QSFer Kelly Jensen has an adorable new MM paranormal book out:
Solitary mystery writer Julian Wilkes doesn’t want a pet, but his sister persuades him to visit Lingwood Animal Rescue, where he is immediately taken with a large ginger tabby cat. Before he can settle into the joys of cat ownership, however, he discovers something very unusual about his new companion.
Macavity Birch is cursed. By day he is a large tabby cat. At night he can be himself—a human male with ginger hair and oddly yellow eyes. He didn’t mean to end up in the animal rescue, but he never meant any harm when playing the prank that resulted in his curse, either. Happily, Julian adopts him. But while exploring his host’s home, he discovers the diary of a long-dead relative.
Unfortunately, not all of Mac’s ancestors are dead and buried. His great-great-great-grandmother is very much alive, and she’s a powerful witch who doesn’t take kindly to the sharing of family secrets. When Mac reveals himself to Julian in order to save him from bigger trouble, he achieves just the opposite, plunging Julian deeper into a magical mystery with him.
Giveaway
Kelly is giving away a copy of When Was the Last Time and Out in the Blue plus a $25 credit at the Dreamspinner Press store via rafflecopter:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/49817a895/?
Buy Links
Excerpt
He was in the house of an obviously single man. Outside the picture window, rain continued to fade the afternoon toward evening, leaving the light of two lamps to illuminate the cozy room. Mac suspected the walls might be yellow in daylight, but his color perception wasn’t the greatest. To him, the world often appeared in varying shades of brown. Julian’s furniture was ponderous. A beast of a sofa and one matching chair, both clad in dark leather. He had one pillow pushed into the back of the chair cushion and a neatly folded blanket slung over the arm. The chair was Julian’s spot.
Mac jumped up onto the seat and inhaled the scent of leather and man. Mmm, nice. Yep, this was Julian’s seat. He turned in a circle and took a quick glance at the man still crouching by the open box. Amusement and annoyance battled for dominance across Julian’s charming features, leaving him looking somewhat confused.
“That’s my chair, but I suspect you know that.” Julian rose and approached, extending a hand toward him. He stopped shy of actually petting Mac, forehead wrinkling slightly, and curled his fingers toward his palm. “Um, if I let you sleep there today, you’re not going to claim that spot forever, are you?”
Not likely, though it was a comfy chair and it smelled very, very good. Mac turned his back on Julian and ducked his head to groom the fur along his left foreleg.
“Right, well….”
A tentative touch to the back of his head had Mac pausing. Inwardly he smiled. Might not seem like such a brave thing to pet a strange cat, but he liked that Julian had overcome his reticence quickly. He also liked the feel of those warm fingers scratching behind his ear. Cocking his head, Mac leaned into the scratch. There, right there. Oh, yeah. Felt so good. His eyes slid closed, and a faint rumble started in his throat.
Startled, Mac turned and nipped the fingers that had tempted him to purr.
Julian snatched his hand back. “Sorry, I thought, um, okay. So, you like your ears scratched, but only a little bit. Got it.”
Go find something to do.
“I’m going to set up the litter box. I’ll put it in the laundry. It’s over there.” Julian pointed toward an archway that led to a kitchen and presumably the back of the house. “Then I’ll be in my study. That’s across the hall, over there.” Julian pointed in a new direction, back past the front door to what might have traditionally been a dining room. Apparently he didn’t entertain much. “I’ll leave the door open for you.”
Sweet and utterly guileless. Not usually Mac’s type, but those brown eyes and that tentative smile. No, you know what? It was five days trapped in a cage talking. Any man would look appealing after that.
Author Bio
If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.
Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke. A lot of what she writes is speculative in nature, but sometimes it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.