Tag Archives: cats

Giveaway – Clowders by Vanessa Morgan @TravellingCats @xpressotours

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Clowders
Vanessa Morgan
Publication date: March 1st 2018
Genres: Adult, Supernatural, Thriller

Clervaux, Luxembourg. This secluded, picturesque town in the middle of Europe is home to more cats than people. For years, tourists have flocked to this place – also known as “cat haven” – to meet the cats and buy cat-related souvenirs.

When Aidan, Jess and their five-year-old daughter, Eleonore, move from America to Clervaux, it seems as if they’ve arrived in paradise. It soon becomes evident, though, that the inhabitants’ adoration of their cats is unhealthy. According to a local legend, each time a cat dies, nine human lives are taken as a punishment. To tourists, these tales are supernatural folklore, created to frighten children on cold winter nights. But for the inhabitants of Clervaux, the danger is horrifyingly real.

Initially, Aidan and Jess regard this as local superstition, but when Jess runs over a cat after a night on the town, people start dying, one by one, and each time it happens, a clowder of cats can be seen roaming the premises.

Are they falling victim to the collective paranoia infecting the entire town? Or is something unspeakably evil waiting for them?

Their move to Europe may just have been the worst decision they ever made.

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EXCERPT:

“Who is she?” Eleonore asked when Jess drove her to school Friday morning.

“Who’s who?” Jess countered, not sure what her daughter was talking about.

“The girl. The one who’s always watching us.”

“No one’s watching us,” Jess said.

“Yes, there is. All the girls in my baking class say the same.”

Normally, Jess wouldn’t have put much thought into such a remark – children can say weird things sometimes. But now it seemed Eleonore might be right. Jess felt like there was indeed someone watching them, no matter what they were doing.

She felt it everywhere she went. When she took Eleonore to baking class, when she was lying in bed at night, even in the shops. But not all the time.

Some of the time.

More often than not, everything seemed normal, and then all of a sudden, she felt as if someone was checking up on her. Sometimes it was only briefly, like a minute or so, but at other times, she could feel it for several hours.

Sometimes she could feel it on the streets.

But mostly at home.

And never outside Clervaux.

You’re imagining things, she told herself.

In fact, every day since she’d arrived in Europe, it had gotten worse. More and more, she’d get that tingly feeling, and know that someone behind her was watching her. She’d try to ignore it, tried to resist the urge to look over her shoulder, but eventually the hair on the back of her neck would stand up, and the tingling would turn into a chill, and finally, she’d turn around.

And nobody would be there.

Nobody, except for the cats. The sight of cats waddling along the pavement had never seemed eerie to her, but the fact that they were always there, no matter where she was – on the sidewalk, at the main square, in a café, in the forest – made her skin crawl.

Whenever she was running errands in Clervaux, she kept looking into store windows, but it wasn’t the merchandise she was looking at; it was the reflection in the glass.

The reflection of something sinister watching her.

Sometimes she could have sworn she saw something. The reflection of a small, squatting figure. But then she glanced over her shoulder and all she could see once more were the cats of Clervaux staring back at her.

She decided to not let her imagination get to her, to resist the urge to glance over her shoulder every few seconds.

And then her daughter muttered the words, “Who is she? The girl. The one who’s always watching us,” and the paranoia tightened its grip on her once more.


Author Bio:

Vanessa Morgan is the editor of the movie reference guides When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals, Strange Blood: 71 Essays on Offbeat and Underrated Vampire Movies, and Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children. She also has had one cat book (Avalon) and four supernatural thrillers (Drowned Sorrow, The Strangers Outside, A Good Man, and Clowders) published. Three of her stories have been turned into movies. She has written for myriad Belgian magazines and newspapers and introduces movie screenings at several European film festivals. She is also a programmer for the Offscreen Film Festival in Belgium. When she’s not working on her latest book, you can find her reading, watching movies, eating out, or photographing felines for her blog Traveling Cats.

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The Spotlight Is On Catnip Plushie Balls And Q-Tips by M G Rorai @pumpupyourbook

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Catnip, Plushie Balls, and Q-Tips

Virtual Book Tour

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🙤 · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · ꕥ · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · 🙦

  About the Book:

 Title: Catnip, Plushie Balls, and Q-Tips

Author: M.G. Rorai

Publisher: Independent

Publication Date: September 30, 2023

Pages: 178

Genre: Poetry/Pets

Ever wonder why there are “mews” in “amewzing”?

This collection of cat poems will tickle your whiskers and your funny bone. They’re the purr-fect way to brighten your day and celebrate the furry friends in your life.

Prepare to laugh out loud as you read about cat adventures with magnets, candles, strawberry milkshakes, and plush balls—but don’t let me ruin the surprise, you’ll have to read to find out!

Get ready to laugh your tail off!

Buy Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple | Scribd | Smashwords

 Book Excerpt:

The magnets are so cute

that I must knock them off

but get yelled at for this,

so the new approach is soft.

I sit by the fridge

staring at those squares

and when Human isn’t looking

I lick with tongue hairs.

All was going good

until one was quite sticky

leaving a bad taste,

and I’m not so picky.

I bite at the air

to get rid of the taste

then knock down that magnet;

good riddance, post-haste.** 

About the Author

 M.G. Rorai enjoys hanging with her cats and annoying her husband. Her latest book is Catnip, Plushie Balls, and Q-Tips.

Author Links  

Website | Facebook

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Giveaway & Recipe – Avalon by Vanessa Morgan @RoxanneRhoads

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EGG NOG RECIPES FOR YOU… AND YOUR CAT

 
No Christmas is ever complete without at least one serving of Egg Nog, the holiday-themed cocktail drink that is popular in the United States and Canada. It is a frothy beverage that contains milk, cream, and eggs. You can combine this mixture with other ingredients such as alcohol, sugar, and spices. It is best served chilled.

You can easily modify the Egg Nog recipe below to be vegan-friendly (by replacing the eggs with silken tofu and by using almond milk instead of cow’s milk).

When I was in my twenties, I used to buy Egg Nog in the supermarket at Christmas-time. Nowadays, however, I prefer to make it myself.

My cat Avalon used to go all crazy whenever I pulled out the Egg Nog, so I started by making a cat-friendly version, just for him. It may sound a little crazy, but trust me on this one… Kitty Egg Nog is sure to please even the most discerning palates, and your cat will be eternally grateful to you for it.

On top of that, we are celebrating the French edition release of Avalon’s memoir, so we should all indulge a little extra this year, don’t you agree?

Here’s what you need to make Egg Nog for both you and your cat.

Egg Nog for you




Ingredients:

2 cups of milk
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla powder
1/8 tablespoon nutmeg
¼ cup cream

If you like it sweet, you can add three tablespoons of sugar. Also, I usually make Egg Nog without alcohol, but if I do add some, I prefer to add rum over any other type. 

Preparation:

Beat the eggs until smooth
Add the milk, cream, vanilla powder, and nutmeg (and any other ingredients)
Put everything in the blender
Serve chilled



Egg Nog for your cat
 
Ingredients:

200 ml cat milk
1 egg yolk
1 pinch of turmeric (don’t use cinnamon as it can be toxic to cats)
A little whipped cream

Preparation:

Put all ingredients in the blender, and blend until smooth
Serve in small portions, as it is a heavy drink, even without the alcohol.

Warning! Don’t use real milk for your cat’s Egg Nog. After all, the lactose in cow’s milk may cause diarrhea and other digestive problems in cats.

Let me know in the comments if you will be making Egg Nog for yourself and your cat this year.

Enjoy!


Avalon: a Heartwarming True Cat Story
Vanessa Morgan

Genre:  Memoir / Cats
Date of Publication:  June 4, 2015 
ISBN:1511863633 
ASIN: B00XC1NE4I 
Number of pages:134 pages 
Word Count: 31.468 words
Cover Artist: Gilles Vranckx

Tagline:  Some cats need nine lives to make a difference. Avalon only needed one.

Book Description:

From Amazon bestselling author Vanessa Morgan, Avalon is the heartwarming and once-in-a-lifetime love story of a girl and her neurotic Turkish Van cat.

With humor, the author details how Avalon made other creatures cringe in distress whenever he was around, how he threw her dates out by means of special techniques, and how he rendered it almost impossible for her to leave the house. 

Avalon was so incorrigible that even the landlord ordered to get rid of him. But beneath Avalon’s demonic boisterousness, Vanessa recognized her own flaws and insecurities, and she understood that abandoning Avalon would be the worst she could do to him. Thanks to her unswerving loyalty, Avalon transformed into a tender feline and even landed a major role in a horror movie. In turn, Avalon made it his mission to be there for his human companion.

Avalon is a memoir for anyone who has ever been obsessively in love with a pet.

Avalon is also available in French.



Filming of The Strangers Outside took place in August and September 2010. Avalon joined the set for two days. The location: a vacation cabin in the woods of Sint-Katelijne-Waver, a place where shadows came alive and danced with the rare patches of light. The perfect site for a horror movie.

Outside the vacation cabin, the film crew prepared for action. Camera tripods and lights were set up. An actor in monk clothes smoked his last cigarette before the shoot.

Two large tables with food and drinks sat in the shade, each bottle of water labeled with the name of an actor or crew member. Avalon had a bottle all for himself.

Avalon was remarkably at ease on set. He examined the vacation cabin for about half an hour, sniffing his way through the dusty corners, before settling into a deep sleep on the couch.

While everyone fawned over Avalon and fed him snacks from the buffet table, the director gave us a quick rundown of the scene to come. “The camera focuses on Avalon lying on the coffee table. In the background, through the windows, we see actors Pierre Lekeux and Iulia Nastase arriving home. Avalon follows their movements with his head as they move from one side of the house to the other. When the front door opens, Avalon jumps off the table to greet them.”

“Avalon won’t do that,” I said. “Just like children, cats are uncontrollable. It’s a great idea for a scene, but I’m afraid you’ll have to come up with something less demanding.”

Apparently, I didn’t know my cat very well, because Avalon did exactly what was expected of him.

The scene was shot several times in a row and Avalon never missed a beat.
In another scene, while eating his Schesir dinner, Avalon suddenly had to look up in panic. The fear in his eyes looked genuine. He was perfect.

Sitting at the dining table, actor Pierre Lekeux watched Avalon with incomprehensibility and admiration, shaking his head in denial. “I need at least twenty minutes to prepare a scene, to enter a certain state of mind. But this cat nails it in a matter of seconds. Avalon’s the best actor on set. He’s even better than me.”

Pierre was right. Avalon had this air–he carried himself in a certain way, very much aware of his charisma. He was a natural performer. A miniature star.





About the Author:

Vanessa Morgan is the editor of the movie reference guides When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals, Strange Blood: 71 Essays on Offbeat and Underrated Vampire Movies, and Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children. She also has had one cat book (Avalon) and four supernatural thrillers (Drowned Sorrow, The Strangers Outside, A Good Man, and Clowders) published. Three of her stories have been turned into movies. She has written for myriad Belgian magazines and newspapers and introduces movie screenings at several European film festivals. She is also a programmer for the Offscreen Film Festival in Belgium. When she’s not working on her latest book, you can find her reading, watching movies, eating out, or photographing felines for her blog Traveling Cats.









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Review – Claws by Ricky Sides #rickysides

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Amazon / KindleUnlimited / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The fabulous cover speaks horror and I love it! A pet food company messing with Mother Nature…I know that is not going to end well. You may look at your pet a little differently after reading Claws. Is your cute, cuddly little bundle of fur looking at you funny? Is your sweet kitty licking your hand as an appetizer…getting ready to take a chunk out of it? LOL Will that make you sleep better, when kitty curls up on your chest wanting snuggles? The main issue I had was with the ‘romance’. The dialogue did not ring true, but, then, I look at a book like Claws as a B movie, not known for its sophistication, but still a very enjoyable use of my time. Greed and all that comes with it was expected. The head of the ‘operation’ will stop at nothing to get more of that all mighty dollar. Will he get his comeuppance? I loved the ending.

3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

I’d like to give special thanks to Jason Merrick for the great cover.

Alcorn Pet Food Corporation is working with an experimental cat food laced with hormones and appetite enhancers. The special food causes cats to add muscle, gain weight, and exhibit extremely aggressive behavior. When an employee threatens to expose the pet food as a threat to public safety, she finds herself out of work, her home ransacked, and all her carefully gathered proof missing. Meanwhile, animal rights activists release the cats involved in the testing because they are scheduled to be euthanized. These bigger, stronger, and more aggressive animals begin to prey on small game in the area. Then the ravenous cats turn their attention to people.

Lovers, runners, hunters, dogs, deer, rabbits, normal cats, and even motorists begin to fall victim to the predations of these enhanced felines. An unemployed scientist, a small special ops team, a grieving father, a chief of security, and a homeless veteran join forces to try to prevent a catastrophe.

When a murderer steals the secret formula that created the menace and sells it to eight foreign enemies of the United States, the stakes suddenly get a lot higher, because the most deadly biological weapon ever created has just been released. The genie is out of the bottle and the world will never be the same.

To make matters worse, the scientist discovers that the first generation offspring will be even bigger and more aggressive, and then they learn that the food also affects dogs and rats.

ABOUT RICKY SIDES (from Amazon)

Ricky Sides was Born in Florence, Alabama in May of 1958. He has a wife named Sue that he married at age 18. He has one adult son named Larry Dale.

The author studied martial arts from 1981 to the mid 1990s. He has been an avid camper and student of survival. The techniques described in his fight sequences are often from his own personal experience and training. He has taught women’s rape prevention seminars in the 1980’s that he conducted free to the public.

The author’s writing experience includes the ” Peacekeeper” series, the “Brimstone” series, “The Ultimate in Women’s Self-Defense,” and “Adventures in Reading,” “Claws,” which is a suspense / horror novel that will ultimately serve as the back story for an epic post apocalyptic novel that he will release in 2011. “Claws 2. After the Apocalypse,” and “Lina’s Story,” which is connected to the peacekeeper series.

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Giveaway – Burned by Sarah Hualde @dollycas @Sthecoffeejedi

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Burned: Death Plays with Matches (Paranormal Penny Mysteries)
by Sarah Hualde

About Burned: Death Plays With Matches


Burned: Death Plays with Matches (Paranormal Penny Mysteries)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Indie Christian Writers (June 14, 2022)
Digital: Number of Pages 185
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09ZNWW5TK

Stalking an old nemesis…

…she discovers a hidden plot.

As a deceptive advisor is snuffed out.

Penny Nicols brings her “gift” to Billington. Searching for her sister, she’s determined to stand her ground. One woman holds the keys to Penny’s link between her past and the present.
When is history better left buried?

When the Raven is the one telling the story.

Dinah, Penny’s old advocate, is struck down before her eyes.

Penny’s long-distance friend T.C. continues to help her trail the whereabouts of her long-lost sibling and solve the mystery. Musical clues and manic relationships crowd the distracted Penny as T.C. supports her from afar.

Spades, the cat, charms the suspects as Penny untangles her omens.

Dinah may be victim number one, but Penny fears the Raven is just warming up.

You’ll love the sixth book in this binge-worthy paranormal mystery series because Penny and her sleuthing sidekicks dig deep to uncover the Raven’s evil plans.

About Sarah Hualde

Sarah lives in California, in a home that brings her happiness and hay fever. She loves God, loves her family, and loves freshly brewed coffee. She has a husband who cooks, a son who stop animates, a daughter who loves animals, a dog that follows her everywhere, and a turtle who scowls at her condescendingly.

Her mother raised her on Mary Higgins Clark, Diane Mott Davidson, and Remington Steele. Her grandmother shared True Crime stories with her as they plotted how to get away with the perfect murder. It’s no surprise that Sarah became an award-winning spinner of suspenseful tales brimming with quirky characters. Mysteries are in her blood. Not that she could survive one of her own stories. She confesses, “I’d be snuffed out by chapter two.”

Join Sarah’s Super Sleuth Squad and follow her on YouTube for behind-the-scenes insider info.

Purchase Links – Amazon – Apple – Kobo – B&N 

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Giveaway – Killers Of A Feather by T C Lotempio @dollycas

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Killers of a Feather (Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries) by T. C. LoTempio

About Killers of a Feather

Killers of a Feather (Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Connecticut
Beyond the Page (June 21, 2022)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 299 pages
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09ZLV8ZS2

Shell McMillan and her feline friends must unravel a mystery where everyone’s a suspect and no one’s to blame . . .

With the grand re-opening of her Urban Tails Pet Shop just days away, Shell McMillan has her hands full planning entertainment for the festive event, including a fortune-telling parrot. But her jubilant mood is soon threatened by ominous rumors of the return of Johnny Draco, a former investment guru who swindled money from most of the residents of Fox Hollow and then vanished without a trace. And when the parrot predicts a dire future for Draco and his dead body is found just hours later, no one can say they’re surprised—but no one will say who did it.

With virtually everyone in town a suspect, the police turn their focus on a good friend of Shell’s who was seen arguing with the victim shortly before his death. Determined to clear her friend’s name, Shell begins investigating Draco’s past, his former employer, and everyone who lost money to him. And when the trail of clues suggests there may have been a completely different motive for the murder, Shell suddenly realizes she’s uncovered a secret someone would kill to keep hidden—and that if she’s not careful, the parrot may be predicting she has no future at all . . .

About T.C. LoTempio

T. C. LoTempio is the award-winning, nationally bestselling author of the Nick and Nora Mysteries, the Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries, and the Cat Rescue Mysteries. For more information, check out her and her cat Rocco’s blog at www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com and visit her website at www.tclotempio.net.

Purchase Links

Amazon  –   B&N  –  iBooks  –  Kobo –   Google Play  –  Smashwords 

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Doo Dah Day Pictorial #doodahday #animals #photographs

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.

I am experimenting with Nextgen Gallery. I have had it for a long time, just never really used it. Now is the time, seeing Mr Wonderful is scanning images from our photo albums before they fade too badly. Unfortunately, the negatives have become damaged due to all the humidity down here and it is even more important to save them now.

Mobile, Alabama holds a Doo Dah Parade every spring and these are from 1997. I can tell this was still in the film days, because I had to limit how many photographs I took due to cost. I still like film the best, but I can click away with digital and that is an advantage I revel in. There are ups and downs to everything.

This is a slide show, but you can click on the individual photograph to see it better, then scroll through them using the buttons below the photograph.

I hope you enjoy.

[Show picture list]
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