you're a big one. Why are you here today?" She patted Butch under his throat and stroked his coat. Butch panted happily.
"Annual physical," Vince answered for the dog.
The doctor rose. "No sweat, boy."
That was easy for her to say. He was doing a fair share of sweating and he wasn't wearing a hair coat. The doctor was simply lovely, with big green eyes and a peachy complexion. She wasn't wearing any makeup, just natural beauty.
"Follow me."
Vince and Butch followed her into an examining room. Vince took a seat while the doctor put Butch up on a scale. "Whoa, you are a big one."
Vince looked the new doctor over closely. She was about twenty-five or twenty-six and unmarried. He had done a quick sweep of her fingers when she wasn't looking. There was something useless about building a fantasy in your head over a married woman. He continued to watch her as she performed a routine examination on Butch who had stopped whimpering and was panting happily even through the rectal exam. For a minute, Vince felt envious of his dog.
****
Strange Critters
By
Mae Powers
To boldly go where few had gone before—that had been Kara Lassiter's dream for a long time. One she finally made into reality. In 2042 she'd finished her seventh mission for NASA. Now she was at home to stay for a long while, before there would be another, more permanent trip back into space.
Very few people had the perfect life, but Kara found life pretty good. She had a great job and a wonderful cat to come home to. Having the right man to share life with would make it all perfect for her indeed. But how often did a girl find a man to share her dreams completely in every way? Perhaps that was her problem, she wanted too much out of a relationship.
It had been four months since she'd seen Zany, her space-ballish cat. Her neighbor Lacie Evans, a veterinarian, and owner of two cats, two parrots, a dog, and a couple of other unidentifiable critters, watched Zany when she was away. In turn, Kara took care of Lacie's menagerie when she was home and Lacie had to be away. Their houses were down a country lane, but they lived in the Houston area.
Kara found the silver tabby Zany late one night underneath her car as she was leaving a grocery store. She'd needed to stock up on some items, having just come back from her latest space mission at the time. She'd actually picked up cat food and things for Lacie and found it ironic she found the little thing prowling around.
What had also been strange is that she'd found him just after a meteorite shower passed by. She'd watched it just before she'd gone into the store, and when she came out with the supplies and put them in her SUV, she'd found him. Its silvery blue eyes stole her heart, and she knew she couldn't leave him alone in the parking lot.
Five years later the varmint had the run of her home. It liked Lacie and Lacie's own critters, so Zany knew, somehow, that it was ok to stay with Kara's neighbor when Kara was away for any length of time. But that didn't mean that Kara didn't hear fussing from her little guardian cat whenever she came home.
She always picked up tuna and chicken in cans for Zany on her way home. He liked those best of all and didn't like cat food, especially once he'd passed a year old. She loved the little furball, but sometimes he did the oddest things. Like when she came home, somehow he'd always get out of Lacie's house and be there waiting for her on the porch of her small two bedroom home.
If she told people half the things he did, they might put her away in a loony bin or think she'd ingested some alien microbe. However, that wasn't the case; Zany was just a peculiar, long-haired silver tabby with intelligently seductive eyes. She used to think they were just sweet, alluring eyes, but as he got older, Kara often felt the cat saw into her soul and more. She felt sure it was just her odd imagination, of course, but sometimes, the wild little purrrson had her wondering about him.
Sometimes, when he slept with her at night and cuddled against her side, she went into a very deep sleep and had some of the strangest but incredulously sensual dreams. Dreams in which Zany changed from a cat to a full grown, silver haired man with glowing silver eyes. A hunk with a body that hypnotized her into the most lustful needy feeling she'd ever experienced in or out of her dreams. She shivered with the recall, but as she pulled her SUV into the large driveway, she banished it from her thoughts.
***
Purr
By
Ruth J. Hartman
"Now just what have you guys been up to since I left? Hmmm?" No one answered. Seventy-two eyes stared at her from half that many faces. Furry faces. And the eyes that stared at her were of the feline variety. "Have you all got each other's tongues?"
Roxy never liked being the center of, well, anything. That's probably why she chose running a no-kill cat shelter. No one expected you to be dressed up, or wear makeup, or comb your hair. She did actually do the third one, and occasionally the second. Never the first. She was a jeans and Henley-shirt kind of girl.
Another reason for her career choice? The woman was absolutely, one hundred percent cat-crazy. There was no denying it. She had been in love with cats since she was in the womb. Her mother, who was also a cat-person, would hold one of the fluffy creatures against her stomach when Roxy was on the way. The womb-enveloped baby would smack, poke and shuffle. Anything to get closer to that amazing motor-like purr she later discovered was a cat's expression of delight.
Her job was her life. Period. There was no husband, boyfriend, or male anything else. Except of course, about half of her cat population. That's not how she wanted it. That's just how it was.
"You're here early, Roxy."
She looked up to see her assistant, Teresa Lynn. "Hey, yeah I decided to get an early start on those adoption forms today. Never can have too many willing pet-parents, now can we?"
Teresa Lynn smiled. "Exactly."
The two women went about their morning duties. Teresa Lynn checked through their huge stack of mail, hoping to find an elusive donation.
"Found one!" she waved the envelope at her boss.
"Great!" said Roxy. "See if there's any more. We're coming up short on the mortgage this month. Not that it hasn't happened before."
"I'll keep looking." Teresa Lynn continued to flip through the stack. "Sorry. Just the one."
"Rats," Roxy muttered as she made her way down the narrow corridor between the cages of stray cats. She then turned her full attention to her charges. "Who's hungry? Anybody? Raise your left paw if you want some breakfast." Every fur-bearing creature in the place began to pace and howl. Roxy quickly filled bowls with cheap dry cat food (the only kind they could afford). One by one, cats purred and pranced, eager for his or her turn to gobble their rations.
Along with breakfast, each cat received a quick chin-scratch. Later on, they'd be let out of their pens in stages to frolic and mingle. At that time, Roxy and Teresa Lynn could give them more individualized petting and attention. During the kitty "happy hour", the purr level usually reached the three hundred-decibel level.
"There now, doesn't that feel better?" Oliver, the orange tabby, practically smiled as Roxy quickly brushed his long, tangled fur. "You just need a haircut, don't you, my little man?"
Teresa Lynn giggled as she watched them. "You talk to them as if they were human."
"Well, they think they're people, so I guess I see them that way, too." She smiled sheepishly.
Both women looked toward the front door as someone rattled the doorknob, trying to get in. Roxy stood up and put Oliver back in his cage. She walked to the door to peer through the glass. "We don't open for another two hours. Sorry."
The boy standing outside the door was frowning. His navy, hooded sweatshirt was too large for his skinny frame, and he needed a haircut, badly. Roxy waited for him to leave, but he stayed planted right where he stood.
She made a second attempt to dissuade her frumpy visitor. "Um, sorry, but we're closed. Can you some back at 10:00?"
The boy simply stared through the glass at her. As she looked closer, she realized he was crying.
"I can't stand it," she muttered. "Why is this kid standing out there using the waterworks?" She unlocked the door and opened it for her unwelcome guest.
***
The Cat in the (Wizard's) Hat
By
Carla Cripps
Ashley sat staring morosely at his cat flap, his purrs turning rapidly to growls of masculine frustration. `Oh, Joy! Merriwen, light-of-my- life, you just had to lock the latch, didn't you?' he thought.
The irritated British Shorthair sighed inwardly and slunk off to find his human. He could smell her favorite perfume wafting down the stairs, so he padded silently up the two shallow flights to her bedroom. The aroma, an eau de gardenia that he normally thought quite pleasant, only aggravated him now. `All right for some,' he grizzled to himself. `Some can come and go as they please! Some don't have to wait at the beck and call of human whim!'
As Ashley approached the open bedroom door, he paused. To be fair, if he had to share his house with someone, Merriwen wasn't a half-bad tenant. She never failed in her duty of care: his meals were always on time, as tasty as top-line commercial cat food could be, and ample in quantity for his moderate appetite, his litter box was always tidy, as was the rest of the house, and best of all, she, being single, with no romantic partner, was happy to spend quality time with him, grooming his luxuriant black-and-grey coat, or playing with him if he was in the mood.
He did have to pitch a fit when she considered having him neutered, but it was his own fault he'd not thought to fake her out that it had already been done. It helped that she was still dithering about it, her civic responsibility as an Australian cat custodian weighed against his "rights" as an independent entity. And far be it from Ashley to try to unduly affect her conscience.
No, he and Merriwen were bumping along quite nicely, thank you very much, except for the latest enviro-rant that caused her to put a lock on the flap. Not that he blamed her. If he'd been a real cat, who hunted for food or sport, it would have made sense that she thought she was keeping him inside at night, so he couldn't threaten the native wildlife. Cats were an imported species, didn't belong running loose in Australia, or "Oz," as its justly proud residents sometimes call it.
But although Ash himself was real, being a cat was just his day job. His true vocation was that he was a bona fide, practicing wizard, whose ancestors in England went further back than Merlin. His great-great- great-grandfathe r had had a touch of the wanderlust, and came to Australia late in the 19th Century, and prospered. He took a wife only a few years out from Ireland, a woman who held to the old ways, though not from a witch family; they had one daughter, who became a witch, who married a sympathetic non-wizard. Their son became a wizard, and so on, and so forth until Ash was born.
He loved everything about wizardry, became an apt pupil, first at his father's and grandfather' s knees, then spent a time in England and Europe, apprenticing to the best of modern wizards. Then he returned to Adelaide to settle down. He hoped to find a wife of his own, to continue the dynasty and to pass on his great skill and knowledge, but it proved harder than he expected, or maybe he was just pickier, so he passed his time dabbling in property development and other capital ventures, and continuing his supernatural practice and study, while feeling keenly the isolation of his single state.
How he came to be trapped in his own house in cat form, hoist in his own pet-ard, so to speak, was, as these things usually are, the result of the dumbest of dumb ideas: it had been his less-than-well- considered habit, when the agent was showing the house to a potential renter, to discreetly check out the person himself. He'd long ago decided that anyone who loved cats tended to be reliable in other areas and, he was sufficiently cynical not to take anybody's word for their position in the matter. So he would morph into cat form, invite himself inside, pull his worst kitty stunts, see how the person reacted to him, and generally give them his personal once-over.
Plotting – who created this and why? I’ve spent the last two days trying to come up with plots for two manuscripts I’m working on. One manuscript is about angels and demons, and the other is something new I’m researching called yaoi. Manga and anime fans know exactly what I’m referring to, but for those of you who don’t, yaoi is about male/male relationships written from a female perspective. So guess which one I’m having the most problems with? If you guess the one with the angels and demons, you’re right.
Even though I’ve written about angels before I’m still having problems with putting them into sexual relationships. It took me four months to plot out “Damnation,” because I feel angels should be angelic, yet I’ve had no problem coming up with characters names for my two male leads in the yaoi manuscript. I’ve also developed their backgrounds, decided on what occupations they will have and even come up with a title. How come this was so easy? Because I watch a lot of anime. I can’t recall the last time I hung out with an angel…though I did see an episode of “Angels in America,” on television the other night.
So I’ve decided to make the lead a demon. Those I don’t have problem working with. They can be as bad as I want to make them. Now I’m trying to come up with professions for the two lead characters. Guardians have been done to death. What time period do I want them to be in? Where on earth is this going to take place? Is she going to be an innocent or is she going to be headstrong and cocky?
Plotting make my head hurt. Knowing me, I’m just going to jump right into it and let the characters make up the story as it goes along. I have two weeks to come up with two 25,000 word manuscripts. Will I be able to do it? Honestly I don’t know. It’s possible. I’ve written one in five days before. I better get back to work.
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