Best in Show
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.
Review
This was so freaking adorable! Julien is a lonely writer in
a serious rut. He hasn’t written a thing in three years after a break up leaves
everything inside him stale. His sister pushes him to adopt a dog, he ends up
adopting a cat and that’s where the magic begins… literally!
This love story has a twist. In this world witches are
absolutely real and living next door. Mac isn’t your normal house cat and the
irony that he and Julien become paired is awesome.
Fate, magic and love. Three things this sweet novella has
that work brilliantly together. Kelly Jensen has written an angst free,
exciting and fun story that you’ll absolutely fall in love with! Who doesn't love a big dose of magic and fantasy with their reality? Bravo!!
(Best in
Show) Behind the Book
I haven’t written a paranormal story before, but I have
plotted a few. They usually include aliens. I’ve written a lot of stories about
aliens. For this one, though, I wanted to remain earthbound and explore a
different take on the relationship between cats and witches. So I married a kitty
cat shifter to a witch and then sat down to write a story about one of the
kids, Macavity Birch.
From there, I posed the question writers have been asking
for centuries: What if?
For this story in particular, I asked: What would happen if Macavity
(stuck in cat form) finds himself locked away in an animal shelter?
This of course raises a bunch of other questions, and
answering those is how I usually write my first synopsis, which is a couple of
paragraphs of story idea. Why is Mac in the animal shelter? Why can’t he change
into a human while he’s there? Does he get adopted? By whom? What happens next?
What happens next is that mystery writer Julian Wilkes finds
himself a cat he doesn’t really want, a story he really does want to write, and
the guy he’s been waiting two years to meet.
I wanted this to be a fun story. I don’t read a lot of
paranormal, but most of what I have read is decidedly dark. Fangs and blood
rites and people dying. So I decided to take a sort of contemporary approach. Best in Show has a lot of paranormal
elements—cat shifters and curses—but if you take that away, it’s about two guys
who are stuck in place.
After catching his previous boyfriend in bed with another
man, Julian’s a little bruised. He can admit he ignored some vital clues
regarding his faltering relationship for a while, but he’s yet to forgive and
forget. He hasn’t moved on. As a result, he’s making a mess of his career. He
hasn’t written a book in two years.
Mac is a practical joker. He’s a classic example of the
overlooked middle child. On the one hand, he’s crying out for attention, on the
other, he’s hoping no one looks too closely, because he hasn’t figured out what
he wants to do with his life yet. He is sick of his family telling him to grow
up, though. When his latest prank backfires and he ends up cursed to remain in
cat form while the sun is up, he gets in a lot of thinking time.
Then he meets Julian.
These guys are so meant to be. In a way, their meeting is
predestined, which is a wonderful paranormal trope. But once they meet and
attraction is confirmed, it’s up to them to figure out what to do with it.
Julian needs some fun in his life. Mac needs some stability. They both also
desperately need something and someone to fight for, to make them shake off
their complacency and get on with it.
Really, the magical mystery part of this story is just a
bonus. But I had a ton of fun with it and I can’t wait to expand upon this
world while continuing Julian and Mac’s love story.
You can read an excerpt of Best in Show here.
Follow the tour for more excerpts, my take on shifter lore, Julian’s favourite
recipe and a magical playlist—and don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a
chance to win copies of my previous novellas with Dreamspinner Press and a $25
credit at the Dreamspinner Press store.
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.
Giveaway
Prize: A copy of When
Was the Last Time and Out in the Blue
plus a $25 credit at the Dreamspinner Press store.
Terms: Rafflecopter runs from 12:00 AM EST 7/23/2016 to 12:00
AM EST 8/3/2016. Giveaway is open internationally. Gift card value is US
dollars. Winner will be contacted via email.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Two Books,
One Tour
8/2 Best in Show Prism
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