A Cat Who Becomes a Man Who Becomes a Cat Who —
Hi. I’m Tara Lain and I’m so happy to be here today to celebrate the re-release of my paranormal romance, Cataclysmic Shift. This book has witches, a shifter, and the world’s coolest cat. In fact that cat turns into a man who doesn’t remember that he was ever a cat. He doesn’t remember – but I did – and had a wonderful time creating a human who also had a feline nature. I’ve gotten to write cat people twice – in this book and in The Pack or the Panther where one of my heroes is a panther shifter. The two heroes, Paris in the Pack or the Panther and Alain in Cataclysmic Shift, both have many feline characteristics, but are very different from each other.
In the Pack or the Panther, I wanted to play up the enormous differences between cats and dogs since one of my heroes is a wolf and the other a panther. Consequently, I made Paris wildly independent and solitary to a fault. He’s snarky and selfish. The funny thing is, people who don’t like cats often don’t like Paris. LOL. He really embodies that feline don’t have a fuck to give personality.
Alain in Cataclysmic Shift is a different breed of cat. Young and relatively naïve, he still maintains a very catlike self-confidence and self-certainty. He likes to lie on the floor in the sun and washes his face by licking the side of his hand and wiping it over his face. He even tries to lick his own private parts like cats do with such impunity and is disappointed to find it’s not that easy in human form. Of course, Alain isn’t just a cat, he’s a powerful witch’s familiar which gives him a special edge.
Alain is presented with a terrible dilemma – to protect his community or stay with the man he loves. I hope you’ll give Cataclysmic Shift a try.
Quiet. He opened his eyes. Dark. His back hurt. It was sorely cramped in here.
He pushed some towels aside and scooted closer to the door. Quietly, he pulled the lever down and opened the door a crack. Nobody. Good. He pushed it farther and looked into that plastic-and-metal room.
Odd. He recognized all the things in this room—an examining table of some kind, chairs, paper towels—but not what the room was for. He stepped out into the dim glow coming in from a streetlight outside the window.
He padded softly across the room and peered out into a short hall, also dark and quiet. To the left, the hall ended at a door. Light came from under it and a low noise, like maybe music or voices. Someone must be in there. To the right were several more doors. He went right.
Hmmm. Restroom. He opened the door. It was very dark, but his eyes seemed good. He looked in. A mirror on the opposite wall reflected the dim light of the hall and what must be… him. He stepped closer and peered at his reflection.
He closed the door. Until he knew his situation, best not to alert anyone. He ran his hand on the wall and flipped on the switch. Light blazed harshly in the tiny room. Holy gods.
He stared. Huge eyes, bluer than blue, stared back at him, surrounded by hair—long black hair down to his back. He turned and looked. The middle of his back. And pale skin. That was him. Truly?
What had he expected?
Not sure, but not this… boy.
He looked down at his bare body. Boy. Or man, for certain. His eyes widened. And quite a man. Look at those couilles.
But not just man. He cocked his head. Hu-man.
Now why was that strange?
He shook his head. This was so peculiar. He wasn’t afraid, exactly, but he didn’t feel at home in this skin. He shivered. There were important things he was forgetting, and he must remember them. He took a deep breath. Lives might depend on it.
He flipped off the light. The dark felt more comfortable. What should he do? That was the frightening part. He didn’t know. Not an idea where he should go, and yet he felt certain he had a purpose he must fulfill.
There was a person out there. Should he go speak to them? He peeked down at his lean body. Probably not like this. Humans were strange about nudity and such things. Wait. He was human, wasn’t he? This was very confusing.
Let’s just say I’m between cats at the moment, so this sort of story appeal to me. 🙂
Thanks for sharing excerpt from the book.
Hi Didi. Interestingly, i love cats and write about them all the time, but i have a dog. Mu husband is very allergic to cats, so it’s hard for us to have them. I love all animals, but cats do have a special place in my heart. : )
Thank you so much for having me and my guys and cats on the blog! HUGS! : )
Those cats are always a step ahead and this one is gorgeous to boot! Love them from afar since I also have an allergic husband.
Sadly, me too. We’ve had kitties but my poor hubby sneezes and wheezes! But i do love cats so i write about them. 🙂
I love this series, and this book is my favorite in it!
I’m so glad Trix!! : )