Look Who the Cat Dragged In…

Recently, I wrote a post that showcased books featuring dogs as one of the central characters. If you happened to miss it, please click HERE. Today, I thought it would be only fair if I turn the tables and talk about felines who have made appearances in books and movies. Growing up, I was a huge fan of Disney’s Aristocats, and must have seen it at least a half dozen times. And those dastardly Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp turned me against the breed for a long time until my mom decided to get a Siamese kitten. I guess I couldn’t resist those blue eyes after all!

In my new yet-to-be released book, Legend of the Timekeepers I introduce my readers to a lion-human hybrid named Etan, who aids14-year-old Lilith and her newfound friends with the very first Timekeeper mission. In another YA series I’ve created, my book Lost and Found: Mysterious Tales of Fairy spotlights Whiskey, a cantankerous, old calico cat who helps 15-year-old animal communicator Meagan Walsh find her true path. So, keeping with the theme of this post, I thought I gather together a group of authors who have made it a point to have cats in their books. Let the purring begin:

Lisa Orchard: The Supers Spies and the Cat Lady Killer

In a small town in Michigan, fifteen-year-old Sarah Cole is stuck spending the summer at her Aunt and Uncle’s with her sister, Lacey. She’s not happy with the situation until she befriends a girl named Jackie. The three girls stumble upon the ruthless murder of a reclusive neighborhood woman and what's worse? One of the officers investigating the crime believes the girls are responsible for her death.

Fearing that this officer will frame them for the murder, the girls organize their own detective squad. They become the Super Spies and start their own investigation. The Super Spies can’t understand why anyone would want to murder the “Cat Lady” until they start digging into her past and discover a horrible crime that happened thirty years ago. They uncover a connection between the two crimes and attempt to bring this information to the police, only to be reprimanded for meddling in the investigation. Not only are the girls upset by the admonition, but they also struggle with the fact that their exuberant investigating could provide a legal loophole allowing the killer to go free. Frustrated by this turn of events, the Super Spies realize it’s up to them to snare the Cat Lady killer.

Or die trying...


Linda Benson: Six Degrees of Lost, featuring a cat named Rags owned by protagonist Olive.
Sometimes you have to take a journey to find out where you really belong.

Olive’s mother is headed to jail and her brother to join the Army, so thirteen-year-old Olive is uprooted from sunny California and dumped in Washington State like a stray. That's exactly what she feels like surrounded by her aunt’s collection of homeless dogs, cats, and horses.

Fourteen-year-old David’s future is already carved in stone. From a military family with two brothers serving overseas, he’s been pointed towards the Air Force Academy his entire life - but a rafting trip gone awry might ruin his chances.

When a runaway dog is almost hit by a car, the search for its owner leads Olive and David, two kids from entirely different backgrounds, to an unlikely bond. Will their growing attraction to each other be enough to keep Olive from a foolhardy journey to find her mother? Will David risk his family’s plans to save her?

PM Griffin: The Bastet Trilogy

Three cats, three incarnations of great potential, but terrible peril lies before each of them.

The Goddess Bastet has granted three cats the potential of greatness and happiness in their new incarnations, but each must face terrible peril to gain it:

Bast’s Gift is just accustoming himself to his new life when a deadly intruder threatens his assigned human. What can he, a small cat, do to defend her?

Firecat and his beloved Partner Eva are suddenly confronted with the overwhelming horror of a raging firestorm. Can human and feline, working together, manage to survive?

Pennyroyal returns to the time of her previous death to help save not only her chosen human but the better part of the human race. Can she and Flavia defeat a demon’s malice?

Eva Scott: The Reluctant Wedding Planner, featuring a cat named Manouche who has his own facebook page!
Not only flowers bloom...

Dr Camden James is a rural vet, not a wedding planner, so he quickly feels out of his depth when, in a fit of generosity, he offers to glam up his sister's budget wedding in a secret move designed to surprise her. With only six weeks to make this the wedding of his sister's dreams he needs to move fast.

Stumbling around in the largely female world of weddings he gets a lead on the go-to girl for wedding flowers - Georgiana Mac Intyre. Georgi, reeling from a very public breakup, is not interested in men in anyway shape or form. Not even super-cute vets - even when they are clearly interested in her.

Cam shamelessly uses his story to get her to help. It has all the elements; romance against the odds, true love, orphans (you can't have good story without an orphan or two), and a bride.

I thought we’d finish this post with an appropriate musical slide show, sung by none other than that rockabilly group, the Stray Cats. Enjoy!

 

Who Let the Dogs Out…

If you’re a dog lover like me you probably can’t get enough of books or movies with dogs as one of the central characters. Scooby Doo was a mainstay on Saturday mornings for me. And when I was a girl, I used to take out armfuls of books from my elementary school’s library about dogs. Books like, Lad a Dog, Big Red, The Incredible Journey, and of course the biggest dog star of all: Lassie. A box of tissue would always be by my side when I watched a movie about dogs. There was a guarantee, an unwritten code that movie producers made sure you would cry. Don’t believe me? Watch Marley and Me, and prove me wrong. I dare you. No. I double dog dare you!

In my book, The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, a smelly deerhound named Tuck—Friar Tuck’s namesake—makes a few cameo appearances. So I thought I gather together a group of fine young adult authors who have made it a point to have dogs in their books. Let the barking commence:

Linda Benson: Walking the Dog

Jared feels like he's the only one who looks past Sophie's scars to see her for who she is. But can he be a true friend when she desperately needs one?

Jared is smitten when his teacher seats the new girl, Sophie, right next to him. Even with the scar running up the side of her face, Jared thinks she’s the most beautiful girl in the entire fifth grade. But why did she transfer here so late in the year? Rumors say something bad happened to her.

Jared and Sophie become friends while walking the guidance counselor’s new puppy, but when his parents object to this arrangement, Jared fabricates a series of elaborate lies to meet Sophie on the sly. But little brothers can be pests. First Petey lets the orange cat loose at the animal shelter where Jared and Sophie have been secretly walking the dogs. Then Petey turns up missing.

And Sophie's past finally catches up with her.



Cordelia Dinsmore: Michaela’s Gift
Twelve-year-old Michaela Cochran still believes in enchanted mountains and fairytale castles, but her happily-ever-after will never happen if she can’t convince her mother to accept the magical gift Michaela has inherited.

Michaela Cochran and her family make the trip to her father’s ancestral home every year, but this year is special. Michaela is now twelve, the age when every girl in the family receives a special gift. When Aunt Sharon explains that Michaela’s gift is a magical ability to bring one of her drawings to life, Michaela begins making plans. What she wants most is a castle high on the mountain, where her family can live together. But if she can’t figure out how to resolve the growing hostility between herself and her mother, her gift is meaningless.

Rita Monette: The Legend of Ghost Dog Island

Behind every legend lies the truth.
Moving is nothing new for ten-year-old Nikki Landry. Her fisherman father relocates their raggedy old houseboat several times a year in search of better crabbing spots. However, their latest move has brought her to a mysterious bayou where she feels something is watching her from a nearby island.

Nikki learns of a local legend about something sinister inhabiting those swamps, stealing the souls of dogs…which would explain the strange howling sounds. Papa reassures her there’s nothing on the island but gators and snakes. He would know. He’s spent his whole life trapping and fishing those bayous and swamps. But Nikki and her new friends uncover strange happenings from years ago that may have started the old legend, and town folks aren’t talking. Then her beloved beagle goes missing.

Join Nikki as she seeks to discover the real truth behind the legend of Ghost Dog Island…before it’s too late.

To finish off this post, I thought I’d pull you back in time (a specialty of mine) to enjoy a musical romp with the Baha Men. Enjoy!