Monkey, the Fey Cat

“Strutting along the edge of Oppie’s stall was Monkey, the feral tom cat that ‘lived’ in the big stable with the riding ring… It looked like a mix of tortoise shell and Siamese with its funky coloring. The cat gave a half-hearted hiss in the Shire stallion’s direction, but returned its gaze to me. With a flick of his tail and an irritated angling of his ears, the feline began cleaning himself.
Yes, yes, I’m a cat that can communicate with humans. Your family’s being plagued by a kelpie and you just ran from the castle as if all the beasts of Hell were on your tail… are you really all that shocked about a talking cat?“

Justine Graykin has been another great friend for many years who has an excellent, moving, poignant, and informative blog that I happily subscribe to. She also lost two of her dear kitties last year in particularly difficult circumstances, so I wanted to send Monkey, the faerie cat who befriends Heather in The Kelpie, to her. Monkey would definitely love throwing philosophy around with Justine; it’s totally a cat thing. But he also has a very caring and loyal side, despite being a cat, that I think Justine would also appreciate.

Thank you very much for being part of my Cover Reveal Scavenger Hunt, Justine!

[No problem, Trisha! And, for the information of my regular readers, TJ Wooldridge is one of many writers I know who have turned to small Indie publishers to bring their work to print. Spencer Hill Press is one of these, publishing quality work that the “Big Six” have overlooked, taking chances on new authors with fresh ideas and innovative perspectives.  Blog hops and “scavenger hunts” like this are among the clever and fun ways they are using social media to spread the word about their books.  <rant> Small presses lack the deep pockets for the splashy advertising campaigns of major publishers, whose financial resources come largely from playing it safe with known big names and trusted formulas, from squeezing libraries and distributors, and offering progressively more penurious contracts to writers.  I strongly urge all the visitors to my website to support small independent presses and the work they promote.  Buy the books, read them, review them, Tweet them and talk them up.  It’s another small blow against the Empire.</rant>